The Growing Acceptance of Medical Marijuana

Author Andrew Stratton has written a brilliant article on medical marijuana and how it is slowly becoming more mainstream...

Medical Marijuana - Gaining Acceptance
By Andrew Stratton

Medical marijuana has actually been around for eons but had been prohibited in most countries for many years. Lately, however, various nations have begun to recognize its worth in the healthcare arena. Therefore, legalization of the plant is taking hold globally as well as in the United States of America. New Jersey is the most recent state to vote "Yes" for its legalization.

It is derived from a plant called cannabis. It is often green or brown and consists of leaves, seeds and stems. While thought of over the last several decades as a strictly recreational drug, its therapeutic abilities have begun to be accepted by many.

New Jersey is the fourteenth place in the U.S. to allow its legality with the passing of "New Jersey Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Act". While the name sounds like a gentle law, it's actually the toughest American version of its kind. Some lawmakers in the east coast are worried that it will get out of hand with certain loopholes. The loopholes reportedly are there to expand its use if necessary, by allowing the list of "debilitating medical conditions" to be added to by health officials.

A former U.S. attorney who is now the Governor-elect, Chris Christie, is especially unhappy with what he perceives as the looseness of its language. Christie claims that California is an example of a state who has become out-of-control regarding cannabis for medicinal purposes and doesn't want his place to follow suit.

The strictness of the New Jersey law lies in its requirement of purchasing the substance only via a state regulated "alternative treatment center". It is the only state to require this route of obtaining the drug; all other states allow home cultivation.

It has medicinal properties and has helped with the following health conditions:

- Cancer
- Glaucoma
- Positive HIV/AIDS diagnosis
- Seizure

The loophole-language contained in the "New Jersey Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana" states that this current list of health conditions can be added to at the discretion of the state health department. Other conditions that such marijuana is claimed to assist with by other countries and states include arthritis, brain injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, nausea resulting from chemotherapy, epilepsy, asthma, and migraines.

If a person needs to seek out a prescription writing doctor, he or she should search the internet in order to find alternative treatment centers in their area. They should be prepared to bring health records and current prescriptions and to be examined by a physician in order to receive the okay to purchase marijuana for medicinal purposes.

In Riverside medical marijuana providers can now sell medical cannabis to patients who suffer from a number of conditions such as AIDS, cancer, gastritis, insomnia, anorexia and more. They are dedicated to providing compassionate and knowledgeable service. To know more, visit http://thcmd4u.com