Medical Marijuana

For many years marijuana, also known as cannabis, has been known as a very helpful plant worldwide. It has been used and cultivated in many cultures traceable back to 6000B.C. where the seeds were eaten as food in ancient China, but unfortunately, since 1937 cannabis was made federally illegal by the Marijuana Tax Act. Cannabis has many uses and should be legalized to be utilized to its full extent because it would be best for many to keep as many people out of imprisonment, legalization would cut back in organized crime profit, the plant can be widely used in medicinal areas, and furthermore, the sale of marijuana to the general public would lead to extreme profits which could help get America out of its current recession.

Obviously, this is a plant that should be taken seriously and looked at from an economic and futuristic view. Though it is a nearly harmless plant, it is still illegal. Every forty-five seconds a cannabis smoker is arrested (Legalization of Marijuana). Of those convicted, it is quickly filling up our jails and prisons. Over the years, close to 6 million people have been arrested because of cannabis related charges, and that is just too much. The average annual cost per inmate is normally “thirty to fifty thousand dollars”, (Reinhart), say only a small percentage is convicted, that is still hundreds of thousands of dollars, even a few million dollars, which is wasted over such a silly offence. On the flip side those people can be earning a living and contributing to our society even with their insignificant little habit. Also with marijuana legal, the lives and futures of America's youth do not have to be jeopardized by going to jail and getting in trouble at school, especially when at least 20% of teens are involved in the usage of the cannabis plant.(Rubin, 305)

This commonly used plant has a bad reputation, mainly for myths about its use could lead to lung cancer, other diseases, and its conflicts within America's youth. Contrary to this, marijuana has also acquired the reputation of being quite the miracle medicine when used properly. Medically, marijuana can be used in many ways. Its female plant produces the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that has many advantageous effects when heated. It has been tested and proven to help relieve “chronic-pain syndromes, cancer pain, multiple sclerosis, AIDS wasting syndrome and the nausea that accompanies chemotherapy” (Adams). This is incredible to have a natural medicine proven able to help so many without having to spend millions of dollars to alter its effects. It is also perceived to be safer than most other drugs. For example pills can be overdosed on, alcohol can lead to violence and disease, and a lot of chemically produced illegal drugs like cocaine and meth that can lead to life ruining addictions, all of which can kill its user, unlike marijuana, which is a safe little plant from the text books of Ancient China (Mechoulam, 241). Little do most people know, but ...