Should marijuana be legalized for medical purposes on a federal level? This question effects every citizen of the United States. Everyone is at risk to have a medical condition that marijuana could help with, as well as the fact that marijuana could bring in millions of dollars in tax money for states. Currently, marijuana is considered a schedule I drug by the federal government. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, schedule one drugs are "drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse." So, although over twenty state governments have legalized medical marijuana, the federal government still has not. That classification greatly reduces the amount of research able to be done on marijuana. Legalizing marijuana has an effect on my morals because until marijuana is legalized federally, there will be medical patients that could utilize marijuana to help their health, but are not allowed to do so by the government.  Marijuana needs to be legalized in order to stop this injustice to the citizens of the United States. The research that I have done and will do in the future makes me qualified to write about this topic. Over twenty states have already legalized marijuana for medical purposes and the outcomes from those states so far is a very good indicator of what will happen on a national level. Also, many medical professionals, organizations, and respected individuals have given their opinion on the issue. 

One of these organizations is the Epilepsy Foundation. Their stance on medical marijuana is that it should be considered for patients if more conventional forms of medicine fail to help their condition. The Epilepsy Foundation points out that there is still not much definitive scientific facts to back medical marijuana, but they cite several studies and specific examples of medical marijuana with high ratios of cannabidiol (CBD) to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) successfully reducing patients' amount of seizures with little to no side effects. CBD and THC are two cannabinoids in marijuana. THC is the cannabinoid that gets consumers "high" and CBD does not, it is used strictly for medical purposes. The Epilepsy Foundation is one of many medical organizations in favor of legalization.  This article is very credible because The Epilepsy Foundation is a very established and respected organization. Also, they cite many studies in defense of their stance on legalizing marijuana. 

The American Cancer Society is also in favor. An article on their website explains their stance on the issue. It begins by explaining that CBD is the cannabinoid that is used to treat pain and vomiting caused by chemotherapy patients and that THC is the cannabinoid in marijuana that causes the "high" and psychoactive effects of marijuana. The article points to studies that have successfully proven that marijuana can reduce the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy. The American Cancer Society's stance is that there is definitely a need for more and better therapies to treat cancer and its' side effects. The organization supports more research and further studying of marijuana for medical purposes and believes that its current schedule one classification is deterring this research process. The American Cancer Society's article is also credible because of all of the research they have done and the scientific studies they cite. The American Cancer Society is also a respected organization that only aims to help people suffering from cancer. 

Respected professors are also speaking out on the issue. Jeffrey Miron, who is the director of undergraduate studies and senior lecturer in the economics department at Harvard University.  Harvard University is one of the most well respected universities in the world. Miron claims that the United States has seen horrible consequences from the act of placing marijuana as a schedule one drug, thus making it illegal for doctors to prescribe to patients as a form of treatment. Some of these horrible consequences include not allowing states to collect tax money on the drug, allowing a large black market to exist, and a ton of tax money spent on the enforcement of marijuana laws. He writes that medical marijuana should be legal on a federal level in order to increase the amount of research and testing that can be done on the drug. Currently, scientists have not been able to do a lot of research on the effects of the drug because it is illegal on a federal level. However, this article could be biased because the author is a devout libertarian and legalization reflects the opinion of his party. The libertarian party is a political party that wants the federal government to take a hands off approach and legalizing marijuana federally would give more power to the states. 

My exigence is arguable because there are many factors when considering the whether or not to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. There are many things to consider when asking whether or not marijuana should be legalized state by state, but whether or not it should be legalized on a federal level is very arguable. The fact that I am asking why it should be legalized for medical purposes and not also recreational is what makes my question answerable within the word limit. There is too much information to put into 2500 words for researching the effects of medical and recreational legalization. In conclusion, all United States citizens are at risk of having a medical condition that marijuana could help cure or cope with, so it is a crime that citizens in every state are not allowed to utilize a drug that may help their condition. 

