Legalizing Marijuana Nationally: Is it Worth It? Marijuana, also known as "Cannabis" or "Weed", is a highly addictive drug created by the leaves of the hemp plant. The use of this has been around for decades, but has only recently come to the attention of the people of our nation as this once illegal drug has already been legalized in some form in twenty-three states in the United States, with Colorado being the only state where marijuana is completely legal (Harkinson, 2014). The debate on whether it is a good idea to legalize this drug or to not legalize this drug is still ongoing as the remaining states decide whether or not to legalize marijuana. Many argue that marijuana may be the only thing that actually helps a patient (Mirman, 2014), while others argue that the legalization of marijuana and the drug's side effects will ultimately put the nation in danger. …show more content…
Many people want to experience the medicinal effects of cannabis, but they do not want to break the law. Patients diagnosed with epilepsy or AIDS, and even people that are experiencing nausea caused by chemotherapy agree that marijuana is the only substance that has initially cured their side effects rather than any other drug that has been prescribed to them (Poindexter, 2014). Doctors around the world prescribe addictive drugs to a patient every day, but these drugs that are being prescribed do not initially help. As the production of marijuana is fairly easy and requires little to no technology, researchers Jon Gettman and Michael Kennedy argue that this is actually a legitimate reason as to why marijuana should be legalized (Gettman & Kennedy,