Legalization Of Marijuana- Essay, Research Paper

Legalization of Marijuana-

The purpose of this paper is to discuss marijuana and compare

both sides of the issue of legalizing marijuana. We have two factions

fighting each other; one those who are pro-marijuana and those who are

anti-marijuana. These two factions have been fighting on this issue on

the halls of justice for years.

Pro marijuana legalization groups such as the Physician’s

Association for AIDS Care, National Lymphoma Foundation argue that

marijuana should be legalized in order to treat terminally ill

patients. Among them are AIDS victims who find that marijuana

stimulates their appetites so they can fight off dangerous emaciation;

glaucoma sufferers who have used marijuana said it has prevented them

from going blind, and cancer patients for whom it alleviates the

severe nausea that is often accompanies chemotherapy and sometimes

makes lifesaving treatment impossible.

Due to all these lobbying groups which show substantial

evidence that marijuana can be used as a prescribed drug. Also many

advocates who are pro marijuana complain that morphine and cocaine are

legal and are very dangerous drugs, that brings up the question why

not legalize marijuana as medical drug which is proven to be less

dangerous than cocaine and morphine. Lobbying groups in a San Diego,

California , council committee unanimously voted to urge president

Bill Clinton and congress to end federal restrictions against the

use of marijuana for ” legitiment medical use.” City council women

Christine kehoe said she wanted the city of San Diego “to go on the

record we support the medical use marijuana.; marijuana can be a drug

of necessity in the treatment of AIDS, glaucoma, cancer and multiple

sclerosis.”

Many agencies which are anti marijuana such as Drug

Enforcement Agency and police departments argue that marijuana

shouldn’t be legalized. These agencies believe that marijuana

shouldn’t be legalized because if marijuana is to become legal then

thousands more patients using marijuana. Then people will raise the

question why marijuana illegal at all if its a medicine.

The main reason why the Drug Enforcement Agency doesn’t want

marijuana to be legal is because their is no hard core evidence that

proves that marijuana is a effective drug as a medicine. In twenty

years of research have produced no reliable scientific proof that

marijuana has medical value. The American Cancer Society , American

Glaucoma Society,the National Multiple Sclerosis, the American Academy

of Ophthalmology, or the American Medical Association , say that their

is no evidence that marijuana is a medicine.

The agencies also argues that no other drug prescribed is

smoked and that knew findings show that marijuana is acutely harmful

to AIDS, Cancer patients because the active ingredient in marijuana

acutely reduces the the bodies white blood cells which fight off

infection. The Drug Enforcement Agency along with police departments

all over the United States believe, with the legalization of drugs

crime will increase due to a higher increase of pot users which will

eventually become addicts and will still or kill in order to get their

drugs. These are the main points and reasons why the Drug named

marijuana shouldn’t be legalized in the United States of America.

Seeing booth sides of the issue I come to a conclusion that

marijuana should be legalized in order to help people suffering from

terminal diseases such as AIDS, Cancer and Glaucoma. Prohibition of

marijuana over the past decades hasn’t deminshed the demand of the

drug in the United States. The use of marijuana has acutely went up

due to the mass attention given to marijuana by rappers such as

Cypress Hill who promote the use of marijuana as a social drug. But I

believe that marijuana is here to stay in our society and is only

going through the stages that alcohol had during the prohibition era.

Marijuana will become legal due to the knew administration

which is liberal and who’s leader, president Bill Clinton who had

acutely used marijuana during the nineteen sixties. Due to all these

factors marijuana will become more widely accepted by the American

people who will pressure congress to rewrite the laws on the drug

marijuana. Now its only a matter of time before lobbying groups

pressure the legislature to legalize it. Due to legalization many

states will be able to grow marijuana as a cash crop, and the United

States government will be able to tax marijuana and make revenue off

it. The revenue made from marijuana will be in the millions which can

be used for drug rehabs and anti drug programs targeted at elementary

children. Still by seeing both sides of the issue I’m still one

hundred percent pro marijuana because I use it socially and I believe

its less harmful than beer or liquor because with marijuana you can’t

overdose.