Preview

Legalizing Marijuana in the Usa

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1017 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Legalizing Marijuana in the Usa
Legalize It In 1972, the US Congress placed marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act because they considered it to have "no accepted medical use." Since then, 17 of 50 US states and DC have legalized the medical use of marijuana. Should it or should it not be allowed for medicinal purposes? It has been illegal in general for many, many years now so why would the laws change now, right? With the research done and positive conclusions made, there are so many reasons why the law should be revised. Medically, marijuana has been proven to be much more beneficial and healthier than any kind of pill that a doctor can prescribe and it treats multiple medical conditions. It’s also natural, as in, it’s grown or even organic some may say. However, there are many views opposing the use of marijuana in any way. Most people on the opposing side don’t know about the positive facts and are very quick to draw a negative conclusion about the drug. And there are always morals that most people have that make marijuana just plain wrong. With that being said, there are always two sides to every issue. Medical marijuana has been found to be more beneficial than hazardous. One of the cited advantages of medical marijuana is the fact that it can help manage pain felt by trauma patients, cancer patients and patients experiencing nerve damage. Marijuana has an active chemical-like component called THC, which can act as an analgesic that helps patients relax and deal with the pain. Another benefit that scientists and researchers have learned is that it can help prevent the worsening of Alzheimer’s disease among the elderly. Medical marijuana can also be used for HIV and AIDS patients undergoing treatment by helping them to have an appetite and be able to keep food down. THC in marijuana has also shown positive development when it comes to treating asthma, glaucoma, lung cancer and breast cancer oddly enough. These are just a few of the many advantages that medical


Cited: Homepage. ProCon.org. “Medical Marijuana ProCon.org.” ProCon.org. 22 Feb. 2013 Web. 21 Feb. 2013 “Medical Marijuana and the Mind” Harvard Health Publications. Harvard Medical School. April 2010. Web. 21 Feb 2013 United States. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Marijuana Used for Medical Purposes” National Institute on Drug Abuse, USA dot gov, July 2012. Web. 21 Feb 2013

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Proponents of medical marijuana argue that it can be a safe and effective treatment for the symptoms of cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, pain, glaucoma, epilepsy, and other conditions. They cite dozens of peer-reviewed studies, prominent medical organizations, major government reports, and the use of marijuana as medicine throughout world history.…

    • 3286 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Grinspoon, L. (2010). Whither medical marijuana. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, 11(2), 75-82. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/910990414?accountid=458…

    • 330 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thesis Statement: I think if the United States were to legalize marijuana in the 21st century, would it lead to a decrease in crime and create a stimulus for the economy. I am going to show that the taxpayers are forced to pay billions of dollars to prosecute, and incarcerate people for having marijuana. If marijuana were legal and regulated (like alcohol and tobacco) this money, plus tax revenues from marijuana sales could be used for other purposes such as education and health care.…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Shohov, T. (2003). Medical Use of Marijuana: Policy, Regulatory, and Legal Issues. New York: Nova Publishers.…

    • 1464 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marijuana has positive effects on people’s health according to (AlterNet, 2007) explains that medical marijuana has positive features on many pain or illnesses. Some of these features of medical marijuana are the medical value and the mild side effects. The side effects are manageable and many people use it because they claim the drug is good for you, especially Americans suffering from a variety of serious conditions. Marijuana provides relief from pain, nausea, and other symptoms. Many Americans use marijuana because they choose to, one of their reasons is because it works and the side effects are manageable. Marijuana users have decided that the benefits of marijuana outweigh the risk, and for…

    • 1641 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Marijuana is one of the most controversial topics in the U.S today. Many associate the substance with some of the most highly addictive and dangerous drugs used in our society. While others claim marijuana to be the safest substance to use to date. One of the biggest debatable topics amongst marijuana use is the legalization of the substance medically. Many people believe marijuana should be accessible to those with terminally ill diseases. While others believe the drug should be illegal at all cost. Medical marijuana presents many negative issues in our society emotionally, medically and socially. Due to the negative effects from the substance, the use of marijuana should remain illegal in the United States.…

    • 1079 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    MICHAEL , M. (1997, January 31). A medical opinion on marijuana. New York Times, p.…

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I believe that marijuana should be legalized in the United States because there are so many cancer and aids patients dealing with pain on a daily basis. You will learn about how money would be saved, the tax on marijuana, the decrease on crime, testimonies that I have found, and my prediction on this situation.…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Despite the limited amount of data available on the use of medicinal marijuana in the general population, it has been suggested that persons with the HIV/AIDS are the largest group of medicinal marijuana users in both Canada and the United States. (Joy, 1999).…

