1.
Medical
Value
A. Medical Value
| Q1. |
Does marijuana have any medical value? |
| Q2. |
What is the history of marijuana as medicine? |
| Q3. |
Should marijuana be medically available even if it isn't the most effective drug for treating a particular condition? |
| Q4. |
Do many physicians support medical marijuana? |
| Q5. |
For which symptoms or conditions might marijuana provide relief? |
| Q6. |
Should smoked marijuana be a medical option for patients diagnosed with a terminal illness and in severe pain? |
| Q7. |
Would more medical studies on the efficacy of marijuana be good public policy? |
| Q8. |
Can medical marijuana help patients suffering from severe/chronic pain? |
| Q9. |
Should adverse psychological or physiological effects of marijuana preclude its use as a medical option? |
| Q10. |
Should medical marijuana be used to treat severe depression, or other psychological conditions? |
B. American Medical Association (AMA)
| Q1. |
What is the history of the AMA, and how has it dealt with medical marijuana throughout its history? |
C. Marinol v. Medical Marijuana
| Q1. |
What is Marinol? |
| Q2. |
Is Marinol better medicine than marijuana? |
| Q3. |
Did the IOM report find that marijuana, in certain instances, works better than Marinol? |
| Q4. |
What is the treatment cost of medical marijuana vs. the cost of Marinol? |
2.
Diseases / Conditions
& Medical Marijuana
A. AIDS (HIV) & AIDS Wasting
| Q1. |
Is marijuana bad for the immune system? |
| Q2. |
Can marijuana help AIDS/HIV patients? | B. Alzheimer's Disease
| Q1. |
Can marijuana help those individual's who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease? | C. Appetite / Nausea
| Q1. |
Can marijuana help those individual's who are suffering from severe nausea? |
| Q2. |
Can marijuana help those suffering from a lack of appetite? |
| Q3. |
What is the daily dosage usually used to increase appetite? |
| Q4. |
For nausea/appetite, how long does medical marijuana take to work, and how long do the effects last? |
| Q5. |
For nausea/appetite, what are the comparisons between medical marijuana and Marinol? | D. Chemotherapy
| Q1. |
Can marijuana help some people going through chemotherapy? | E. Seizures / Epilepsy
| Q1. |
Can marijuana help seizures (epilepsy)? | F. Glaucoma
| Q1. |
Does marijuana help some glaucoma patients? |
| Q2. |
Do marijuana's side effects, for instance, increased blood pressure, negate its effectiveness in fighting glaucoma? | G. Muscular Dystrophy
| Q1. |
Can marijuana help those suffering from Muscular Dystrophy? | H. Pain / Analgesia
| Q1. |
Can medical marijuana help patients suffering from severe/chronic pain? | I. Psychological Conditions
| Q1. |
Should adverse psychological or physiological effects of marijuana preclude its use as a medical option? |
| Q2. |
Does medical marijuana produce lasting mood or psychotic disorders that negate its use as a medical option? |
| Q3. |
Is medical marijuana recommended to treat severely ill individuals who also suffer from psychological dysfunctions? |
| Q4. |
Should medical marijuana be used to treat severe depression, or other psychological conditions? | J. Multiple Sclerosis / Muscle Spasms
| Q1. |
Can marijuana help muscle spasms/spasticity associated with Multiple Sclerosis and other conditions? | K. Terminally Ill
| Q1. |
Should marijuana be a medical option for patients with a terminal illness suffering pain? |
3. Non-smoked
Marijuana
A. Medical Value & Use
| Q1. |
What are the non-smoked ways to use marijuana medically? |
| Q2. |
What is the medical value of non-smoked uses of medical marijuana? |
| Q3. |
Have there been studies on non-smoked uses of medical marijuana, and if so, what have they found? |
| Q4. |
Are there any diseases or conditions that are
helped better by non-smoked forms of medical marijuana? |
| Q5. |
If marijuana was readily available in forms that promoted non-smoked uses, would physicians be more apt to recommend it? |
| Q6. |
What are the basic fundamental pros and cons for patients between smoked & non-smoked marijuana? | B. Medical & Other Risks
| Q1. |
Are there risks associated with non-smoked uses of marijuana that are not present in smoked marijuana? |
| Q2. |
Is it easier to overdose from non-smoked marijuana than from smoked? |
| Q3. |
Is non-smoked marijuana in "changed" forms, such as teas and brownies, illegal? |
4. Public Policy
A. Public Policy About Medical Marijuana
| Q1. |
Should marijuana be medically available even if it isn't the most effective drug for treating particular conditions? |
| Q2. |
Should all doctors agree that a drug has value before it is made available for medical use? |
| Q3. |
