Should the Use of Medical Marijuana Be Legalized?

Marijuana refers to a drug derived from dried leaves, stems and flowers of the cannabis plant, also called hemp. Cannabis sativa, as it is known scientifically, bears a chemical known as ‘delta-9 teterahydrocannabinol’ (THC in short) that alters mind functions of the user (Cohen, 2006). This ingredient is rapidly absorbed a short while after smoking the drug. It affects areas of the brain dealing with memory, perception, concentration and movement. This causes short-term physiological medical effects that include rapid heart rate, rapid breathing, increased blood pressure, dry mouth, red eyes, slowed reaction time, and increased appetite. Although these effects recede after 3 to 4 hours, cannabis remains in the system for about 24 hours after smoking. Psychologically, pot smoking causes euphoria, explaining the reason smokers habitually want to ‘get high’ or ‘stoned’. In addition, pot smoking causes short term psychological effects such as, discordant sense of time, paranoia, hallucination, anxiety, depression and short-term memory loss (Younts, 2005). The use of marijuana in the United States starts at an early age of between 12 and 17, usually due to peer pressure and curiosity. For several decades now, many youngsters have believed that smoking marijuana is no big deal – it simply helps to stave off stress and to have fun. Furthermore, some adults are also convinced that pot is relatively ‘safe’ when compared with other hard drugs like cocaine or heroin (Cohen, 2006). However, the truth is quite the opposite of this commonly held belief. Having thoroughly examined the harm of all known psychoactive drugs and narcotic substances for the human body and the society overall, British scientists named marijuana the eighth most dangerous drug (The Lancet, 2007). The United States Congress entrenched marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substance Act after agreeing that it had ‘no acceptable medical use’. Yet today, of the total 50 states, 16 have legalized