Change 2 or the right to Medical Cannabis would make using medical cannabis legal under certain health conditions. Patients or caretakers with an released license by a physician would also be permitted to attend registered cannabis treatment centers (Ballotpedia 2014). Not simply anyone can get a medical marijuana license though. Individuals must be identified with a " devastating medical condition" such as cancer, HIV or glaucoma. The Florida Department of Health would be responsible for regulating medical marijuana and it would also provide recognition cards and establish treatments for treatment centers. In the following passages I will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of cannabis, how bad individuals can get it if they can't manage it and how I personally feel about amendment 2 and the legalization of cannabis.
Medical cannabis has lots of health advantages such as eliminating persistent discomfort due to an health problem or eliminating tension after a long or hectic day. The proof is shown by research study that cannabis can relieve certain kinds of pain, queasiness, throwing up, and other incapacitating symptoms triggered by such diseases as cancer and AIDS in patients all around the globe (ProCon 2014). Sanjay Gupta, MD, Chief Medical Reporter for CNN pointed out that cannabis does not have a high potential for abuse and there are extremely legitimate applications. Also "Sometimes cannabis is the only thing that works", stated Gupta. Arthritis is another common disease, usually in older adults, without any present remedy and marijuana has been proven to assist relieve the signs of this illness also. Rheumatology reported in 2006 that "In comparison with the placebo, the CBM [cannabis-based medicine] produced statistically substantial enhancements in pain on motion, pain at rest and quality of sleep (ProCon 2014). There are a number of legitimate benefits of medical cannabis, there are still those who disagree and argue that the legalization of medical cannabis would be hazardous to society.
The ones who protest Amendment 2 and the legal use of cannabis argue it may be detrimental to society by triggering an increase in criminal activity. Bishop Ron Allen claimed that cannabis would increase criminal offense and poverty in Berkeley and he discusses, "Research informs us that cannabis has the exact same effects on the enjoyment central system in the brain as heroin and fracture drug." (OpposingViews 2014) Advocates of cannabis like Mason Tvert, of the Marijuana Policy Task disagree with Allen, stating that Allen didn't understand what he was talking about and cannabis has been shown to be less toxic and less addicting than other drugs. "The fact is that Medical associations across the nation and more than 80% of Americans think cannabis can assist seriously ill people (Opposing Views) mentions Tvert." A study carried out by the University of Texas at Dallas discovered that legalized marijuana might lower criminal offenses like break-in and homicide (Ferner 2014).
Another failure of cannabis is that it is stated to be a gateway or stepping stone to other hazardous drugs such as drug or heroine. The weed-deals.ca Eagle Online forum mentioned in a statement that " Given that THC is continually in the body the "high" from pot gradually decreases so pot cigarette smokers generally take other drugs to get a kick (ProCon 2014)." Sue Rosche, Founder and President of the National Families in Action says, "This problem got extreme press protection and California's teens got the message, their past month marijuana use increased by nearly one-third that year, from 6.5% to 9.2% according to the National Home Survey on Drug Abuse. It's still continuing to rise: 1997-6 .8%, 1998-7 .4, and 1999-8 .4%. Even if using cannabis continues to increase and it is legislated, how will the bad families obtain it if they can't afford it?
The City of Berkeley, Calif. just recently announced a brand-new law in which marijuana dispensaries will have to contribute 2% of their marijuana to low-income people beginning in August of next year (OpposingViews). This could be a excellent law that other states like Florida can utilize to manage to use of cannabis if they do decide to make it legal. With the donation law, bad people can get access to the marijuana they need which is understood to sell for at least $400 an ounce in California. This cost is only the street worth of the plant-form (what you smoke) of medical marijuana, so other types such as liquid or drawn out might cost more. The most fundamental part about state regulation is that poor households with " devastating medical conditions" will have a way to obtain the medical marijuana they need to ease their symptoms.
With all the factual proof pointing to the amazing advantages of medical marijuana, I concur and vote yes on amendment 2 which will legislate medical marijuana. Weighing out the advantages of medical marijuana and the truth that poor homes may have a way to get it, provides the state of Florida all the factors and factual proof it needs to legislate cannabis.