Marijuana helps to manage chronic pain
“The most common use for medical marijuana in the United States is for pain control” (Harvard Medical School Health Journal).
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The Argument
While marijuana isn’t strong enough for severe pain (i.e post-surgical pain or a broken bone), it is quite effective for the chronic pain that plagues millions of Americans, especially as they age. Part of its allure is that it is safer than opiates (marijuana is impossible to overdose on and far less addictive) and it can take the place of Advil or Aleve products.[1] Further research supports the safety and efficiency of medicinal cannabis for chronic pain. Marijuana has no known lethal dose and is easily taken via oral ingestion, vaporization, or topical absorption. With the varied ways it can be ingested, medical marijuana use avoids the potential risks associated with smoking.
In a placebo-controlled study published in the journal Neurology, scholars discovered that marijuana is effective at lowering neuropathic pain caused by damaged nerves. Opiates, such as morphine, are not effective in treating neuropathic pain.[1]
Counter arguments
There is no scientific evidence that long-term use of medicinal marijuana is either effective or safe for the treatment of chronic pain. There are other medications available to patients and physicians that have been proven and established in the practice of medicine to be more effective and clinically safer for the treatment of chronic pain than medical marijuana.
Premises
[P1] Marijuana has proven to be effective for people with chronic pain.
[P2] Making medical marijuana legal would help more people than harm.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P1] There is no conclusive proof of this.