ijuana offenses (Barbour 133).
             Marijuana should be legal due to the overwhelming research proving marijuana is not only a very useful substance but also a not dangerous substance by current standards.
             In this paper, I will outline the negative effects of marijuana as claimed by the government, and then provide facts and research disproving these claims.
             A major advocate of marijuana's illegal status comes from claims that the drug causes cancer and severe lung diseases. Only one epidemical study has been able to produce results – a UCLA study showed that 8 of the 10 cellular abnormalities studied showed up in at least half of the marijuana smokers, who had smoked an average of 10 or more joints a week for 5 years. However, he nature of the marijuana-only induced changes were different, occurring in the lungs large airways - not the small peripheral airways affected by tobacco smokers; and since it is inflammation of this small airway that causes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, marijuana smokers may not develop these diseases. (Rosenthal 68)
             One must also note that co-author of the study Donald P. Tashkin stated "... the abnormalities measured don't necessarily lead to cancer..." There are NO epidemiological or aggregate clinical data suggesting that marijuana-only smokers develop lung cancer, (Rosenthal 60) although anti-marijuana activists have been trying to link the two for decades. Marijuana and tobacco smoke are nearly identical except for their psychoactive ingredients, but it is the total volume of inhalation that matters; tobacco smokers consume 10-40 per day, whereas average marijuana smokers seldom consume more than 5-10 cigarettes per week. Also, since the pulmonary risks associated with marijuana are related to smoking, the danger is eliminated with other routes of administration. (Marijuana users don't even have to smoke to enjoy it; many chose to eat it or drink ...