Should America Go Green? Medical cannabis refers to the use of cannabis or to synthetic forms of specific cannabinoids, such as Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as a form of medicine. Cannabis comes from the ground, it is a plant, and what is used for treatments it comes from the buddings of the plant. There are three different kinds of the cannabis know as Sativa, Indica, and Ruderalis. The cannabis is consumed through smoking, vaporizing or ingesting through edible forms. Most countries have outlawed the use of cannabis although the United States Federal Government allows the medical use of synthetic cannabinoids for one or more disorders. The plant has been used for medical conditions for a long period of time. The first medical use that was documented occurred around 2,000 BC, as the ancient Egyptians used cannabis to treat sore eyes. Marijuana has been in the United States since the first colony grew hemp for rope. Studies have showed that cannabis treats pain relief, Glaucoma, Alzheimer’s disease, Breast and Brain Cancer, HIV/AIDS, Crohns disease, and Diabetes. Ever since propaganda started bashing cannabis, a negative image has surrounded the use and grow. In the U.S., parents of the seventies found out that their kids were apart of the huge incline of pot smoking. They pushed and shoved for zero tolerance and the states soon prohibited cannabis. Now, twenty out of the fifty states have legalized medical use. What about the other thirty? For some states possession might have been decriminalized, yet, it is still illegal. There could be many positives from dispensaries. The United States can greatly benefit from the legalization of medical marijuana
One example of how the United States can greatly benefit from the legalization of medical marijuana is the boost of the economy we would have. There are thousands of sick people in need of or willing to alternate to medical cannabis throughout the country. The government can tax it and with the ill patients looking for treatment, the government is sure to make money. In particular, “Colorado raked in $5 million in tax revenue in 2011 from medical marijuana businesses” (Crank) and its cities collected hundreds of thousands more from the budding industry. The tax money could go into building new schools. That would mean we would need construction workers and more teachers. When legalized, cities everywhere will start receiving dispensaries as shown in Colorado and California and a few other states. Businesses have to have employees, and with all the pharmacies to be built thousands of jobs could be created.
Medicinal use would be another example of why America should legalize medical marijuana would be for the medicinal use. It has been proven that it is not addictive, there is no long term effects and you cannot overdose. Cancer, one of the most deathly diseases, has been proven to stop developing when medical cannabis is consumed. In 2006, a study in Spain resulted in cancer cells being decreased saying “Tetrahydrocannabinol inhibited tumour-cell proliferation in vitro and decreased tumour-cell Ki67 immunostaining when administered to two patients” (Guzman). In many cases, terminally ill patients cannot be treated by a normal prescription but by smoking cannabis their conditions stopped or dramatically decreased. In places such as Colorado people suffering from anorexia are prescribed marijuana and get the urge to eat again to become healthy. People with back problems experience excruciating pain on a day to day basis holding them back from doing simple daily tasks such as taking the trash out or getting up to get the mail. If