What do you think of when you hear the word “Marijuana”? “Weed”, “Pot”? Probably school dropouts, or bad people. Someone who has had something bad happen in their life, and now they are “addicted” to a deadly drug. None of your friends, or family who have told you that it’s “Harmless” or “The worst drug” has told the truth. Right now there is a failed war on drugs. More children from the ages of twelve to nineteen use marijuana, than tobacco. There is a large controversy on whether marijuana is harmful, or as harmful as other legal drugs. But there is also a major issue that not many people know about; medical marijuana.

Most people think that medical legalization is just a cover for “potheads” to get the drug. What people don’t know is that there was no real reason for making marijuana an illegal substance. The main reasons for the prohibition of marijuana were racism, and fear. One quote from a legislator who voted on the prohibition said in 1927, in the Senate room “All Mexicans are crazy, and this stuff [marijuana] is what makes them crazy.”. That was a “valid” reason to set the prohibition. Also, in newspapers in 1934, “Marijuana influences Negroes to look at white people in the eye, step on white men’s shadows and look at a white woman twice.” was published. These are clearly not valid reasons. But the government has gone along with it, and basically brainwashed it’s citizens. They have told stories about how it is bad for you, and will kill you. Those are both false. There is no possible way to die from using marijuana, an overdose is completely impossible.

A counterargument to that is that it can lead to a deadly situation, for example getting high, then driving. You could crash, and maybe die. The thing that people don’t realize is that that already exists. There is a drug legal in the U.S. that has similar effects of marijuana, but kills more people a year than almost everything. Alcohol. Alcohol is a deadly poison that is barely different than marijuana. One of the only differences is that it is worse. Another drug that is completely legal, and kills the most people a year out of anything, is tobacco. Somehow people don’t see how a drug that kills 443,000 people on average a year, is more deadly, and harmful than a drug that has never killed anyone in history.

There are many conditions/illnesses that can be helped, or treated with marijuana. Anxiety disorders and depression are some illnesses that can be treated with medical marijuana. It is also being said that chemicals in the plant discourage the growth of cancerous cells, therefore doing the EXACT OPPOSITE of what it is said to do. There is another technique of using marijuana that is virtually harmless, which is using a “vaporizer”. It is what it sounds like. If you use a vaporizer, it cuts out the risk factor of the smoke causing cancer, and most other factors. This is usually what is used for the medical use of marijuana. In total, there is virtually no risk in using marijuana as medicine.

Aside from it being extremely helpful to some patients, it is also very popular among over half of the U.S. population. If it was legalized as a medicine, it could be taxed, and make a lot of money for the government. In places like California, marijuana is already medically legal under state law, but not under federal law. The people who run these marijuana dispensaries are under close watch from the government, and banks refuse to support them. So they are operating an honest service that is helpful to people, and yet every day, by coming to work, they commit a felony. Going a step further are Colorado, and Washington St. They have voted, and passed a bill one hundred percent legalizing marijuana. It took a long time, and it was hard, but they came through with a great plan; Legalizing marijuana with the same restrictions as alcohol/tobacco.

I feel like marijuana should be legalized a little at a time. First, for the approved medical uses. Then, after further testing, and studying the drug, the problem is that everyone is afraid, but for no reason. The federal government, and Obama Administration have pledged to oppose any and all drug legalization. President Obama has said that he “Could’ve ended up in prison,” when talking about his past use of marijuana. What many activists are saying is that there is only one person who can say that marijuana does not harm you, and that is the person who used it, then became the leader of the free world.