Why Nurses Approve of Medical Marijuana

By Amy S. Cook

There’s white, there’s black, and then there are varying shades of gray. But it is human nature to see the black first and longest because it is the most striking of the lot. So it is with medical marijuana — people fail to see its potential as a therapeutic drug that helps relieve pain and other symptoms of diseases and instead perceive it as a drug that is and could be abused for personal pleasure. This is why there are laws against using this drug even for therapeutic reasons. But those in the medical community, especially nurses, approve of medical marijuana because:

• They interact directly with patients and are able to see firsthand how beneficial marijuana is to patients who suffer from debilitating illnesses like cancer and chronic ailments.

• Their associations support the use of medical marijuana — since 1994, the state nursing associations of Alaska, New York, North Carolina, California, Colorado, Hawaii, New Mexico, Mississippi, Virginia and Wisconsin have all passed resolutions that support allowing patients to buy medical marijuana legally.

• Besides this, the American Nurses Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Public Health Association have acknowledged that marijuana can be a valuable form of treatment when used under medical supervision.

• Medical marijuana is being banned solely for political reasons, not for medical reasons. Nurses’ first responsibility is towards their patients, and because they know how useful it is, they support medical marijuana.

• Patients could be given professional guidance as to how the drug must be administered.

• Medical marijuana is safe as well as effective as a form of medication.

• Making medical marijuana legal is the only way to ensure that patients have access to an unadulterated supply of medical cannabis.

• The drug can be regulated and prevented from abuse by allowing access only to patients with a prescription and whose symptoms are within designated guidelines.

• Only a very small percentage of medical marijuana users become dependent, but this is similar to patients becoming addicted to other prescription drugs like painkillers.

• Unlike many other drugs, marijuana has never caused a fatal overdose.

Medical marijuana has been known to ease many symptoms like nausea and pain. It acts as a sedative and an appetite stimulant, and has proved valuable in helping patients with terminal illnesses like cancer and AIDS and chronic ailments like multiple sclerosis manage their pain and control adverse symptoms.

This guest post is contributed by Amy S. Cook, who writes on the topic of LVN to RN . Amy welcomes your comments: amy11s.cook@gmail.com.