According to government figures, nearly 70 million Americans have smoked
marijuana at some time in their lives. 18 million have smoked marijuana within the last
year, and ten million are regular smokers. Almost all of the people arrested for marijuana
are arrested for possession. And because of harsh federal and state penalties, these people
may be sentenced to lengthy jail terms. I think this is an abuse of drug laws in a great
nation. The marijuana laws need to be reformed, and the war against marijuana rethought.
One reason these laws need to be rethought is for medicinal purposes. Most people
think marijuana is a dangerous drug that can kill. This is true if taken in heavy doses but
that's also true for aspirin, alcohol and ibuprofen, which are all largely legal. Doctors have
discovered that under controlled and medical supervision, marijuana has is "one of the safest
therapeutically active substances known to man" says Dr. Grinspoon, at the University of
Florida. This is just one reason why it should be allowed for medical purposes. Marijuana
has been proven to help cancer patients recover from the results of chemotherapy.
Sometimes these results of chemo are so great that cancer patients can't continue with the
procedure and walk away from it. Marijuana has also been used successfully to help
people with anorexia. It has given these people appetites and in some cases almost
completely cured them. And another medical use for it is glaucoma. Marijuana has been
known to help glaucoma sufferers greatly and to enhance their lives. Although marijuana
has all these positive qualities that don't seem to have bad side effects, federal law allows
physicians to prescribe far more dangerous drugs to patients. And yet refuses marijuana into the
Another reason to reform the marijuana laws is to help our country socially and
economically. America spent 20 bil...