Marijuana has about 400 years of history in America. According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), marijuana has been cultivated since the arrival of the Jamestown settlers and until after the Civil War it was used as a source of revenue for the United States. It did not earn recognition as a recreational drug until the 1920's and 1930's with the rise of Mexican immigrants. In 1937, propaganda about violent immigrants high on marijuana led Congress, to pass an act which criminalized marijuana and instituted mandatory minimum penalties. Despite 60 years of prohibition, marijuana remains the third most popular recreational drug in the US. The government figures 70 million Americans have smoked it, 18 million of these have smoked it in the last year and 10 million of these are regular users. The majority of these users are otherwise law abiding citizens who are hard workers, raising families and contribute to their communities, they are our garbage men, teachers, business professionals, people with debilitating diseases, students like us, marijuana users are everywhere (NORML, 2006). Limiting the use of marijuana intrudes on personal freedom, it is the right of every person to choose what harms his or herself, and its funny because marijuana isn't more harmful than alcohol or tobacco if used in moderation (Balanced Politics, 2006). Marijuana use is thought of as a victimless crime, in that only the user is harmed, so you can't legislate morality when people disagree about what is moral (Balanced Politics, 2006).

It is really quite silly that marijuana is still illegal considering all the financial and moral benefits its legalization would provide. If marijuana were federally legalized, the medicinal benefits reaped by people plagued with painful diseases like cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, and AIDS, would be put at ease. If marijuana were federally legalized, the government could tax it, and make several billion dollars profit off of it a year. If marijuana were federally legalized, the current prison expansion would cease due to a mass reduction of possession arrests. Now that you know a brief history of marijuana in America, I'd like to discuss the benefits of legalizing marijuana for medicinal use.

The legalization of marijuana would benefit medical patients. According to Marijuana as Medicine.org, in the last twenty years there have been 34 states attempting to resolve the issue of access to medical marijuana, but all attempts have been ignored by the federal government. To clarify the significant of this number, the passage of a constitutional amendment requires two-thirds majority or 33 states. Therefore, this comparison shows there is ample support for controlled, medical access to marijuana. However, many still remain against the idea, which is quite inhumane.

Santa Cruz City Council candidate Phil Baer stated in the Sacramento News in 2002, "I think it would be noble of them [medical marijuana patients] if they felt the pain a little bit and did something for the higher good."(Medical Marijuana Pro Con.org, 2007). Attitudes and views such as Mr. Baers are counterproductive, appalling, and heartless, and try telling that to Angel Raich. Angel Raich of Oakland, California is left to suffer from an inoperable brain tumor after the U.S. appeals court ruled that she may not use marijuana for medical reasons, despite the fact it's the only drug that relieves her pain without unruly side effects (Newsday, 2007). Why shouldn't seriously ill patients, like Angel, have access to it? "Why should an she be made to die a horrible death for a hollow political symbol?" (Medical Marijuana Pro Con.org, 2007).

It has been proven marijuana relieves many types of pain, nausea, vomiting and a variety of other symptoms caused by diseases like MS, cancer, epilepsy, spinal injuries, AIDS, glaucoma, depression, and mood disorders in Alzheimer patients, just