Marijuana smokers are harmless criminals and are being jailed for longer than people who commit violent crimes. These harsh laws are another reason why marijuana should be legalized. Most especially because these laws seem to only affect people who are not famous or important. High school basketball player Michael Southall lost his basketball scholarship to GA Tech because of evidence showing that the high school senior had smoked pot once. Along with losing his scholarship, he was placed in military school. He avoided jail time only due of the fact that he was a minor and that it was his first offense. In Massachusetts, 18 year old, Brian Wright was arrested for the possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute. He was sentenced to 5 and one-half years in jail (www.yahoonews.com). When Vice-President Al Gore admitted to multiple uses of marijuana, however, nothing was done about it. Marijuana laws need to be abolished if some people are to allowed to get away with not even a slap on the wrist while others are receiving sever punishments.These unforgiving laws against marijuana make utilizing the therapeutic properties of marijuana extremely risky to say the least. Marijuana can be utilized to treat numerous ailments. The cannabidiol (CB) and cannibichromine (CBD) are useful in combating the convulsive seizures of epilepsy. Cannabidiol also helps to protect brain cells during an attack of a stroke (http://www.norml.org/medical/marinol.shtml). Smoking marijuana also helps to reduce the nausea felt by chemotherapy patients, and AIDS patients on AZT. Despite the relief that marijuana can provide to all of these medical cases, United States Laws force these patients to suffer for fear of arrest and jail time.In addition to helping certain sufferers of particular ailments, researchers are finding evidence that refutes prior information as to the harmfulness of marijuana. Dr. Grinspoon writes:It is sometimes claimed th...
