Marijuana legalization is currently one of the most controversial topics in the United States of America. Over twenty states have already legalized marijuana for medical purposes, however marijuana is still considered a schedule I drug by the Drug Enforcement Agency, thus making marijuana illegal on a federal level. The federal status of the drug has a number of different consequences, most of which are negative. Medical marijuana should be legalized on a federal level in order to further the amount of research done on the drug, allow patients who need this drug to utilize it, and increase tax revenue. The decision of whether or not to legalize marijuana effects every citizen of the United States as legalization of the drug involves how tax money is spent and the fact that everyone could potentially become sick or have a medical condition for which marijuana could be an effective treatment option. However, since this is such a vital and debatable topic, both sides of this argument should be considered when deciding which side to take. 

As defined by the DEA, Schedule I drugs are, "drugs with no currently accepted medical use and [have] high potential for abuse" (DEA). Marijuana, or the dried female leaf of the cannabis plant, became classified as a schedule I drug in 1970 after Dr. Roger O. Egeberg, the Assistant Secretary of Health, wrote a letter recommending marijuana become classified as such. Dr. Egeberg's letter states, "Since there is still a considerable void in our knowledge of the plant and effects of the active drug contained in it, our recommendation is that marijuana be retained within Schedule 1 at least until the completion of certain studies now underway to resolve the issue" (Gupta). Essentially, Dr. Egeberg's letter says that since there has not been much research done on the drug, it should be classified as Schedule I for the time being. There has since been numerous studies and a plethora of research done on the effects of marijuana. It is ignorant of the DEA to not acknowledge the research and studies that show marijuana can be medically helpful.

Despite the DEA's current opinion of marijuana, there have been proven medical uses for marijuana. Cancer and epilepsy are the two medical conditions in which marijuana has been proven to be most successful at treating or providing patients with an additional coping mechanism. The American Cancer Society's official stance on medical marijuana legalization is as follows "The American Cancer Society supports the need for more scientific research on cannabinoids for cancer patients, and recognizes the need for better and more effective therapies that can overcome the often debilitating side effects of cancer and its treatments" (American Cancer Society). Cannabinoids are the biologically active components in marijuana. So far, scientists have studied delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) the most (American Cancer Society). THC is the cannabinoid that gets users "high" and has psychoactive effects, while CBD has strictly medical effects. Marijuana used for medicinal purposes usually has large CBD to THC ratio. Different strains of marijuana have individual ratios of CBD to THC. Each strain has different effects on people that can specifically be utilized to treat different health problems. 

In regards to the effects marijuana has on differing health issues, cancer patients, especially find that it provides a larger level of pain reduction. For many cancer patients, marijuana is the only drug that aids them in coping with the pain of chemotherapy. However, cancer is not the only condition that marijuana has been proven to treat. The Epilepsy Foundation states; "When conventional treatments do not work, as is the case for roughly 30% of people with epilepsy, it is not unreasonable to consider cannabis" (Sirven). There have been countless recorded cases of marijuana being successful at treating epilepsy among adults and children; one of the most famous is that of a young girl named Charlotte Figi. Charlotte was experiencing up to 300 seizures a week by the time she was three years old and her parents could not find a medication that would sufficiently treat her condition. Since beginning the use of medical marijuana, Charlotte's seizures are limited to two or three a month (Gupta). However, Charlotte is just one example of numerous individuals and studies that have shown that marijuana has medicinal uses and benefits. 

Cancer and epilepsy, however, are not the only conditions marijuana can help treat though. For example, studies have proven that THC is also helpful in treating asthma; Studies conducted in the 1970s concluded that THC acts as a bronchodilator which helps open constricted airways. A study on five patients in 1977 found that THC was a more successful bronchodilator than the most commonly prescribed drug for asthma patients at that time (TruthonPot). With the numerous number of illnesses for which marijuana can be useful, the positive health effects of marijuana have been well-documented and are accepted by medical doctors. WebMD conducted a survey of 1,544 doctors across the country and found the majority are in favor of legalization for medical purposes (Rappold). Most of these doctors note that they are in favor of legalization in order to allow for more research to be done. It is important to note that different types of doctors replied to the survey differently. For instance, oncologists, or cancer doctors, replied with the highest majority in favor of legalization (Rappold). 

