Did you know that US marijuana users spent approximately $10.5 billion on marijuana in the year 2000? Clearly, this drug is used by many daily. Medical marijuana should be legalized because it could improve the economy, help with chronic pain and it's safer and less addictive than other drugs and opioids. One reason Medical marijuana is a drug that is often used for recreational purposes but should also be legalized because it can help chronic pain. Approximately 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain (medical marijuana). From a survey in 2013 done in California, 92 percent of people who use medical marijuana said that it alleviated symptoms of their serious medical conditions, like arthritis, migraines, back pain, and cancer (Ingraham). …show more content…
For example, work days are often lost to Americans with chronic pain that's so painful that they miss working then lose money. It's estimated that over 140 million workdays are lost due to the chronic pain of Americans (marijuana doctors). Because of this, the annual direct and indirect costs for chronic pain can be as high as 294.8 billion a year. Marijuana could be a cheaper option. The average cost of medical marijuana can be estimated to be around 120 dollars for a prescription. While opioids cost on average about $1,176.50 per month (“national institute”). The last reason why medical marijuana should be legalized it's safer and less addictive. than opioids. For example, a large number of people turn to opioids as an option to treat chronic pain because it is a legal option that has been proven to work. But, opioids are highly addictive and many overdose on them a year. In 2014 alone, 30,000 overdosed on opioids. Marijuana is impossible to overdose on, the worse thing that can happen to someone is they can have a intense anxiety or panic attack after consuming high potency marijuana strains with high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (“addiction