In recent years, debates over whether the government should legalize the drug marijuana, and the resulting drug war, have made headlines nationwide. The idea that doctors and researcher have been trying to prove is that marijuana has medical uses for its patients with certain diseases and disorders. But the government has their eyes closed to the facts. Doctors and Scientists who have studied marijuana agree that it does have some medical benefits, and some feel the government is so busy fighting the war on drugs that it does not see them.
             Marijuana is one of the oldest and most researched drugs known to humanity. For thousands of years prior to its prohibition in the twentieth century, cannabis, another name for marijuana, was used as a medicine throughout the world, until the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Marijuana, being a powerful topical analgesic, muscle relaxant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-spasmodic agent, was found in virtually all ointments and relaxers. The United States Pharmacopoeia recommended marijuana for over one hundred illnesses including asthma, fatigue, fits of coughing, migraine headaches, cramps, and depression associated with menstruation. This lasted up until 1942 when it ceased to be listed due to increasing political pressure.
             Not only does marijuana have its medical values, it also has its industrial uses. Some people say marijuana should be legalized for the sick who can benefit from its usage, for the farmers who need cash, for the tax revenues it could bring in, and for the environmental and industrial benefits it possesses. In the past, hemp, another form of marijuana, which is legal, had been used to make ropes, clothing, paper, canvas, and many other materials. This would mean many of the fears the world has today about trees and the environment would be extinguished.
             Marijuana has over four hundred chemicals. Many of these chemicals are the same as those in regular cigarettes, but marijuana is more...