The legalization of marijuana has become a trending topic in America. Marijuana is used both medically and recreationally. Many people today are fighting to legalize marijuana as they believe the benefits outweigh the consequences. The use of marijuana in the medical field has been occurring since the B.C. era. In the meantime, it has become an object of concern for politicians, doctors, parents, and more. There is currently a question of whether or not medical marijuana should be legal. So far, many states have legalized medicinal marijuana, decriminalized the possession of marijuana, or considered and passed the full legalization of marijuana. This has proved to be the direction for all to follow as marijuana can help doctors and patients …show more content…
Medical marijuana is defined as “as a medicinal agent available to individuals suffering from pain, glaucoma, wasting syndromes associated with HIV and AIDS, nausea from chemotherapy, and a host of other medical conditions and symptoms...” (Palumbo and Simoni-Wastila 59). With the help of medicinal marijuana, patients have been able to reduce the severe, life-threatening symptoms that they would normally experience as a result of their medical conditions. Marijuana has been proven to reduce depression and anxiety, relieve symptoms of inflammatory bowl disease, and possibly treat epilepsy and several gastrointestinal conditions (Bell 23-24). Twenty three states and the District of Columbia have gone about legalizing medical marijuana and other states are considering following suit (Benson). Unfortunately, although this may be the case, marijuana is still illegal in the United States. This is because “Marijuana, including medical marijuana, is a Schedule I controlled dangerous substance. As such, its possession and/or use in the United States is illegal” (Palumbo and Simoni-Wastila 66). Because of this, scientists have not been able to do the necessary amount of research to prove how marijuana can help these