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.