Persuasive Essay On Legalizing Marijuana

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In recent years a great amount of debate has been brought up about the use of marijuana for both medical and recreational use. This debate has been both the topic of much discussion both politically and socially. This topic was brought to the forefront by the legalization of marijuana for both medical and recreational uses in many states. Marijuana has shown a great amount of potential for the treatment. Yet, marijuana has quite a few negative side effects associated with it. Much of the research being conducted on marijuana is in the early stages or is inconclusive. Due to this fact it seems as though these states may have been too hasty in legalization. I believe that following in-depth studies on the effects of marijuana, it should be legalized for treatment of cancer and epilepsy when all other treatment options have failed. One of the main reasons that marijuana has not seen wide scale legalization is it’s potential for abuse. The DEA classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug (1). A schedule 1 drug is defined as a drug with high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment, and a lack of accepted safety …show more content…

First, a greater amount of research needs to be obtained to ensure the safety and effectiveness of cannabis for a specific condition. Currently our knowledge of how cannabis affects the body and its impact on certain disease is extremely limited. Until sufficient knowledge of the effects of marijuana are known it can not be safely legalized. Following this, a strict set of regulations needs to be established for what marijuana can be used to treat and who can use it. Marijuana should only be used in cases where the rewards out weigh the risk, such as in cancer and epilepsy. Marijuana should only be allowed for patients 21 and older to prevent it from effecting brain development. Once these have been done marijuana can be used to effectively treat certain