Weed, pot, grass, kush, however you say it, marijuana usually carries a negative connotation. Ever since the prohibition of marijuana in 1937, marijuana has always been viewed by society as evil and harmful simply because it is categorized as a drug. However, marijuana is just the opposite. It is almost harmless, has proven to have tremendous healing abilities, and has no major physical or mental consequences, as opposed to other legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco, which have many more proven consequences from usage. The drug is already used by teens and adults alike, and only takes money away from the government by not mandating the sale. Marijuana being illegal also forces taxpayers to pay for the imprisonment of people who are put in jail simply for a marijuana charge. On the other hand, the legal sale of marijuana brings in a ton of revenue to communities and states. These communities can use the money to build new roads or improve the public schools or public playgrounds. Marijuana is already legal in some pioneering states for recreational and medicinal use, and other states are soon to follow suit. The economies of Colorado and other legal states have already skyrocketed due to the legal sale of marijuana and those numbers are expected to continue to increase. The positives of the drug extremely outweigh the negatives and with more and more research being done on the effects that marijuana has on the brain and the body, more and more states will soon realize its benefit and will legalize marijuana and lift the ban. Recreational usage should be legalized in the United States because of recent studies and findings that have been discovered across the country regarding the effects of marijuana on all aspects of human life and well being. 

Medicinal marijuana has gained more and more attention in today’s society, especially in recent times. There are two known active chemicals in marijuana that can have medical implications, THC and CBD. A study published in August 2014 indicated that THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, may help to slow or halt the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, which causes memory loss. THC can also slow the formation of amyloid plaque by blocking the enzyme in the brain that makes them. These plaques are what kill brain cells and cause Alzheimer's (Welsh). Similarly, a recent video went viral showing a Parkinson’s patient smoking marijuana and the amazing healing effect that the drug had on the ill person. THC can control pain and tremors and improve sleep for Parkinson’s disease patients by binding to the brain cells responsible for the pain and tremors and regulating relaxation. THC can also help ease the pain that comes from multiple sclerosis. Jody Corey-Bloom published a study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal that focused on 30 patients who suffered painful contractions in their muscles from multiple sclerosis (Welsh).  Other treatments did not work on these patients, but after a few days of smoking marijuana the patients agreed that they were in less pain. THC binds to receptors in the nerves to relieve the pain. Legal medicinal marijuana can also greatly reduce the amount of painkiller overdose deaths in the United States. By allowing people to use marijuana as an alternate pain medication, there is less risk of overdose on painkillers. We are witnessing a marijuana movement, a transition from where marijuana was completely frowned upon to today’s day and age where marijuana can be a crucial treatment in the healing of many common diseases that plague the world today. Just over half of the states in the United States have legalized marijuana for medicinal use and the country is finally beginning to face the facts, the truths about marijuana. The drug has positive impacts on the human body physically and mentally. 

The other known active chemical in marijuana that can have medical implications is cannabidiol (CBD). CBD may be able to help prevent cancer from spreading, researchers at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco reported in 2007. The researchers studied breast cancer cells in the lab that had high expression levels of a gene called Id-1 and treated them with cannabidiol. CBD stopped the cancer cells by turning off the Id-1 gene. Cancer cells make more copies of this gene than non-cancerous cells, and it helps them spread through the body. After treatment the cells had decreased Id-1 expression and were less aggressive spreaders (Welsh). Another tremendous effect that CBD can have on the human body is by treating a very rare and severe seizure disorder known as Dravet’s Syndrome. A five year old girl in Colorado suffers from Dravet’s Syndrome and was given marijuana as a way to treat the disease. Since she began using marijuana, her seizures have gone down from 300 a week to just one. The doctors who recommended this treatment say that the cannabidiol in the plant interacts with the brain cells to quiet the excessive activity in the brain that causes the seizures (Welsh). Marijuana has been studied for years and has recently been proven by numerous doctors to help relieve pain and help treat all kinds of different diseases, yet some patients are not allowed to receive the beneficial treatment they need because medical marijuana is still illegal in about 20 states in the United States. The biggest epidemic in the medical world today is cancer, and since marijuana is proven to help the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases, there is no reason why patients should be denied the drug. 