    • 1861 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Marijuana Legalization

    • 2144 Words
    • 9 Pages

    First, marijuana has not been shown or verified to have any detrimental effects on the human body. Also, marijuana has a substantial history of medical and clinical applications for people with certain conditions. Medical marijuana is often used as an anesthetic in a large number of countries all around the world (Koch, 2006). Glaucoma is another condition in which medical marijuana is distributed to patients, as it helps alleviate the symptoms and increase comfort in the person suffering, including lowering eye pressure (Southall, 2010). Fifteen states, as well as the District of Columbia, currently allow medical marijuana to be sold and prescribed to its citizens to this day (New York Times, 2011). Ostensibly, medical marijuana’s purpose is to relieve pain, nausea, and loss of appetite in those patients who have debilitating conditions, such as cancer or AIDS.…

    • 2144 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Legalization of Marijuana

    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The topic of legalizing marijuana has been a topic of controversy for quite some time now not only throughout our local streets, but throughout the local and into the state government. The legalization of marijuana is such a controversial topic because some are for it and some are against it. People are for the legalization because of the great uses it has towards medicine, the money that could come from the taxation of legalized marijuana, and the emptying of prisons because of the releases of marijuana offenses. The list could go on and on. Other people are against the legalization because it is considered a “gateway drug”, or because the legalization of marijuana would eventually lead to the legalization of harder drugs such as heroine or cocaine. Despite the negative comments about the drug, marijuana should be legalized because it would give the U.S. a huge amount of money from the taxation and regulation of the drug, its uses would greatly impact our health throughout the medical field and throughout our own well being, and would help our fight with the war on drugs and our overcrowded prisons.…

    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Legalization of Marijuana

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Marijuana has a history dating back many years, and has been used in various cultures in different ways. In recent years, marijuana has become a forefront topic in the world of American politics whether or not it should be legalized. Marijuana has been adapted to fit our lifestyles and our social environment. A vast amount of the world’s population smoke marijuana for various purposes. Thus, the drug should be legalized because it has many medical beneficial uses, the ability to generate billions of dollars in tax revenue, and would lower the cost to imprison individuals arrested for crimes related to marijuana.…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Medical Marijuana

    • 1449 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The use of "Medical Marijuana" has been a controversial issue for thousands of years. The debate over whether marijuana should be legalized has long troubled American citizens. However, long before America was even an idea, many cultures had harnessed the plant and used it for many primitive medical purposes. Approximately twenty-three states in the U.S. have legalized marijuana for medical treatments, but this is a relatively new idea in the United States. ProCon.org. (2014, November 13). Marijuana was not always deemed as an illegal substance act 1 and because of its inherent medical value should be legalized at the federal level.…

    • 1449 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    There have been numerous studies done on the benefits of the legalization of marijuana in America. Many benefits have been discovered from this research. Legalizing marijuana in America could improve the economy in many ways. It would put an end to the trafficking of this drug and the money law enforcement spends trying to control it. If the government cultivated its own marijuana farms it would improve the quality and safety of the drug itself, increasing health benefits among users. The taxation of marijuana would also help with the downward spiral of the economy in America.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Marijuana

    • 1770 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Contrary to belief, medical cannabis has very few health risks compared to propaganda suggested to most people in mainstream media. Throughout the years many random and bogus facts of marijuana have circulated, many of these disputes however, have been debunk through actual scientific study done today. The monkey marijuana experiment in 1973 for example was a huge hoax. In the case study, the monkeys were exposed to marijuana smoke everyday and died after ninety days. The autopsy report ruled that they died to a dead brain through great loss in brain cells. Therefore, the conclusion of the study was that marijuana kills brain cells, but the experiment failed to report the monkeys were being suffocated for five minutes on a daily schedule for three months. The process of asphyxiation or suffocation causes lack of oxygen to the brain, which leads to death of brain cells. Soon after, many more theories have been tested and most of the so-called health risks were nothing more than hokum. Marijuana has fairly less harmful effects, unlike other legal drugs such as: alcohol, tobacco, acetaminophen, amphetamine, OxyContin, Xanax, sleeping pills, and many other legal drugs. Adversely, compared to other drugs and the drugs listed prior, marijuana has very few health risks. Since there are very few scientifically proven…

    • 1770 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays