Free Short Essay About The Legalization Of Cannabis

I recently read an article on CNN.com by a chief medical correspondent as he further investigated the benefits of medicinal cannabis as well as its recreational use (Gupta). The article recounted a story of a girl in Colorado who had seizures since she was a newborn. Since she started using medicinal marijuana, her seizure count has dropped and she now only has two to three a month as opposed to having around 300 a week (Gupta). If more cases are found like this and more individuals can find treatment in marijuana, I think we should look into more states legalizing its medicinal use. We still do not have cures for some of the world’s most lethal diseases. If there is a golden ticket in marijuana, we should give the less fortunate a chance of taking their lives back from these ferocious diseases.
As for recreational use, if alcohol and tobacco are legal, I think we need to rethink our anti-cannabis laws. Tobacco use kills more people annually than the combined number of AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders, and suicide cases ("Toll of Tobacco in the United States”). Additionally, the CDC stated that in four years alone, from years 2006-2010, excessive alcohol use caused approximately 88,000 deaths ("Fact Sheets - Alcohol Use and Your Health”). This is astonishing when you think that these deaths are preventable. I’m not naïve to think that marijuana cannot cause deaths when used inappropriately, however, if these drugs are legal and used inappropriately, why is marijuana any different? I think if it should ever become legal in more states, we do need to implement laws such as age requirements and legal limits, like those of alcohol and tobacco, to try to prohibit irresponsible use of the drug. Therefore, with close inspection and laws, I think cannabis should be legal for both recreational and medicinal uses.

References

"Fact Sheets - Alcohol Use and Your Health." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 7 Nov. 2014. Web. 21 Jan. 2015. <http://ww.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm>.
Gupta, Sanjay. "Why I Changed My Mind on Weed - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 8
"Toll of Tobacco in the United States." The Toll of Tobacco in the United States - Campaign for
Tobacco Free Kids. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 8 Jan. 2015. Web. 21 Jan. 2015. <http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/facts_issues/toll_us/>.