Legalizing Marijuana

The debate on legalizing marijuana is one that is very controversial in today's society. To the AIDS or cancer patient, marijuana is the plant that fights nausea and appetite loss. To the nutritionist, its seed is second only to the soybean in nutritional value and is a source of cooking oil and vitamins. To the paper or cloth manufacturer, it is the plant that provided much of our paper and clothing for hundreds of years and produces four times more fiber per acre than trees. Along with providing much of our paper and clothing, to the manufacturer it is also a significant opportunity for economic boost. To the environmentalist, it is the plant that could greatly decrease deforestation, restore robbed nutrients by other crops, and help prevent erosion (Goodman ). Preliminary findings show the drug may prove effective against glaucoma and asthma, and control side effects such as nausea in cancer treatment (Nadelman). Other statistics show that legalizing marijuana could produce a decrease in drug related crime (Goodman). I concretely believe that marijuana should be legalized in the United States for the use of medicinal purposes, to help boost the economy, and to help decrease drug related crime in America. If legalized, I think marijuana is a plant that could save many lives, while at the same time, alleviate over crowded prisons and an increase in economic revenue. The field of national drug policy is wide open for serious research and serious thinking on both the theoretical and the practical levels (Bennett 95).

Marijuana, also called weed, pot, reefer, grass, dope, Mary Jane, and hash, is the drug most often used in this country. It is a mix of dried, shredded flowers and leaves of

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the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa), which contain the non-narcotic chemical THC. Marijuana comes from the female flowers which form dense clusters at the ends of

the plants branches ("Marijuana"). It is smoked or eaten to produce the feeling of being "high". Marijuana can be rolled into a cigarette, smoked in a pipe, mixed in with food, or brewed with tea. Marijuana is not only smoked for recreational or social use, it's also used for industrial purposes such as making paper, textiles, cosmetics, paints, clothing, and insulation.

There are many ways people can benefit from smoking marijuana. This drug is commonly used for cancer patients who use anticancer drugs which commonly causes nausea and vomiting. There are two forms of marijuana that have been used: one taken by mouth, Dronabinol (MarinolÐ'®), and a synthetic form of the active marijuana constituent delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is smoked (Herreid). This drug not only helps cancer patients retain their meals but it also stops most cancer patient from becoming anorexic. Many doctors believe that marijuana works as an effective pain killer, appetite increaser, and nausea inhibitor. Since the legalization of medicinal marijuana in California, many patients have said that marijuana is the only thing that helps achieve symptom relief (Herreid). In some cases patients report that marijuana enhances the effects of prescription drugs, which might have been helping, but not to the desired concent (Herreid). Dr.Eidelmen, a California physician who supports marijuana usage, is a firm believer that marijuana is a great asset for treating cancer patients

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(Herreid). Not only does it help relieve side effects from the chemotherapy but, it also works together with drugs already prescribed to the patients (Herreid). Another potential medical use of marijuana is to control spasms. Spasms are

usually caused by stroke, cerebral palsy, and multiple sclerosis. They are also induced by spinal cord damage from automobile accidents, athletic injuries, violence, and combat. Spasms affect over one million Americans. Sometimes, muscles can become permanently contracted if the spasms are chronic (Herreid). As of now, there is no effective surgery or medication to treat spasms. Neurosurgery does not eliminate the spasms. Prescription drugs for spasms are rarely effective and usually have many side effects.

Marijuana violators are overpopulating prisons, when these facilities should be holding people for more serious crimes such as rape or murder. Data provided by the Burureu of Prisons and the United States Sentencing Commission suggest that one of every six inmates in federal prison system has been locked up for marijuana offense (Miller 125). Consequently, prisons are being crowded with marijuana violators which should not be necessary and this will eventually cause an increase in the need for more prisons. Police make approximately 700,000 arrests per year for marijuana offenses (Nadelman). Roughly eighty-seven percent of marijuana arrests are for nothing more than possession of small amounts of the drug (Nadelman). Punishments range widely across the country, from fines to a variety of prison sentences. Prosecutors often contest that no one goes to prison for simple possession however, but tens, perhaps hundreds, of

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