Medical Marijuana

4269 Words9 Pages

Marijuana prohibition stands as one of the most unwarranted policies of the United States. Every year we are spending billions of dollars on the War on Drugs with little benefit. Data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation show there were an estimated 1,552,432 arrests for drug-related crimes in 2014 – a slight uptick from the 1,531,251 drug arrests in 2013. Marijuana offenses accounted for 48.3 percent of all drug arrests. Most marijuana-related arrests were for possession of the drug. By mere possession, there was one marijuana arrest every 48 seconds in 2014. Including arrests for distribution, there was a pot-related arrest every 42 seconds. This prohibition makes no sense, especially in a country where alcohol use is completely acceptable. Many argue that marijuana use is much more safe than either alcohol or cigarettes, yet it has been illegal for almost 70 years (NORML). These facts are indefensible. But even more terrible is that fact that there are many medicinal benefits of marijuana that are being denied to hundreds of thousands of patients yearly. Prohibition of marijuana for recreational use is an idiotic policy, but the prohibition for medicinal marijuana is completely iniquitous. In this paper I will focus on the prohibition of medical marijuana. I will start with a little background on the history of medical marijuana and on the medicinal properties of marijuana. I will then move on to discuss the history of legislation for marijuana in general, and then specifically medical pot. The current legislation will also be examined. I will conclude with potential policy options, and ways to help fight this injustice. Medicinal Marijuana History and Uses According to written records, marijuan... ... middle of paper ... ...tp://www.glaucoma.org/treating/treatment/marijuana.html. Goodard, Ian. Proven: Cannabis is Safe Medicine. 1996. http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_medical_info2.shtml Grass. Dir. Ron Mann. Nar. Woody Harrelson. VHS, 2001. Marijuana Policy Project. State-by-state Medical Marijuana Laws. 2015. http://www.mpp.org/statelaw/body.html#cfl. Mitchell, Steve. Cancer Chemotherapy. 2001. http://www.rxmarihuana.com/cancer_chemo.htm National Commission of Marijuana and Drug Abuse. Marihuana, A Signal of Misunderstanding, the Report of the US National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, 1972 . NORML. Medical Use of Marijuana. 2015. http://norml.org/marijuana/medical Solomon, David. The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/taxact/mjtaxact.htm

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