One quick session online researching alcohol vs. medical marijuana will leave you asking not only why is alcohol legal and marijuana is not, but most importantly, why is medical marijuana not legal nationwide? My interest in this subject has increased throughout the years and the less ignorant I become on the topic, ironically the more "why" questions I find myself asking. While a persons' personal values shouldn't be based on whether or not they support the legalization of medical marijuana, I do believe that whether someone finds the criminalization of medical marijuana justifiable, even after becoming more knowledgeable on the subject, does in fact say something about one's personal values. I myself have been on both sides of the argument, and I can fully vouch that those who argue against this legalization make this argument because of their ignorance to the subject. The media today leaves marijuana with a bad reputation, on top of it already being illegal. After years of gradually meeting more marijuana users and witnessing its effects, I took it upon myself to do some research when the subject became more common of a topic amongst us all here in the US. As more people talk about it and as more states legalize it, it's important that before people disagree they become informed. By learning about the economic, health, and social benefits of legalization of medical marijuana, we can see why one would raise the question, "Why is medical marijuana not legal nationwide?".

The article, "Legalize it -- the Economic Argument", was written by a Professor and Chair of Economics at the State University of New York at Oswego, where he teaches about American economic history, money and banking, and financial crises. There is bias in this article for he is arguing for the legalization marijuana, but he presents it in a fair way. He does not try to over sell marijuana or hide anything negative about it. He even states the health risks of its consumption. The article was written in 2014, and while being two years ago, I think these past 10 years have been a growing time frame for the weed community in terms of everyone around the country becoming more accepting to it. Making this article more relevant as well as of interest to readers and probably successful at it's purpose, that purpose being to persuade towards the usage of the plant. The writer, Ranjit Dighe, is making the overall claim in this article that while the legalization would not only benefit our citizens as a whole, it will benefit our economy immensely. Dighe also brings up the alcohol comparison in his article. Mentioning how medical marijuana is proven scientifically and circumstantially to be significantly less harmful than not only alcohol, but also tobacco. And how it also differs because it's not physically addictive like those legal controlled substances. Dighe really makes it a point to say that overall, if you don't believe in the scientifically proven beneficial properties of this herb, something you should at least take into consideration is that 19-30 million people a year would no longer have to worry about becoming a convicted criminal or felon due to a plant. Families wouldn't be losing members to the system, and young students who would've probably just had the blind eye turned to them by police officers as they drank underage at last weeks' football game, are now getting put in hand cuffs for choosing a safer alternative.

The next article, "Marijuana Legalization and Regulation", was written by The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA). The DPA is the nation's leading organization promoting drug policies that stem from the root of science, compassion, health, and human rights. Because of this there is obviously bias coming from this article, but because this is generally what the DPA is all about, we can trust that their sources are some of the most reliable. The article makes a few important and central claims. One being the creation of jobs that comes with legalizing marijuana; which is a cash crop. Another being the amount of money that is saved as a whole by decriminalizing cannabis. And lastly, the overall point that Dighe had also made in his article, is that the legalization would reduce so much harm, violence, and corruption. This organization is working for reform on the federal level to end prohibition of medical marijuana as well, so their claims have got to have weight behind them because they know they wouldn't stand a chance otherwise. 

The third article, "Pharmaceutical Painkiller Deaths Drop 25% in States with Medical Marijuana", was written by Natural News. So while the author is a staff writer for this particular website, he does site his sources at the bottom of the article. This website's information is credible because their job is looking up facts and doing research about natural things, such as plants, and writing articles about them in order to inform the readers of their benefits or their non benefits. So while marijuana is a plant, and this is natural lifestyle based news website, there is no direct bias towards medical cannabis coming from this website. This isn't a marijuana based news website, and the article is not meant to sway you towards any sort of recreational use of marijuana, but rather for you to learn the pros about this herb and why it's becoming a more discussed topic. The article makes the overall claim of how the replacement of pain killers with medical marijuana has decreased the number of deaths due to painkillers by 25% in states that are legal. The article talks about how 60% of deaths caused by painkillers happened to people using the medication as directed with a legitimate prescription. The article claims that even doctors in these states are opting and promoting this substitution of medical cannabis instead of pain pills. Lastly, this article shares what is a common claim amongst all articles, is that propaganda today is shedding a light on marijuana that has tainted it, making it harder, in more ways than one, for everyone who isn't ignorant to the herb.

If I were to revise my research question, I would change it to focus less generally and more specifically on the costs of marijuana being criminalized. However, whether or not medical marijuana should be legal nationwide has always been an arguable topic and continues to be even after many states have taken the step to legalize it. If the first thing everyone knows about something is that it is against the law, then that simple fact influences all the following negative opinions and assumptions made by those against it. All sources I used, and all the sources I found in general, had the same rooted belief that medical marijuana should be legal because of its benefits. The perspectives of the authors of these articles all reflect mine in the sense that this legalization needs to be supported, and if you're not going to, at least be able to give a real educated reason as to why you are against it. 

