Introduction
Marijuana (cannabis) is a drug widely used for medical purposes in America. Sill, marijuana is prohibited on the state level which creates problems for medical staff and patients. Marijuana is a drug that should be prohibited but its legal status will help doctors to avoid criminal responsibility. Legal status of medical marijuana will benefit patients and help them to relieve pain and suffering. Thesis Marijuana, as one of the most popular illicit drugs, should be strictly prohibited but allowed for medical purposes only.
Main text
Legal status of medical marijuana will benefit the government and allows to collection of taxes, control black market and illegal operations. Crop production uncertainties are just one perturbing factor in gauging the number of illegal drugs being produced. Medical marijuana will create certain problems for society and the state. The main problem is that marijuana policy does not only affect marijuana users, but also the rest of society (Belio 92). Criminalizing marijuana use on the one hand can lead to higher costs of law enforcement and a black market, while decriminalizing could lead to public disturbance caused by unwanted marijuana use in public. Similar to alcohol and other illicit drugs, prohibition does not work and does young from its usage. It is possible to oppose these arguments stating that legal status of marijuana will worsen the problem of drug addiction and give free access to wide target audience to marijuana.
Legal status of marijuana will help doctors to avoid criminal responsibility. Despite the different legal approaches towards marijuana, a common trend can be seen across the America in the implementation of lesser sanctions for cases of use and possession of small quantities of cannabis for personal use without aggravating circumstances. Fines, cautions, probation, exemption from punishment and counseling are favored by most justice systems. It is important to keep in mind that cannabis policies at all levels of government could affect the prevalence of cannabis use and the related social consequences (Belio 35). While this is the case for the cocaine and heroin market, the cannabis market is not associated with violence.
Marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes only because it allows to relieve some types of pain including sclerosis, cancer and AIDS. Also, Marijuana is used, not only for a variety of purely physical ailments, but as a treatment for psychological problems as well. In the 1950s recommended uses for marijuana included the treatment of gout, rheumatism, tetanus, opiate withdrawal symptoms, alcohol withdrawal, loss of appetite, convulsions, depression, delirium tremens, insanity, and asthma. Legal status of marijuana will help patients to avoid other narcotics and relieve pain. “Medical marijuana” should be subjected to the same scientific scrutiny as any drug proposed for use in medical therapy, rather than made legal for medical use by popular will” (Cohen 19). There are no lasting ill effects from the acute use of marijuana and no fatalities have ever been reported.
Summary
In sum, legal status of medical marijuana will benefit the state, medical staff and patients. Any notion of coherent implementation of policy at the local level is optimistic. Experiencing the criminal justice system has negative consequences for cannabis users beyond the correction of drug-taking behavior. Criminal records and other sanctions reach beyond the actual penalties themselves into almost every aspect of the user’s life, typically in a negative way. Thus, legal status of medical marijuana will bring additional resources to the state budget and protect medical staff from criminal responsibility.
Works Cited
Belio, J. The Benefits of Marijuana: Physical, Psychological & Spiritual. Lifeservices Press; 3nd Rev. edition, 2007.
Cohen, P. J. Medical Marijuana, Compassionate Use, and Public Policy: Expert Opinion or Vox Populi? The Hastings Center Report, 36 (1), 2006: 19.