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All it takes is a quick search through shared housing ads in the San Francisco Bay Area to come across a large number of people who introduce themselves as 420 friendly. This terminology refers to an openness and affinity for smoking marijuana. In many parts of the country and the world, this open announcement would be shocking. After all, isn’t marijuana illegal?
Medical Marijuana
Proponents of legalizing marijuana argue for its medicinal properties. Medical marijuana is legal in the form of Marinol. It’s a prescription product that comes in the form of pills and may also be delivered in the future as a patch or possibly as an inhaler. The benefits of medical marijuana include relief of nausea that is often a byproduct of chemotherapy drugs. Marinol is also known to help decrease the loss of appetite suffered by many AIDS patients.
Smoked Marijuana
Smoking marijuana is a whole different activity. The smoked variety contains hundreds of chemicals, some of which are hazardous to the human body. This is unlike Marinol, which has been tested for its toxicity and deemed safe enough to dispense to cancer and AIDS patients. Smoking marijuana actually creates new diseases and health problems. This is a legitimate reason behind the refusal of the FDA to approve the smoking of any medications. Administering medication in a smoked form makes it difficult to control the dosage.
Proponents of making marijuana legal argue that the government doesn’t understand its true health benefits. Opponents of legalizing smoked marijuana assert that the proponents do not understand its hazards and are just looking for a legal way to get high.