Would allowing sick people to smoke marijuana send the wrong messages to our children and our society? |
| Q4. |
Should the government, instead of doctors, decide what drugss sick people take? |
| Q5. |
If physicians can prescribe dangerous drugs like cocaine and morphine, shouldn't they be able to prescribe medical marijuana? |
| Q6. |
Should compassion be part of the medical marijuana debate, or any other healthcare debate? |
| Q7. |
Should the cost of medical marijuana treatment be covered by private health insurance or state or federally funded medical programs? |
| Q8. |
Who should grow and process medical marijuana and how should they be regulated? |
| Q9. |
Would more medical studies on the efficacy of marijuana be good public policy? |
| Q10. |
Is the FDA approval process subverted by passing bills and state initiatives that legalize medical marijuana? |
| Q11. |
Should there be a minimum legal age limit for medical marijuana? For example, should it be used for minors? |
| Q12. |
Would legalizing marijuana make it easier for people to get, and increase its use generally? |
| Q13. |
Is current drug policy be based on ideology over science? |
| Q14 |
Should medical marijuana be taxed? |
| Q15. |
How did the enactment and later repeal of Prohibition in 1933 effect the U.S. national consumption of alcohol? |
| Q16. |
Is legalizing medical marijuana really the first step in making all drugs legal? |
| Q17. |
Would legalizing medical marijuana make it easier for non-patients to get, and increase its use throughout society? |
| Q18. |
Were the state medical marijuana initiatives passed because of well-funded campaigns that hoodwinked voters? |
| Q19. |
Are medical marijuana users who drive a hazard on the roads? |
| Q20. |
If medical marijuana was legal, wouldn't it lead to more use by adults? |
|
5. Medical Risks
A. Medical Risks
| Q1. |
Is smoked marijuana too dangerous to be used as medicine? |
| Q2. |
Is medical marijuana more dangerous and/or addictive than legal drugs? |
| Q3. |
Are there any specific risks associated with marijuana that would preclude its use as a medicine specifically for teens or children? |
| Q4. |
Can marijuana adversely effect fertility and/or pregnancy and the child's health? |
| Q5. |
Should smoked marijuana be a medical option for patients with a terminal illness and suffering severe pain? |
| Q6. |
Won't the continued use of marijuana lead to its tolerance and a need for greater and greater dosages? |
| Q7. |
Marijuana contains hundreds of potentially harmful compounds; doesn't that make it too dangerous to be used as medicine? |
| Q8. |
Would the continued smoking of marijuana injure the lungs? |
| Q9. |
Is marijuana bad for the immune system? |
| Q10. |
Do marijuana's side effects, for instance, increased blood pressure, negate its effectiveness in fighting glaucoma? |
| Q11. |
Does marijuana use destroy brain cells? |
| Q12. |
Is today's marijuana significantly stronger than past marijuana, and if so, does that make it too dangerous for use as medicine for patients? |
B. Medical Marijuana & Teen Use
| Q1. |
Are there any specific risks associated with marijuana that would preclude its use as a medicine specifically for teens or children? |
| Q2. |
Has legalizing medical marijuana led to increased drug abuse among children and adolescents? |
| Q3. |
Should there be a minimum legal age limit for medical marijuana? For example, should it be used for minors? |
| Q4. |
Has decriminalizing marijuana anywhere led to increased drug usage among children, adolescents or adults? |
C. Gateway / Stepping Stone Theory
| Q1. |
Is marijuana a "gateway" or "stepping stone" drug? |
D. Addictiveness
| Q1. |
Is marijuana highly addictive? |
E. Overdose
| Q1. |
Do many people die from an overdose of marijuana? |
F. Human Reproduction
| Q1. |
Can marijuana use harm male fertility? |
| Q2. |
Can marijuana use harm female fertility? |
| Q3. |
Can parental marijuana use harm fetal development? |
| Q4. |
Can parental marijuana use contribute to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)? |
| Q5. |
Does parental marijuana use negatively affect the baby through breastfeeding? |
6. U.S. Government &
Medical Marijuana
A. U.S. Govt. Med. MJ / Drug History
| Q1. |
What is the history of federal (U.S. Government) drug scheduling? | B. U.S. 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report
| Q1. |
What is the U.S. 1999 IOM Report, and is it important? |
| Q2. |
While the IOM report acknowledges the need for more research, didn't it find that some patients are helped by smoked marijuana? |
| Q3. |
Did the U.S. 1999 IOM Report conclude that medical marijuana has any medical value, and who disagrees with the findings?
