Legalizing Marijuana in the United States

Marijuana is a misunderstood drug that is thought of as a dangerous, when it is in fact anything but that. Marijuana is a drug obtained from dried parts of a hemp plant called Canabis Sativa. It is ingested by rolling it in tobacco paper or smoking it through a pipe. For centuries, marijuana has been used by different nationalities for religious, recreational, and medical use. While it is currently illegal in the United States, marijuana is legal in European countries such as Holland and Belgium, and Amsterdam. Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. It can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care. For marijuana to be illegal in the United States when alcohol poisoning is a major cause of death in this country and nearly half a million premature deaths are attributed to cigarettes yearly. Why is the legalization of marijuana such a problem in the United States? Lester Grinspoon, a professor at Harvard University states, “Few drugs in the United States have produced as much affective heat as marijuana, particularly during the last decade. The controversy essentially revolves around the question of how dangerous or safe the drug is.” By lifting the ban on marijuana use and treating it like other substances such as tobacco and alcohol, the United States could gain immediate and long term benefits. Legalization of marijuana could help for medicinal purposes, lower imprisonment rates of American youths, and open up a new market for our economy.
Usage of marijuana has positive attributes, such as its medical value and use as a recreational drug with relatively mild side effects. Alcohol poisoning claims almost 5,000 deaths in the United States annually yet it is legal. No marijuana user has ever suffered from a fatal marijuana overdose. Marijuana is a psychoactive meaning it stimulates certain brain receptors but it does not kill them whereas alcohol does. According to research

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