Our president Bill Clinton and both Al Gore and George W. Bush have smoked pot at least once. I'm sure people in the U.S. know someone personally who has ingested marijuana, if they have not smoked it. Next to alcohol and nicotine, marijuana is the most popular drug in America, with approximately 10 million regular smokers. Besides the recreational uses of this illicit drug, it has been proven to effectively treat medical ailments for patients such as AIDS and cancer sufferers. So why is this plant labeled as a schedule I drug by the DEA? That would have to mean it has no medicinal effectiveness, but states such as Washington, Nevada, Maine, Arizona and California have all voted marijuana legal for medical patients with certain illnesses to consume. Why doesn't the government stop contradicting themselves and making a mockery of our judicial system? The federal government should legalize marijuana.
             The marijuana plant comes in many different forms and names. It's sometimes referred to as grass, hemp, pot, ganja, and cannabis sativa. The active ingredient, what produces the high, in marijuana is THC (tetrahydrocannabinal). As of now, marijuana is considered a schedule I drug by the federal government. Having marijuana categorized with such drugs as PCP, LSD, and heroin is just plain ridiculous.
             To be a schedule I drug, a drug has to posses three qualities. The first is that the drug has to have a high potential for abuse, which I believe marijuana does not. Essentially all drugs are used in an "addictive fashion". However, for any drug to be identified as highly addictive, there should be evidence that substantial numbers of users repeatedly fail in their attempts to discontinue use and develop use-patterns that interfere with other life activities. National epidemiological surveys show that large a majority of people who have had experience with marijuana do not become regular users. In 1999,...