|
| Q4. |
Where can one find the U.S. 1999 IOM report? | C. The 7 Legal U.S. Medical Marijuana Patients
| Q1. |
What is the U.S. Government's Compassionate Investigational New Drug (IND) [smoked marijuana] program? |
| Q2. |
Do any Americans legally, under federal law. smoke marijuana for medical purposes? |
| Q3. |
What medical research and reports have been developed from the U.S. Government's Compassionate IND [smoked marijuana] Program? |
| Q4. |
Is the U.S. Government growing and providing legal medical marijuana to patients? |
| Q5. |
Who are the 7 patients receiving medical marijuana from the U.S. Government's Compassionate IND [smoked marijuana] Program, and why are they receiving it? |
| Q6. |
How has participating in the Compassionate IND [smoked marijuana] Program for many years affected the general health of the participants? |
| Q7. |
Should the Compassionate IND [smoked marijuana] Program be re-opened, and who should be permitted to apply? | D. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
| Q1. |
What does the U.S. DEA say about Medical Marijuana? |
| Q2. |
What is the DEA's position on medical marijuana users? | E. U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
| Q1. |
Has the government prohibited marijuana from being tested for FDA approval? |
| Q2. |
Must medical marijuana be fully tested and approved by the U.S. FDA before patients could be permitted to use it legally? |
| Q3. |
Are there any drugs currently available by prescription which have never been approved by the U.S. FDA? | F. Federal Drug Scheduling
| Q1. |
What is Federal drug scheduling (I - V), and what are the schedules? |
| Q2. |
Should marijuana be reclassified as either Schedule II or Schedule III? |
| Q3. |
What is the criteria for the rescheduling of drugs? |
7.
Access to Medical Marijuana
A. Clubs / Clinics
| Q1. |
What are cannabis clinics (clubs)? |
| Q2. |
Could one legally obtain medical marijuana from a cannabis club, another patient, a caregiver, or any other entity? |
| Q3. |
Should cannabis clinics (clubs) be regulated by the government? |
| Q4. |
Are cannabis clinics (clubs) fronts for criminal profiteers? |
| Q5. |
What actions have the U.S. government taken against medical marijuana providers and clinics (clubs)?
|
B. Programs
| Q1. |
Is the U.S. Government growing and providing legal medical marijuana to patients? |
C. Other
| Q1. |
What percentage/number of the population uses marijuana medically? |
| Q2. |
Do patients who use medical marijuana have alternatives for using it other than by smoking? |
| Q3. |
Do any of the state medical marijuana laws permit patients to legally grow their own marijuana? |
| Q4. |
What is a proper dosage of medical marijuana, and how could patients control their dose? |
| Q5. |
Can the quality of medical marijuana be controlled so its users receive marijuana of uniform strength and purity? |
| Q6. |
Won't the continued use of marijuana lead to its tolerance and a need for greater and greater dosages? |
| Q7. |
Is a higher potency marijuana more dangerous to patients? |
| Q8. |
Do many recreational users of marijuana fake reasons to get marijuana recommendations or prescriptions? |
8. Legal Issues
A. Legal Issues for Patients
| Q1. |
Could one legally obtain medical marijuana from a cannabis club, another patient, a caregiver, or any other entity? |
| Q2. |
Do any of the state medical marijuana laws permit patients to legally grow their own marijuana? |
| Q3. |
Do some people go to prison just for using medical marijuana, even if a physician recommends it? |
| Q4. |
Can anyone legally use medical marijuana? |
| Q5. |
How do we prevent a patient from selling or giving their medical marijuana to others? | B. Legal Issues for Physicians
| Q1. |
Can any doctor legally prescribe or recommend marijuana? |
| Q2. |
What legal rights, if any, do physicians have to recommend the medical use of marijuana to their patients? |
C. U.S. Government v. Patients / Clinics
| Q1. |
What does U.S. Law Enforcement say about medical marijuana? |
| Q2. |
What actions have the federal government taken against medical marijuana patients and providers? |
| Q3. |
What have medical marijuana proponents done recently to obtain federal authorization for medical marijuana? |
| Q4. |
What are some of the reactions and projected impacts of the Gonzalez (Ashcroft) v. Raich Supreme Court decision? |
D. General Legal Issues
| Q1. |
What are some of the pro/con arguments made before U.S. courts about medical marijuana's legal status? |
| Q2. |
How did the enactment and later repeal of Prohibition in 1933 effect the U.S. national consumption of alcohol? |
| Q3. |
Does a state's medical marijuana laws put that state in violation of federal drug law? |
| Q4. |
Have medical marijuana laws always come through the initiative process, or have state legislatures also enacted such laws? |
| Q5. |
Is the FDA approval process subverted by passing bills and state initiatives that legalize medical marijuana? |
| Q6. |
Were the medical marijuana initiatives passed because of well-funded campaigns that hoodwinked voters? |
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