Reasons Why Medical Marijuana Should Be Legalized

The arguments for and against legalizing marijuana for medical purposes have multiplied exponentially since the United States Congress put the "drug" in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act in 1972. This act specifically considered marijuana to have "no accepted medical use." Regardless, the District of Columbia and 15 other states have legalized marijuana for medical use since the act was passed. Now, many of the remaining 35 states are debating whether medical marijuana makes sense for them.

Ailments To Be Treated With Marijuana

• Those suffering from the nausea and vomiting their ailments cause have reported great success when using medical marijuana to treat their symptoms.

  For patients suffering from multiple forms of cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, epilepsy and other conditions that involve pain and/or nausea, medical marijuana may be a last resort. Oftentimes, individuals with nausea are not able to keep food down without the help of marijuana; that being the case, medical marijuana is essential so such patients are ingesting and retaining the nutrients they need to keep fighting whatever they are ailing from.

First States To Pass Legalization

• While the Supreme Court has upheld the illegalization of marijuana in all forms, individual states can still decide for themselves whether to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes.

  In 2005, the Supreme Court decided in Gonzales v. Raich that the U.S. Congress can criminalize the production and use of marijuana, despite states' approval for medicinal purposes. Since the majority of marijuana-related arrests occur at the state and local levels, medicinal users have been protected well since. As of 2011, the following states have legalized medicinal marijuana: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Thus far, in these states, no spikes have been seen in use from teens or others; instead, the figures for teen use of marijuana have either remained at a pre-legalization level, or actually declined. As of March 2011, 12 more states have legislation pending to legalize medical marijuana: Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma and West Virginia.

Positive Potentials of Medical Marijuana

• Not only does marijuana have the ability to assuage the suffering of those with serious ailments, but other uses are possible, too. Spanish researchers have discovered that the THC in marijuana has the potential to kill brain tumor cells, as well as tumors of the breast, pancreas and liver. As a weak economy, the U.S. could legalize the drug, regulate it and tax it, helping to lessen state and federal debt. Legalization would also take the millions spent annually on the arrests of marijuana dealers and put it toward stopping other, more harmful areas of crime. It would also free up our already overpopulated prisons, removing harmless "offenders" whose only offense was the selling or intent to sell cannabis.

Alternative to Medical Marijuana

• It is important to note that there is at least one alternative to medical marijuana that is available via a doctor's prescription -- Marinol. Marinol comes in pill form and is filled with a synthetic form of THC -- the active ingredient in marijuana. It is usually prescribed to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, as well as AIDS patients, to boost appetite. Some doctors and researchers view Marinol as a safer option than medical marijuana since one doesn't smoke this drug; the smoking of medical marijuana still means you are inhaling additional chemicals other than THC alone.