Tien H. Texas

Drugs for Medical Treatment

Drugs should be recognized as a medicine to treat people that suffered from cancer and other sickness.

Dear Future President of the United States,

Imagine a world where illegal drugs like cannabis or ecstasy are used for good reasons. It wouldn't be that bad, right? Using it to cure sickness. Many people could survive from incurable diseases. Imagine that, and how it would affect the world. Maybe the next amendment could help protect the idea to use drugs as medicine for people with disease like cancer, and relieve their pain both physically and mentally.

These days, people are using drugs as a trend to be ‘cool’ or they are mentally ill. That leads them to physical problem with sickness like cancer (especially lungs, mouth, and nose), and how it damages their health is like how smoking cigarettes damages. That’s why some states said it’s illegal to do drugs. “ But while drugs can be dangerous, illicit drugs have been researched for centuries, and some have been found to have surprising therapeutic benefits ”(Dybuncio). They are even more effective than many other medicines. Compared to other medicines, cannabis is considered the most effective treatment when it comes to relieving pain in cancer. You don’t have to worry about it causing addiction because “ Currently, the two main Cannabinoids from the marijuana plant that are of medical interest are THC(increases appetite and reduces nausea.) and CBD (cannabinoid that does not affect the mind or behavior.). ” (NIH). Scientists considered it the drug that is least likely to get addicted to.

Scientist believe that it can be used to relieve chronic pain for cancer patients. The main thing is how the medicine work by decreases the pain. It could possibly stop or slow down the process of cancer. “Cannabidiol stops cancer by turning off a gene called Id-1, the study, published in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, found. Cancer cells make more copies of this gene than non-cancerous cells, and it helps them spread through the body. “ (Loria) And not only cancer, it helps cure other diseases like Glaucoma, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, etc… It shows that it can kill brain cell that cause the disease or it could slow the progress or it could help develop more cells that is damaged.

Not just only it cures physical diseases, it can cure psychology illness. “In 2010, researchers at Harvard Medical School suggested that that some of the drug's benefits may actually be from reduced anxiety, which would improve the smoker's mood and act as a sedative in low doses.” (Loria) Sickness like PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) can be cured by marijuana. “Naturally occurring cannabinoids, similar to THC, help regulate the system that causes fear and anxiety in the body and brain.” (Loria). It can help eliminates nightmares but it shouldn’t be used too much because it can affect the brain positively and negatively. “Marijuana disturbs sleep cycles by interrupting the later stages of REM sleep.” “However, for people suffering from serious nightmares, especially those associated with PTSD, this can be helpful. Nightmares and other dreams occur during those same stages of sleep. By interrupting REM sleep, many of those dreams may not occur.” (Loria)

In conclusion, I believe that the next amendment on using drugs as medicines will be a good use to our country. It would save many people’s live and for the future of next generation to continue. If the amendment passes, it would help do much to hold up the goals of this country and it’s citizen.

[Works Cited]

Dybuncio, Monica, and Ryan Jaslow. "Surprising Medical Uses for Illicit Drugs." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH)

Loria, Jennifer Welsh and Kevin. "23 Health Benefits Of Marijuana." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 20 Apr. 2014. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.