OPPapers.com

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

Love 2
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"....