Medical Marijuana

Tom Whyel

Medical Marijuana

Irvin Rosenfeld, who is a 56-year-old stockbroker from Florida, has lived with multiple congenital cartilaginous exostosis, which is a bone disorder that causes bone tumors to grow throughout the body. At one point Irvin lived with over 250 bone tumors, these tumors would have rapid growth rates that put Irvin in excruciating and often debilitating pain. By age 22, he was taking 140 Dilaudid (a derivative of morphine) tablets, 30 Sopors (Quaaludes), and dozens of muscle relaxants each month. Along with the pain he had to deal with the terrible side effects of the medication he was taking, that made it difficult to function normally. Then one evening in college he experimented with marijuana while playing a game of chess. About an hour later he realized that he was still sitting down playing chess, which would never of happened before because the tumors would force him to stand up every ten minutes or so. After consulting his doctor, who was out of options to help him, Irving continued to smoke marijuana for the next six months. He noticed a great enhancement in his quality of pain relief, and also, he drastically decreased his dependence on opiod narcotics and sleeping pills. Though he still lives with the many bone tumors spread throughout his body, he has finally been able to lead a normal life as a stockbroker. Now he is one of four US citizens who receives 300 marijuana cigarettes from the United States government each month to cope with chronic pain (Grinspoon 94-101).

Medical marijuana has become legal in 13 US states to treat “chronic pain (particularly nerve pain caused by diabetes, AIDS, and hepatitis); manage movement disorders and muscle spasticity (especially for multiple sclerosis patients); as an anti-nausea and anti-vomiting agent (for people undergoing chemotherapy); and as an appetite stimulant for people with wasting diseases like AIDS and Cancer” (Parloff 142). Legalization of medical marijuana will allow thousands of people like Irving Rosenfeld, living with chronic pain and disease, to have access to normal and productive lives without the harmful and debilitating side effects of other pharmaceutical drugs, such as Valium and Vicodin. This legalization of medical marijuana in the United States will drive down health costs and potentially contribute to health care reform.

People living with chronic pain and many other diseases are often prescribed many powerful drugs, such as opiates and anti-depressants that lead to harmful side effects, such as liver damage and addiction. In many of these cases, marijuana can be a substitute for these powerful drugs offering comparable relief with less harmful side effects, such as possible respiratory problems and loss of driving skills if smoked in excess, and is not chemically addictive, so people can lead normal lives. Such as Irvin Rosenfeld, who goes to work 5 days a week as a stockbroker, and who without marijuana probably could not continue working in such a stressful atmosphere due to his severe pain. Medicinal marijuana is a cheaper alternative to expensive drugs sold by big pharmaceutical companies. Stephen DeAngelo, chief executive of Harborside Health Center, a medical marijuana dispensary in Oakland, California, says, “many of these patients had drug bills of several hundred dollars a week before they began using medical marijuana, and now they are about $40 or $50 a week” (Smerd). So for a person paying, for example $200 a week on pharmaceuticals versus $50 a week on medical marijuana, excluding people that have insurance, in a year will have costs of $10,400 compared to $2,600 on medical marijuana. This drastic decrease in health bills is an excellent incentive to opt for marijuana for medical use. Also, with the combination of marijuana being a safer alternative to powerful and potentially chemically addictive drugs and the decreased health costs, there will be a substitution effect. Therefore, since marijuana can be used as an alternative, or substitute, at a lower cost than powerful pharmaceuticals, the demand for high priced pharmaceuticals will decrease, causing a decrease in the price pharmaceuticals and health care in general.

Legalizing medical marijuana will allow people to relinquish their dependence on powerful and harmful drugs. This will allow thousands of Americans to have access to normal lives because the side effects of these drugs often cause people to be limited in daily activities. Irving Rosenfeld commented on what he dealt with when he was on his prescribed pharmaceutical drugs, “I felt burned out and often walked around in an uncomfortable state. It was difficult to function normally; if I took enough to control the pain, I had difficulty concentrating on my work” (Grinspoon 96). In an interview with John MacLaughlin, who suffers from chronic rheumatoid arthritis, which “is an inflammatory form of arthritis that causes joint pain and damage” (Mayo clinic), discussed how his arthritis can cause just simple activities to be problematic, such as taking a walk or going up steps. When diagnosed he was put on naproxen, an anti-inflammatory drug. After continued use, he developed acid reflux disease because the naproxen damaged his esophagus and stomach. So now he lives with both arthritis and acid reflux, for which he has to take Prilosec, a heartburn medication. His doctor eventually took him off naproxen, and put him on some other pain medication. This just shows how these powerful drugs can limit normal habits and lead to other diseases and medical problems.

One way to compensate for the negative effect on people that oppose medical marijuana is for the government to levy a tax on the sale of medical marijuana. The tax will result in tax revenue for state and federal governments. Due to the current problems with the health care system and the need for reform, this added tax revenue could go to public health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Also, this added revenue could be used to invest in a new and innovative way to improve health care in the United States. The question is how much added revenue is going to be generated? In the state of California, where medical marijuana is legal, “there were gross statewide medical marijuana sales approaching $2.5 billion in 2008, which generated tax revenues of around $220 million” (Parloff 50). If medical marijuana was legalized in the all of United States, it is possible to have billions of dollars in tax revenue that could go toward reforming our health care system. Although, in reality the government would end up using the revenue for a variety programs due to government special interests, in principle, though, it is an efficient and effective way to improve health care in the United States.

Medical Marijuana allows people that are dependent on powerful and expensive pharmaceuticals to access a drug that has a variety of effective properties, from stimulating appetite for Cancer patients to reliving chronic pain for people like Irving Rosenfeld. For these people, medical marijuana acts as a substitute good to pharmaceuticals. So people that are candidates for medical marijuana benefit in more savings and people that still need pharmaceuticals will have more savings, due to decrease in price, providing financial and pain relief to both parties. Legalizing medical marijuana provides a basic model and small-scale experiment for legalizing marijuana for recreational use in the United States. This provides benefits because it allows policy makers to analyze the effects medical marijuana has on marijuana use and its effects on society, without fully legalizing marijuana for recreational use.