Dr Oz: Where Medical Marijuana is Legal
Doctor Oz’s Show on Medical Marijuana covered one of the hottest debates in America – should buying Medical Marijuana be as simple as flashing a license? Some people ask how can Marijuana already be legal in 15 states, and others wonder why it is not legal everywhere yet. Dr Oz brought onto his show a whole bunch of people with differing opinions: from the doctors who prescribe Medical Marijuana, to people who use it, to people who claim it is dangerous to your health and mind. Also, here are links to recaps of all of the segments that Dr Oz did on Medical Marijuana today:
- Dr Oz: Medical Marijuana New Jersey Laws Make It Impossible To Get
- Dr Oz: Medical Marijuana Laws Stimulate The Economy?
- Dr Oz: Medical Marijuana for MS, Cancer, HIV & Chronic Pain
- Dr Oz: Medical Marijuana Safety & Impact on Teens
- Dr Oz: Medical Marijuana: Which States Marijuana Is Legal In
Dr Oz: Medical Marijuana History
Doctor Oz said that Medical Marijuana goes back 200 years. Until the late 1930’s, it was sold in pharmacies to treat 
pain, inflammation and muscle spasms. In the 1970’s, the United States government created The Controlled Substances Act which classified Marijuana as a Schedule 1 Narcotic, and Cannabis (the medical term for Marijuana) was considered a harmful drug that was not acceptable for any form of medical use. Over the last two decades, doctors and patients have challenged this classification and have said that Medical Marijuana can help people with pain from Cancer, AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, Migraines, Arthritis and Glaucoma.
Dr Oz: States Medical Marijuana Is Legal In
Doctor Oz said that the following places have legalized Medical Marijuana:
– Washington D.C.
– Oregon
– Nevada
– Washington (the state)
– California
– Hawaii
– Arizona
– Colorado
– New Mexico
– Montana
– Michigan
– Maine
– Vermont
– New Jersey
Dr Oz said that the following states have pending legislation to legalize Medical Marijuana:
– Idaho
– Kansas
– Oklahoma
– Iowa
– Illinois
– West Virgina
– New York
– New Hampshire
– Massachusetts
– Connecticut
– West Virginia
People who are against the legalization of Marijuana say that there are FDA approved drugs that produce the same results. So is Marijuana a miracle medication or a high risk to the public?
Dr Oz: Medical Marijuana Debate
Dr Oz said that 3/4 of Americans think that Marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes only. Patients say that it works better and there are no other medications that work for them. Dr Oz showed a visualization of what happens when a person smokes Marijuana. The gas goes into your lungs and chemicals get passed throughout your body. If you look at your nervous system, the nerves talk to each other in order to send signals of pain. The Medical Marijuana plugs up these transmitters so that you do not get signals of pain.
Dr Oz: Montel Williams & Multiple Sclerosis
Montel Williams was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS for short) 12 years ago. He has pain in his face and his sides that never goes away. Williams has launched a public crusade to legalize Medical Marijuana and to find a cure for MS, because he said that if he did not use Marijuana every day, he would not be able to function. Just a few months ago, Montel Williams was arrested at the Milwaukee Airport for possessing a pipe used for smoking Marijuana.
Dr Oz asked Montel Williams what it is like to be a patient but to feel like you are treated like a criminal? Montel said that he was in the Marine Corps and in the US Navy. Just two weeks ago he went to visit our troops in Afghanistan. He cannot understand if he defended our constitution for everyone in this country, why does he not have these same rights?
Dr Oz: Medical Marijuana & University of Mississippi
Montel Williams said that our federal government has been distributing Medical Marijuana for the past 22 years through a special program at the University of Mississippi. This special program originally started with 20 patients, 16 of which have died and only 4 are still alive. Every 17th of the month, our government sends out Medical Marijuana to these four people. So Montel said “how dare you look me in the face and tell me I don’t have the right to be pain free, but these four people do!”
Dr Oz: Multiple Sclerosis
Dr Oz explained what Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is. When a person has MS, their immune system goes crazy and instead of protecting you, it starts attacking your own cells and causes immense pain all the time. Doctor Oz asked Montel Williams what does Medical Marijuana do that other drugs do not do? Montel said that since he has used Medical Marijuana, he has not had one additional plaque form in his brain. He said he has worked with the leading doctors in MS (some of which are part of the Nobel Institute), like Dr Tomas Olsson, Dr Howard Weiner from Harvard, and Dr Peter Calabresi from John Hopkins. Montel said that he has been down the path where he was on so many opiums that his kidneys were acting up and he literally stopped going to the bathroom. Montel said that a recent study came out (this year!) that proves that Medical Marijuana is one of the leading choices that doctors should prescribe for people with illnesses like MS. Montel ended with the point that he wore a uniform and served this country, which is something that President Obama never did, so how dare Obama sign a bill saying that only those 4 people on the University of Mississippi program should get Medical Marijuana?
Karen Sands says
It does not matter what state pot is legal in or not. It is in every state now; it’s world wide & goes back to Biblical Times. Marijuana was grown in this nation before corn. I am 54 years old. I started smoking at 16 & became addicted to cigerrettes not pot. I also have fybromyalgia; I have strong chemical drugs for pain which don’t really work. When the pain is so bad I cannot move, I can take 5 puffs & I am able to move without pain. I am so sick of all the big mouth, empty headed people who think that if something is wrong for a few people just punish all people. Legal or not marijuana is every where, wiskey, crime, mafia, dirty polatics. Why don’t these busy bodies put their energy into high unemployment, several wars & what to do about China owning us.
Ann Perkins says
I have Parkinson’s Disease, therefore rigidity and slowness of movement are prevalent.
Weed (in cookie or inhalable form) breaks the rigidity – I have even been able to dance !
Hooray for you Dr Oz, for having the guts to bring it to the attention of America and I applaud Montel for his courage.
I just turned 60, and am folowing a nutritional, sleep, exercise and “Sinemet regimen – and after 11 years am still fighting the progression well. Weed is a small part of the regimen but
critical when I have an an unusually bad day.
Deb Schrowang says
My son lost his leg below the knee and fractured his pelvis (they didn’t plate it) in addition to other problems from the accident. Anyone who thinks that you get a prosthetic leg and just “get on with life” is wishing the best for that person but it simply isn’t the truth for many amputees!! He is in pain a good deal of the time via ingrown hairs, ill fitting prosthesis, lingering pain in his pelvic area and a horrible time sleeping! Legalize marijuana! Pain killers in pill-form are looked upon as no big deal in the USA! It’s ridiculous at this point to not legalize!
John says
I have PTSD from 2 previous tours in Afghanistan (currently on my 3rd here). I have been looking at various mediciations to help with my insomnia, anxiety and depression that isn’t addictive or create side effects. This I believe would be the best method (and the cheapest) instead of dishing out 100’s of dollars for perscriptions to go with something natural.