Should marijuana be legalized for medical use? Although marijuana is still federally classified as an illegal substance and has, over the course of several decades been at the receiving end of a seemingly endless onslaught of negative press, marijuana has numerous medical and medicinal benefits associated with its use (Smith). In fact, many patients, physicians, medical organizations, and even lawmakers argue that numerous scientific peer reviewed studies have demonstrated that marijuana has several medical benefits associated with its use. As a result, there is an ongoing debate in the United States on whether or not marijuana should be legalized for medical use. Should marijuana be legalized for medical use? Proponents of marijuana argue …show more content…
Also, marijuana has been used as medicine for thousands of years, dating back to ancient civilizations in Egypt, India, and Africa. In fact, there are references to the medical use of marijuana dating back nearly 5,000 years (Grinspoon, Bakalar). From the time of its first use to the present day, there hasn’t been a single reported death caused from the consummation of marijuana. In stark contrast “Out of the 783,936 annual deaths from conventional medicine mistakes, approximately 106,000 of those are the result of prescription drug use” (White). To top this off as well Mercola, J states that “According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, two-hundred and ninety people in the United States are killed by prescription drugs every day. “Marijuana is the safest therapeutically available substance known to man safer than many foods we even consume (DEA Judge Francis L. Young, Sept. 6, 1988). It is a natural right that all human beings should have the right to live without pain and suffering and be able to make autonomous decisions regarding their health care, in consultation with a physician, of course (Younts