There is currently, and will likely be for a good while, debate surrounding the therapeutic use of cannabis and the chemical components which can be derived from it. There are many cogent and rational arguments in support of the plant's medicinal properties, and there are a couple of compelling reasons for allowing people to choose this treatment path instead of any other. The biggest obstacle facing the proponents of medical marijuana is a frustrating tangle of politics.
In the United States of America, at least at a federal level, cannabis is illegal. It is prohibited to grow, possess, sell, or buy the plant. Stiff penalties are routinely imposed for nearly all infractions of this prohibition against the plant.
Individual state governments may have enacted their own legislation which decriminalizes or even legalizes the substance, but federal law is still paramount if the matter comes up. Generally speaking, federal agencies are neither equipped nor motivated to perform state level law enforcement, and so states with less strict laws governing cannabis are essentially safe places for patients.
At the root of the problem is the perceived therapeutic value of cannabis. Everything hinges upon the determination of actual medicinal benefit. The prohibition against cannabis is codified in the Drug Enforcement Agency's scheduling of it, which is based on the potential health benefits associated with a substance.
Some people take issue with the scheduling and its results. They ask why cocaine and anabolic steroids are considered to have greater medicinal value than cannabis. They notice that the more proprietary and complicated the names get, the less of a problem the Drug Enforcement Agency has with them. While this may be a bit of a wild conspiracy theory to see some kind of collusion between the law enforcement agencies and the major pharmaceutical companies, there are those who maintain that something very much of that sort is going on.
So the knot is tied. It is not possible to allow patients to choose cannabis as a treatment option because the plant is illegal. The plant is illegal because it is considered to have no significant medicinal value. There is research which contradicts this claim, but it is not considered compelling enough evidence by policy makers.
Interestingly enough, the question of the legal status of cannabis may end up being resolved for more economic and practical reasons. The social obstacle to mainstream acceptance of cannabinoids is closely tied to the illicit nature of the plant. This is a facet of the so called War On Drugs started many years ago and which has proven incredibly expensive and completely ineffective. Abandoning this "war" would ease everyone's problems, from the federal accountants to the chemotherapy patients who just want to stop vomiting for a while.
As more and more evidence mounts to counter the Drug Enforcement Agency's assertion that cannabis has no medical benefit, public opinion changes. The states which have enacted medical marijuana legislation have not degenerated into mindless, drug addled chaos. There is a growing feeling that this movement is important and compassionate, and that it will succeed in the end.
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