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Legalizing Marijuana Benefits

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Benefits of Legalizing Marijuana for Medical Purposes It is a debate that continues to rage on in restaurants, recreational parks, homes, and legislative offices among other varied locations. The debate as to whether marijuana can and should be used for medicinal purposes has divided opinion across the global community. Among all the current trends in medicine today, the potential for marijuana as a tool for medical treatment has proven to be one that is highly controversial and divisive. The extent of this divisive factor is that the use of medical marijuana is legal in some states and illegal in others. In addition, some countries like Holland allow public controlled usage of marijuana while in other countries possession of a small amount …show more content…

Marijuana is classified as a schedule 1 drug, meaning that it has high potential for addiction (Gerber, 17). Critics suggest that making marijuana legal for medical purposes will make it easily available to the entire community, including those who do not require it for medical purposes. Another criticism of using marijuana for medical purposes has centered on the general effects of marijuana usage from people who do not use it for medical reasons. Marijuana has been found to impair thinking, memory and problem-solving skills. It has also been found to impair reaction times, balance, and coordination and realize. These are considered as highly important attributes to have for a patient to be considered to be recovering from an ailment. Critics use this point of argument to state that medical marijuana impairs mental faculties of the patient and therefore does not reflect the true state of recovery for that particular …show more content…

Legalization of marijuana also provides a unique opportunity for government to gain revenue due to potentially high income from taxation of the substance. The cost of marijuana prohibition runs to billions of dollars annually. This expense can be turned into revenue by the legalization of the substance for medical purposes. Legislators should consider the benefits of marijuana as a substance with medicinal value. There are many people suffering from chronic conditions and personality disorders who can be effectively treated using marijuana to complement the medication provided by pharmaceutical companies. Research has shown that legalizing marijuana holds both economic and medicinal benefits. It is therefore in the best interests of the society as a whole to allow marijuana to be used for medical purposes by all those who need its medicinal

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