Another reason to federally legalize marijuana is because scientists would then be able to study the drug in great depth. Unlike other drugs such as LSD, scientists are not allowed to create or grow a small amount of marijuana to study (Ferro). Instead, scientists have to follow a difficult set of procedures. First, they need a license from the DEA, then they must get their study approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and those steps do not even include actually obtaining marijuana. In order for scientists to get marijuana, they must go through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which is an organization with the goal of keeping marijuana illegal. If the study attempts to prove the positive effects of marijuana or that the drug is not harmful at all, it is made extremely difficult to get permission to obtain marijuana from NIDA (Ferro). Until this process becomes easier for scientists and allows a significant amount of research to be done on the drug, it will be nearly impossible for scientists to prove both the detailed short term and long term effects of marijuana on users. 

Additionally, declassifying marijuana as a Schedule I drug would increase tax revenue for every state, as well as save them tax money from not having to enforce marijuana laws. For example, in 2014, Colorado received $70 million from marijuana tax revenue, which is nearly twice what they collected from alcohol taxes of $42 million (Basu). Although that $70 million includes both recreational and medical sales, medicinal usage accounts for about one half of that figure. Colorado is able to invest that tax revenue back into their state to pay for things such as public education and roads. In addition to increased tax revenue, tons of money could be saved by states because they would save money on not have to enforce marijuana laws. Although money is not the main factor in deciding whether or not marijuana should be legalized, it is important to consider because tax money affects every citizen of the country. 

Another positive outcome from federal legalization that should be considered is the safety of marijuana dispensaries and their employees across the country. Currently, banks will not do business with marijuana dispensaries because their money is considered illegal by the federal government and banks are federally insured, thus forcing dispensaries to do all of their sales in cash and maintain large sums of cash on them at all times. Most of these cannot afford to pay security companies with armored vehicles to secure their money when transporting it, nor do. Most dispensaries also do not have the proper safes and procedures for dealing with tens of thousands of dollars in cash. This issue makes their businesses a target for theft and puts their employees in danger. Federal legalization would solve this problem very easily by allowing them to transact business with banks. Also, federal legalization would allow the government to track the money of these dispensaries because it would all go through the banking system and be subject to banking standards. This process would also help cut down on the black market. Currently, the federal government has no idea what is happening with the money that goes through marijuana dispensaries. That fact, alone, has a negative impact on the entire economy because there are hundreds of millions of dollars that remain unaccounted for. 

Although there are many reasons to legalize medical marijuana, there are many against legalization. A common argument against legalization of marijuana is that legalization will not eliminate the black market and people will still buy un-regulated marijuana. While that claim has some truth to it, as it is estimated that 40% of marijuana bought in Colorado in 2014 was illegal, this is mostly due to the large tax that has been placed on marijuana (Basu). People purchase marijuana through the black market to avoid paying taxes (CNN). The total taxes consumers pay on marijuana in Colorado is 27.9% (Wood). In order to solve this problem, taxes could decrease to encourage more consumers to purchase marijuana legally. A smaller tax along with dispensaries using banks would help cut down on that 40% tremendously. If the price to purchase legal marijuana becomes the same price as black market marijuana, or at least cheaper, people will have purchase marijuana through legal dispensaries as opposed to using the black market. The black market issue can and will be solved because tax cuts are already being proposed on marijuana (Wood). 

Another common argument against federal legalization is that there have been next to zero scientific studies done on the long term effects of marijuana on a person's body. This is due to many factors. One of the largest is because it is so difficult for scientists to actually conduct a study on the drug, which has been previously discussed within this research. The other is the fact that it is very difficult to find people who have smoked marijuana their entire life without smoking any other drugs or substance. For instance, a study by Julie Wang and Janine Cataldo found a very strong correlation between smoking marijuana and tobacco (Wang). However, federal legalization would help solve the issue of no long term studies being done because scientists would actually be given the chance to conduct long term studies without being interrupted by the DEA. How are scientists supposed to conduct lifelong studies when they can barely obtain enough marijuana to conduct a small, minor study?  

