environment will eliminate the black-market and its associated criminality. We should legalize marijuana to reduce crime and violence even further. Jailing innocent people solely on recreational choices is a travesty of justice that causes enormous pain, suffering, and financial hardship for millions of American families. It also invokes disrespect for the law and the criminal justice system overall. Responsible marijuana smokers present no threat or danger to society, and little reason exists for treating them as criminals.Marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes; it is safe and effective medicine. Marijuana, or cannabis, has never achieved the medical status of other drugs, such as morphine and opium, although its medicinal qualities have been recognized for centuries. Marijuana was utilized as far back as 2737 B.C. by a Chinese emperor named Shen Nung. Some 2900 years later in A.D. 300 a Chinese physician mixed cannabis resin with white wine to make a surgical anesthetic. By the 1890s medical reports had stated the drug was useful as a pain reliever. However, despite its historical significance, the use of marijuana as medicine has become a widely debated and controversial topic (Grispoon 136). Marijuana has been tested to treat glaucoma, asthma, convulsions, epilepsy, migraine headaches, and the reduction of nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite associated with chemotherapy. Many medical professionals, as well as their patients, believe marijuana to be promising in the treatment of these disorders, and others, including multiple sclerosis, and spasticy in amputees and people with neurological disorders. There is abundant anecdotal evidence, as well as scientific research, supporting this belief. 85% of Americans already support the allowance of seriously ill patients to legally access marijuana to relieve pain and suffering. Many have had a family member sick with cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, glaucom...
