Pot : In the Spotlight.

To Some people, it's a relaxing herb, something to temporarily pull the mind from reality. The aroma is unmistakable, the potency various, and there are roughly sixty five million people smoking it. I'm talking about Cannabis Sativa, the illegal strain of hemp known as marijuana. This plant provides many medical benefits that far outweigh the side effects. It has yet to be proven to be addictive or deadly. Marijuana as it stands right now is an illegal narcotic, but I think the drug, with it's physical, psychological, spiritual, but most importantly, medical benefits, should be legalized. Marijuana is one of the oldest cultivated plants. (Nahas,1986) The first people to introduce the potential
The repeated use of marijuana has been linked to a number of long term effects, some of which are still unproven. There have been studies done that show people who use marijuana on a regular basis may develop serious problems.(Abel, 1983) Some researchers say it may cause brain damage, low sperm count in males, and lung cancer. Among females, frequent use may cause menstrual irregularity. National polls show that more than 70% of the American people , from both sides of the political spectrum, support controlled access to marijuana for medicinal purposes.(Rosenthal, 1996) Despite fierce opposition from the federal government, voters in California and Arizona passed ballot initiatives in 1996 favoring the legalization of marijuana. So you have to wonder; if support for medicinal marijuana is so high, then why have only a few states taken steps to change the policy? There are several reasons why I think marijuana still remains illegal. It is a political issue kicked around by several special interest groups. Most of these groups fear that if marijuana were to become legal, it would be a threat to the home, tearing families apart, causing them to abandon traditional values. In this case, the groups are using marijuana as a scapegoat for nation-wide family problems. Many agencies that are against the legalization of marijuana such as the Drug Enforcement Agency, and police, both state and nation-wide, and the penal systems who all agree that marijuana