In the United States, marijuana is recognized by the FDA as a treatment for various medical conditions. Among those relieved or treated by marijuana are nausea and vomiting, anorexia and weight loss, painful conditions, movement disorders, asthma, glaucoma and even HIV. Although the latter is not yet completely confirmed, A medicinal marijuana program was institutionalized for patients suffering from those condition.

The medicinal marijuana program identifies citizens who will be allowed to use marijuana for their condition subject to medical recommendation. In this program, patients and their caregivers will be issued medical marijuana identification cards that allow them to possess, grow, transport and/or use medical marijuana, like in the state of California. Patients are allowed by the state to possess up to 12 marijuana plants and 2.5 ounces of the drug in a usable form. However, federal law still prohibit selling the drug.

There are eleven states of the United States that allows marijuana use for medical treatment and have their respective medicinal marijuana programs. But the Drug Enforcement Administration is against the buying of marijuana. Therein lies the problem. The state allows a person the use of marijuana to treat their condition but the DEA can arrest them if they purchase the drug.

Headlines in the past week or so put the medicinal marijuana program into the spotlight.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger feels that the time is right to discuss legalizing the use of marijuana for recreational purposes in California.

Lawmakers of Rhode Island’s are proposing a bill that would address the prevailing conflict between the state law and the federal law with regards to the dispensation of marijuana for medicinal purposes. The intention is to discourage patients from purchasing the drug from the streets and drug dealers. Likewise, the move is expected to somehow lessen the prevailing drug problem. Should the bill passed into law, medicinal marijuana programs would have a clearer authority in dispensing the drug to state-recognized patients.

However, there are other lawmakers opposed to the bill. They think that enacting the bill into law would only contribute to the illegal drug trade or allow some sectors to profit from it. Proponents of the bill are optimistic that the growing sentiments among citizens in relaxing laws pertaining to marijuana use would paved the way for its enactment into law.

Caught between these critical debates are the patients who wish to be treated. They would definitely prefer a streamlined system wherein the drug would be accessible anytime they need it. A well-regulated “compassion centers” will afford patients a safe and legal place to get the marijuana they medically need.