The Wang and Cataldo study also brings up another argument against legalization. As their study found a strong correlation between smoking tobacco and marijuana, the negative health effects of smoking tobacco have been very well documented. Should more people start smoking tobacco, it could potentially cost the United States large sums of money in health care costs. However, this problem would not be a large issue with medical marijuana legalization because people will be using marijuana as a source of medicine, not recreation. This difference is vital because these consumers will simply consume marijuana in order to help their medical condition, smoking tobacco would do the opposite for them; tobacco would make their health worse. The United States could help encourage this attitude by educating people even more on the dangers of tobacco use. People could also be encouraged to consume marijuana utilizing different methods other than smoking, such as edibles. 

Another finding from Colorado about legalization is the increase in the amount of children using marijuana compared to other states that have not legalized the drug. There are many documented dangers of children using marijuana. In 2013, 10.2% of children in Colorado between the ages of twelve to seventeen used marijuana (Smith). Robert White, a federal prosecutor also adds, "In the 18-25 range, which are critical years for brain development, nationally, 18.78 percent of the age group have used in the past month, while in Colorado it stands at 27.26 percent" (Smith). This is a legitimate issue because smoking any substance at young age could cause irreversible brain development effects on children, one of the most important being a drop in IQ level. This is an issue that can also be solved by the country through increased education. 

Marijuana is not a substance that parents have been open to talking with their children about in this country; it has been swept under the rug and not discussed with the youth of the United States. If children are talked to about it, they are simply told to "say no to drugs" which does not give them a clear explanation of the dangers or how marijuana works at all. Children only see or hear about the drug from their friends. Many of them try it because they want to be accepted in the overwhelming high school environment. If marijuana became legalized on a federal level and is treated like any other drug, teenagers might not have the same opinion about the drug. Marijuana is just like any other drug that people use, legally or not legally. It has positive effects on people as well as negative effects on people and both of those should be acknowledged. Teenagers should be aware of this fact and need to be taught about it. 

The federal government refuses to admit that marijuana has positive health effects, despite the scientific findings that have been accepted. In fact, the DEA reflects their stance on the issue on their website and makes it very clear how they feel about it by saying, "The clear weight of the currently available evidence supports [Schedule I] classification, including evidence that smoked marijuana has a high potential for abuse, has no accepted medicinal value in treatment in the United States, and evidence that there is a general lack of accepted safety for its use even under medical supervision ...  Specifically, smoked marijuana has not withstood the rigors of science -- it is not medicine, and it is not safe" (Ferro). The fact is that this statement is almost completely false. The DEA can say that the drug has a high potential for abuse because everyone who has used it since 1970 has had to do it illegally. Additionally, the DEA will not admit that there are actual medical uses. In fact, studies have found that marijuana is one of the least addictive drugs that people use. Also, it is simply ignorant of the DEA to not acknowledge the scientifically accepted studies that have found "accepted medicinal value." 

Weighing all of the pros and cons of federal legalization of medical marijuana, it would be more advantageous of the United States to legalize it. Federal legalization would allow more scientific studies, which would only further the knowledge and public perception of the drug. Also, federal legalization would allow dispensaries to use the federally insuredbanking system, which is currently a major security issue with businesses that sell marijuana. Thirdly, federal legalization would help increase tax revenue as well as cut down on costs enforcing marijuana laws, thus allowing states to invest more money into themselves. Lastly, federal legalization would allow patients who actually need marijuana to utilize it without breaking federal law. The cons of legalization include an increase in children's use and an increase in tobacco use. The cons can be addressed and these problems can be solved through education over time. The pros outweigh the cons. Also, the current schedule I classification of marijuana is based on outdated information, false principles, and is simply a lie. The federal government is not allowing patients to utilize a drug that has proven "medicinal value," along with not allowing states to utilize the extra income that could be realized from medical marijuana legalization. Citizens in the United States need to use their voting power to realize all of the positive outcomes legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes federally. 

