Is marijuana a medicine?

    New Study Offers Further Proof of Medical Marijuana's benefits

The medicinal value in using cannabis and the effective compounds it contains have been studied quite widely in the west.

 It has been claimed that giving carefully calibrated doses of marijuana to people with 'neuropathic' pain, which can be difficult-to-treat and extremely painful, can ease their pain without clouding their minds, California researchers reported, as they shared the results of a recent study they've conducted. "The lower dose did not adversely affect people's thinking," asserted Dr. Barth Wilsey of the University of California, Davis Medical Center. In an interview to Reuters Health, he explained that prescribed with "caution," low-dose pot eases pain while keeping mind clear.

The use of cannabinoids as truly effective and non-toxic medications remains a highly debatable issue; however, the criminalisation of cannabis can't be the solution either, as it appears to cause more harm than help.
A study released end of April, reported that between 1998 and 2007, New York police arrested 374,900 people, whose most serious crime was the lowest-level misdemeanor marijuana offense. That is more than 700 percent, eight times the number of arrests on those same charges, between 1988 and 1997, when 45,300 people were picked up for having a small amount of pot.
Marijuana users shouldn't be treated as criminals.
A marijuana grower can land in prison for life without parole, while a murderer might be in for eight years. No rational person can defend this.

On another level, people would be shocked to know that the federal government supplies medical marijuana to patients, while claiming that marijuana is a harmful drug with no medical value.
A little-known US federal government programme that supplies medical marijuana to a handful of patients marked its 30th anniversary, today May 10.
The federal medical marijuana programme -- referred to as a 'Compassionate Investigational New Drug' (IND) programme -- resulted from a lawsuit filed by glaucoma patient Robert Randall, who successfully showed that his use of marijuana was a medical necessity. With more than 23,000 members and 180,000 e-mail subscribers, the 'Marijuana Policy Project' is the largest marijuana policy reform organisation in the United States.
Nonetheless, George W. Bush's administration closed it to new applicants in March 1992, but continued supplying federal marijuana to those already receiving it. Four of those patients are still enrolled in that programme .
A series of TVCs featuring seriously ill patients, who take marijuana for pain, are running on American TV  network and cable stations. The Washington-based 'Marijuana Policy Project' says it's spending more than $100,000 to air the message statewide. They are also airing a series of ads on their website. In Minnesota, it is illegal to use marijuana for any reason, but federal government is seeking to make Minnesota the 13th state to allow medical marijuana.


If people look at the big picture, they will find that the criminalisation of cannabis is foolish, useless and could be expensive for governments. People can't be put in prison over weed. And myths such as Marijuana is an addictive gateway drug should be cleared off as it has been proven to be a false fact.
Using smoked cannabis might be of a great therapeutic benefits in treating illnesses or disease from cancer to nerve injury pain.
Subsequently, the best way maybe to minimise the harm associated with marijuana, is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol.