For years, legalizing marijuana has been a controversial issue in the United States. Some believe that the government should legalize marijuana for medical purpose and the belief that the crime rate will decrease. On the other hand, people believe that marijuana is a gateway drug and will only cause Americans to start using harder drugs and have a negative effect on our society. Both sides to this ongoing argument have relevant points yet still this issue remains a constant battle.
Legalizing marijuana may sound absurd to some people but there is good medical reasoning behind it. Marijuana can reduce nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite for those people infected with the AIDS virus. It can also help reduce the effects of chemotherapy in cancer patients. Marijuana can help reduce the pain and stimulate the patients" appetite. It also alleviates nausea and vomiting which is a common side effect of chemotherapy treatment. Glaucoma patients rely on marijuana to reduce the interlobular pressure, which alleviates pain and can even stop the progress of the condition before the person becomes blind. Not only are there medical uses for marijuana but the government could also benefit if it was legal. The government can tax the sale of marijuana as they do for cigarettes. The revenue brought in can be used for improving our communities. Making drugs legal will reduce the great amounts of money spent on enforcement efforts to apprehend and prosecute users and sellers of marijuana. This way the law can focus more on violent crimes and more serious offenses. We can save money that is spent to send the sellers and users to prison and decrease the prison population. Therefore, we can have more room for more violent criminals. .
On the other hand, people who disagree with the idea of legalizing marijuana believe that marijuana has negative effects on users as well as society. They argue, that marijuana affects the body in only negative ways.
