Medical Marijuana Argumentative Essay

Medical Marijuana Marijuana has been used around the world for thousands of years to treat a wide variety of ailments. Chinese emperor Shen Nung was the first to record marijuana as a medical drug in 2737 B.C. He documented the drug’s effectiveness in treating the pains associated with rheumatism and gout. The legalization of medical marijuana has long been debated within American society and Government. Marijuana was a legal source for medicines in the U.S. until the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, which federally prohibited marijuana. Prior to the enactment of the Marijuana Tax Act, there were at least twenty-seven legal medicines that contained marijuana available in the U.S. In 1970, The Controlled Substances Act placed marijuana into a Schedule I status defining it as having a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the U.S. and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision. Currently it remains illegal under federal law in the United States other than the four Americans that were grandfathered under the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Program. Contradictory to federal law, at present, medical marijuana is legalized in sixteen states and Washington, DC. There have been multiple studies and research done by advocates for and against medical marijuana legalization. Although there are strong arguments by both sides, federally legalizing the use of medical marijuana is the better choice because it has beneficial effects to patients suffering from various ailments; it will cause a decrease in recreational use nationwide; and it is less harmful to the user than many other prescription medications. At present, the pros outweigh the cons when considering the positive benefits to medical marijuana. On September 6, 1988, the Drug Enforcement Administration's Chief Administrative Law Judge, Francis L. Young, ruled: "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man…”

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