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Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

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Matthew Hakimian Ms. Tunick English 10 January 2017 Legalizing Marijuana-Why it Should Happen Now Marijuana is a very controversial topic in today’s society for a lot of different reasons. Much of the country is divided between whether or not the drug should be legalized, and as of today only 8 states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana. There is great deal of evidence that proves that legalizing marijuana would be a great move for the United States government such as the numerous health benefits of marijuana, the relative safety of marijuana when compared to other drugs, the immense amount of money the U.S economy could gain through the marijuana industry, the potential billions saved in law …show more content…

A federal study conducted by the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM) arrived at the conclusion that "Millions of Americans have tried marijuana, but most are not regular users and few marijuana users become dependent on it.... Although some marijuana users develop dependence, they appear to be less likely to do so than users of other drugs (including alcohol and nicotine), and marijuana dependence appears to be less severe than dependence on other drugs." Marijuana is also a very safe drug, and is even safer than some common foods. After two years of testimony, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief administrative law judge Francis Young ruled: "In strict medical terms, marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to consume enough marijuana to induce death.” Marijuana should also be legalized because it can provide a wide range of benefits for its user. In the words of Noel Merino, “Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man." Marijuana is even recommended by doctors for medical use, and medicinal marijuana use is already legal in 28 states. However, a country wide legalization of medicinal marijuana would make sense in the U.S because of the many different medical benefits marijuana has. Marijuana is also a great way to

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