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By characterizing the use of illegal drugs as quasi-legal, state-sanctioned, Saturday afternoon fun, legalizers destabilize the societal norm that drug use is dangerous." Allowing medical use of marijuana sends the wrong message to children. Children entering drug abuse treatment have routinely reported that they heard that marijuana is medicine'and, therefore, believed it to be good for them.
Those in favor of medical marijuana believe that studies such as the 1999 U.S. Institute of Medicine are political motivated and outdated. There are numerous other studies proving the marijuana does have therapeutic use. These studies show that marijuana provides relief for medical conditions, including nausea and vomiting, stimulating appetite, promoting weight gain, and diminishing intraocular pressure from glaucoma. Further, there is evidence that smoked marijuana reduces muscle spasticity from spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, and diminishes tremors in multiple sclerosis patients. Marijuana also provides relief from migraine headaches, depression, seizures, medical treatment 'safety' is a relative term... The determination of 'safety' is made in terms of whether a drug's benefits outweigh its potential risks and the risks of permitting the disease to progress." Tobacco and alcohol kills thousands of people every year as do prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs. There have been no deaths from marijuana overdose.
It's easy to refute the suggestion that medical marijuana will increase use by children. Data shows that no state with medical marijuana laws has experienced an increase in youth marijuana use since their law's enactment.
