LEGALIZE THIS BEAUTY

SUPER LEMON HAZE, Winner of the 2009 Cannabis Cup

I have heard many arguments for and against the legalization of medical marijuana. I would like to start off, however, by citing the arguments against the legalization of marijuana, then countering them. The first and most common argument that I came across is that marijuana is a gateway drug. The Gateway Theory, as it is most commonly known, states that the use of soft drugs such as marijuana lead to the use of hard drugs. This is not necessarily true, but I think that it is the most reasonable of the arguments against the legalization of marijuana because, for some people, getting high off of one drug only leads them to desire a greater high. Speaking from experience, however, I have never known anyone with whom this is the case. In contrast to that argument, the weakest argument I have heard is that marijuana use is dangerous and it affects not only the user, but all those around the user. It has been scientifically proven, however, that marijuana has less harmful effects than tobacco, and it does not lead to lung cancer.

I, personally, think that medical marijuana should be legalized. I feel as though marijuana is a non-harmful, herbal remedy for a varying number of medical and psychological problems. In addition, our economy would benefit greatly from the legalization of marijuana. Something like 80% of the people in jail are non-violent drug users. We could save a lot of money by at least de-criminalizing the use of marijuana. Most importantly though, our society would be an overall more relaxed and contented place if medicinal marijuana were legalized.