Besides the ample health benefits that marijuana gives to people, there are also economic benefits that can have a significant impact on a person, family, or even a community. A small town in Colorado called Trinidad has begun to rely on the sell of medicinal and recreational marijuana. The town was formerly a mining town, however the mining became scarce in Trinidad so many people left the small town, leaving it deserted and almost hopeless until the legalization of marijuana in Colorado. Trinidad is using the money to rebuild roads and pipes that were installed in the 19th and early 20th century. The dispensary, CannaCo, says that they see anywhere from 100-300 customers per day and expect over $100 million of revenue within the next five years (Weed Money Could Save Small Town). Recreational marijuana sales are soaring in other states too, not just Colorado. From July 8, 2014, to June 30, 2015, the first full year of legalization in Washington state, retail recreational marijuana sales statewide totaled almost $260 million. Recreational sales in Colorado's first year (Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2014) totaled $313 million (Wanlund 2). This spike in revenue for these legal states could help rebuild communities or struggling and beat up neighborhoods in the big cities. Sales of medical and recreational marijuana totaled nearly $3 billion last year in what is one of the nation's fastest-growing industries. Experts say sales could reach $35 billion by 2020 if all 50 states and the District of Columbia legalize the drug (Wanlund 1). Colorado collected more than $6 million in tax revenue in the first two months of 2014, and state legislators expect the value to multiply substantially by the middle of 2015. This projection has led to a planned marijuana money earmark of $40 million for the state's public schools. Washington appears just as well off, as it estimates that the state will raise nearly $200 million over the next four years in marijuana taxes and fees (Brewer 4). This means states that lag behind in the land of criminal marijuana are potentially denying themselves access to an opportunity that could lead to balanced budgets and improving their public schools and communities. 

 Legalization could not only represent a potential tax windfall, but also a chance to relieve the immense burden that our country faces when managing its prison systems. Since the start of the decade, America’s prisons have incarcerated nearly 12,000 federal prisoners and about 33,000 state prisoners for marijuana-­related crimes. The average cost of each federal prisoner was about $29,000 in 2011 and every state prisoner cost taxpayers $31,286 as of 2010 (Brewer). Criminal laws preventing possession and use of marijuana do not stop or even slow down marijuana use. Marijuana use remains consistent despite a high level of enforcement, and there is no detectable relationship between changes in enforcement and levels of marijuana use over time. Forcing police officers to enforce marijuana possession laws simply overcrowds America’s already underfunded prisons. It is irresponsible to continue imprisoning otherwise law ­abiding citizens and contributing to an already difficult penal problem over something as minimal in consequence as marijuana distribution or use. 

Many people are concerned with the legalization of marijuana because they feel it will have a terrible influence on America’s youth. Marijuana being illegal does not prevent teens from using or possessing the drug. Recreational marijuana is illegal in almost every state in the United States, yet according to a study conducted by the University of Michigan, 21.2% of high school seniors have reported to have used marijuana in the last month, 16.6% of high school sophomores, and 6.5% of eighth graders. Marijuana remaining illegal won’t help those numbers go down, and stricter laws regulating marijuana will not do anything either. In today’s teenage society, it is fairly easy for a teenager to obtain marijuana, and with the growing studies and information being discovered regarding the harmlessness of the drug, those numbers will only increase. 

