The FDA only approves drugs with such serious side effects when they’re badly needed and nothing else works as well. Marijuana fails this test.
Two cannabinoids, Marinol and Cesamet, are available by prescription. These synthetic THC preparations have been shown to work as well as marijuana for the nausea of chemotherapy, loss of appetite from AIDS, chronic pain, and agitation in Alzheimer’s patients. These medicines also help in multiple sclerosis, as does Sativex, which has already been approved in Canada. Epidiolex is pure CBD, which works better for childhood seizures than dispensary CBD that often contains impurities that make seizures worse.
Research shows prescription cannabinoids work twice as long as marijuana, often produce less of a high, and are rarely abused. This is better for genuine medical patients, who don’t want the high and don’t want to dose every few hours. So with prescription cannabinoids now available, there’s no reason for medical marijuana laws at all.
PRO:
Laws can’t legislate what parents do as parents. If parents show children errant ways in this situation, they are probably doing it in other situations. With stricter laws about who can obtain MM there is less chance of this occurring. But restrictions won’t make people change behavior. Our media today seems to offer reasons for many things older people thought were wrong. Each generation establishes its own moral parameters and marijuana is now an accepted part of society. For good or for bad, marijuana is with us, so we should make as good a use of it as we can. Let’s hope our children get the benefits of MM.
CON.
Medical marijuana laws teach children to be cynical. Kids know marijuana is illegal, yet they see teachers and relatives they respect get the drug by lying. They know Daddy’s medicine isn’t really medicine, and that his back pain wasn’t a problem before he got that marijuana card. Medical marijuana teaches children that it’s normal and acceptable for adults to lie to get what they want.
However, there’s a way these laws are even more corrosive. Normally, when adults break the law, there’s a higher authority saying it’s wrong, and kids know that. With medical marijuana, adults are breaking the law and the state is in collusion. It’s a state-run system. The highest governmental authority is rewarding people for playing a dishonest game. There might be no better way to teach children cynicism and mistrust.