Marijuana Position Paper - Legalize

The legalization of Marijuana for medical purposes or even entirely has been hotly debated for some time now. More and more states are passing voter approved bills to legalize the cultivation and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. One, state, Colorado has even legalized it completely. The legalization of marijuana for medical purposes is in the best interest of the people of the United States. The use of medical marijuana is much more effective and much less toxic to the body than many other pharmaceuticals from the big drug companies. Legalization brings in a significant amount of revenue by way of tax income to the government, much of which is used to fund public schools. Those opposed to the legalization of marijuana say that it is a gateway drug to other harder drugs and should not be legalized. Those opposed to the legalization cite many studies that have findings consistent with the proposition that marijuana is a gate way drug. It is interesting however that most of these studies are done by conservative groups or groups that in some way support the large drug companies. There can be no way to accurately conduct an experiment into whether marijuana and the use of it will lead to the use of other drugs. There are so many other societal factors that come into play when looking at the drug problem in the United States, that to say it is due to marijuana use is a stretch at best. Physicians that are willing to go out on a limb and support the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes cite huge successes with its use in certain situation and with certain medical conditions such as cancer and glaucoma (Tullo, P. 84). Physicians have reported huge success when it comes to treating a whole host of ailments and applaud the fact that some people can move away from harder prescription drugs. The use and abuse of prescription drugs is a much bigger problem in society than the use of marijuana. Those in the medical community that are willing to be

Cited: Hart, Margret. “Medical Marijuana out of compassion, New York should make access legal.” N.Y. Post (Syracuse, Daily), November 2012 Tullo, Alex. “Medical Marijuana.” Chemical & Engineering News, Vol. 83, Issue 25, June 2005