When considering why marijuana is illegal, one might wonder why some drugs, like alcohol, which is far worse for you than marijuana, is legal and not even given a second thought. New research suggests marijuana may be less harmful than other frequently abused drugs. German and Canadian researchers found marijuana to be “low-risk” compared with 10 other commonly used substances, including tobacco and alcohol (Marijuana Policy Project). Unfortunately, it is very possible for a person to die from an alcohol overdose, however it is impossible to die from a marijuana overdose. Alcohol use is associated with a wide variety of cancers, including cancers of the esophagus, stomach, colon, lungs, pancreas, liver and prostate (Marijuana Policy Project). Marijuana use has not been conclusively associated with any form of cancer. In fact, a 2009 study contradicted the long-time government claim that marijuana use is associated with head and neck cancers. The study found that marijuana use actually reduced the likelihood of head and neck cancers. Alcohol also has a much more severe impact on the community than marijuana does. According to a study conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, it is estimated that 25-30% of violent crimes in the United States are linked to the use of alcohol (Marijuana Policy Project). On the other hand, the government does not even follow or track the amount of violent crimes linked to marijuana usage, probably because they are almost nonexistent. Another very common legal drug, tobacco, also has more consequences that marijuana. Marijuana is frequently associated with lung cancer, however that is not the case. The largest case-controlled study ever conducted to investigate the respiratory effects of marijuana smoking and cigarette smoking conducted by Dr. Donald Tashkin at the University of California at Los Angeles in 2006 found that marijuana smoking was not associated with an increased risk of developing lung cancer. Surprisingly, the researchers found that people who smoked marijuana actually had lower incidences of cancer compared to non-users of the drug” (Marijuana Policy Project). With numerous studies and experiments being conducted on marijuana and the drug becoming more and more desired, it is very hard to deny that marijuana should remain illegal, while other more popular drugs are much more harmful, yet still legal. 

On the recent November 8th ballot, five states (Massachusetts, Arizona, Maine, California, Nevada) were up for legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Arizona is the only state who voted to keep recreational use of marijuana illegal. The other four states approved the legalization of recreational marijuana and the laws are currently in effect. Many people, in Massachusetts in particular, spoke out against the legalization. The Massachusetts Medical Society, Republican Charlie Baker (Massachusetts governor), and Democrat Marty Walsh (Boston mayor) all did not support the vote for legal marijuana. These people argued that marijuana is a gateway drug and the effects on the brain are still somewhat unknown. The “gateway theory” argues that because heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine users often used marijuana before moving onto harder drugs, it must be a gateway to harder drug use. Yet the gateway hypothesis doesn’t make sense to those who use marijuana or have used marijuana in the past. Research shows that the vast majority of marijuana users do not go on to use hard drugs. Most stop using after entering the adult social world of family and work (Boeri 1). There are some gateways to hard drug use, but they are not marijuana. Poverty and poor social environment are gateways to hard drug use, as well as associating with hard drug users. There is no scientific evidence that proves that marijuana use directly leads to hard drug use. Dr. Miriam Boeri of Bentley University believes that, if anything, marijuana can work as a gateway out of hard drug use, an exit strategy that needs to be studied and, possibly, implemented at the policy level. Marijuana use can help hard drug users prevent, control, and even stop hard drug use. 

Former United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch agrees with Dr. Boeri that marijuana is not a gateway drug. She spoke at a high school last year and said, “When we talk about heroin addiction, we unusually, as we have mentioned, are talking about individuals that started out with a prescription drug problem, and then because they need more and more, they turn to heroin. It isn’t so much that marijuana is the step right before using prescription drugs or opioids.” Loretta Lynch says that marijuana is not the drug problem that Americans and parents should be concerned about. Lynch argues that prescription pills are much more of an issue with teens today than marijuana is. It is time to move beyond marijuana as a gateway drug and start to study its use as treatment for the deadly, addictive, and socially devastating drugs (Boeri 4). 

Marijuana should still be regulated and strictly governed, that is not the argument. Legalizing marijuana across the country would mean enforcing appropriate age restrictions and consumption limits, just as states enforce regulations for alcohol and cigarettes. Moderation is as important when using marijuana as it is for anything else. But ending the ban on marijuana use has been a long time coming. The country is changing so quickly that it is very hard to keep up with all the advancements in technology and science. Society needs to come to the realization that marijuana use is not harmful, contrary to popular belief about 30 or 40 years ago. Thanks to our advancing scientific knowledge, scientists have come to the conclusion that marijuana does far more positive things to your body and to society than is does harmful things. The drug is not addictive. There have been no reported cases in the history of human existence of a marijuana overdose. People must realize that this drug is a drug unlike any other and has serious medical and economical implications. Marijuana has been proven to have the capability to slow down cancer along with other horrible diseases and boost local and statewide economies. With all the money that is coming into the states that have already legalized recreational marijuana, imagine how much money the country as a whole could bring in if recreational marijuana was legal nationwide. It is time for a change to be made, and for people to open their eyes and realize the facts about marijuana. 
