Medical Marijuana From chronic pain to anorexia, there may be a type of wonder drug that can help. However, this medication is viewed in different ways in the United States. The drug, which has only been studied a few times, lacks extensive research. Marijuana, a questionable but mostly illicit prescriptive drug, may have the potential to become a widely used legal and acceptable medicine in the near future.History and THCMarijuana has been around for a long time. It did not become popular in the United States until the mid to late 1900s. It became even more popular with the hippie movement of the 1970s. Rastafarians brought it with them from Jamaica to the United States. United. Rastafarians used marijuana for religious rites and called it the “wisdom herb” because it gave them the power of spiritual wisdom. The government began to view marijuana use as a problem. However, marijuana prohibition was not initially attempted because it was initially considered unconstitutional (Boss, 2010, p. 278). The War on Drugs began soon after and marijuana was considered a harmful drug when lumped in with the harder illicit drugs due to the chemicals it contained. Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main marijuana ingredient cited for its dangerous abilities. THC creates a psychoactive euphoric effect that the government considers a possible threat to public safety. It mainly affects the central nervous system which then triggers potentially good or bad psychological side effects (“Med. Marijuana and the mind”, 2010). Even though marijuana can be dangerous and is still legal in the United States, it remains the third most frequently used drug in America behind alcohol and...... middle of article...... obviously further studies are needed and until those studies have taken place, I would personally advise the general public to avoid marijuana for their own safety. Works Cited Boss, JA (2010) Analysis of Moral Issues. New York: McGraw-Hill.Herdt, T. (February 18, 2010) “Study Shows Marijuana Effective in Relieving Pain.” » VenturaCounty Star (CA), from Newspaper Source database. Mckinley, J. (April 23, 2010) “Developing a Strategy for and Against Legalization. » The New York Times, from Newspaper Source database. “Medical Marijuana.” (2010) Retrieved from http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/-medical/index.cfm “Medical Marijuana”. (2009) Retrieved from http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/ “Medical Marijuana and the Mind.” » (April 2010) Harvard Mental Health Letter, [PDF], 26 (10), 1-3. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.