The Legalization of Marijuana as a Medicine
             Imagine if one of your loved ones was suffering from a very painful, lethal disease such as cancer. There is a substance that can relieve their pain, but due to a law instituted several decades ago declaring that substance illegal they will be forced to suffer. If marijuana was legalized, strictly for medical purposes, then much of the pain and suffering experienced by cancer patients and those suffering from various other afflictions could be lessened or possibly even eliminated. Although marijuana has been used for medicinal purposes by various cultures since ancient times it was not until recently that extensive clinical research has been conducted on this drug to see if there was possibly any medical value. With this research overwhelmingly supporting marijuana as a medicine many states have begun to attempt to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. I feel that action from the government regarding this issue is long over due. More research is a necessity so that the medical value of marijuana can be officially established and the process of legalization initiated.
             By this time, due to an effective public education campaign designed to convince the public of the dangers of marijuana conducted by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, all the states had individually outlawed the selling of marijuana. All of these factors contributed to the decline of the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Finally in the 1950s many laws were passed dictating prison sentences and hefty fines for the possession of marijuana. Current law classifies Marijuana as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act. This means it is considered to have no medical value and may prove addictive. Advocates of marijuana would like the goverment to reclassify it as a Schedule II substance which would allow doctors to prescribe it even though it could prove addictive.
             As one can see, at one point or anothe...