Freedom and red lines!

Sometimes we try to find some scientific documents to show moral or rational base for a social issue. I think it is not always reliable. It is really challenging and in many cases, it is confusing especially in the western world that freedom is an important issue. Homosexuality is one of those issues that people have tried to solve it by considering human rights. However, all debates are not like this. A recent heated argument in Canada is the decriminalization of Marijuana.


They say that it is necessary for some patients and it should be available. They have some reasons to prove their claim. However, the medicinal use of Marijuana is controversial. Regarding the therapeutic effect of Marijuana, in Harrison textbook of Medicine it is written

Marijuana administered as cigarettes or as a synthetic oral cannabinoid (dronabinol), has been proposed to have a number of properties that may be clinically useful in some situations. These include antiemetic effects in chemotherapy recipients, appetite-promoting effects in AIDS, reduction of intraocular pressure in glaucoma, and reduction of spasticity in multiple sclerosis and other neurologic disorders. With the possible exception of AIDS-related cachexia, none of these attributes of marijuana compounds is clearly superior to other readily available therapies. Furthermore, any therapeutic benefit of marijuana must be balanced against the many unhealthy psychoactive effects associated with its use.

There are many other similar examples like swinging, sex in teenagersHow can we define the red lines in a society? Is it possible that we have a free society without any restriction? I do not know what we would say if some people try to decriminalize opium!

(posted by Iman)




Posted:Monday, July 21, 2003 |