Marijuana should be legalized and taxed by the government because it has a low risk of abuse, and it can be used for many medical reasons. Prescription drugs kill about 100,000 people in the world each year. Off the top of your head, do you know how many deaths are caused by using marijuana, either medically or recreationally? According to statistics, marijuana has not yet been recorded to be a cause of any death, ever. Not only are marijuana’s effects safer than already legalized drugs, but it has also been proven to be safer than alcohol and tobacco, which has been legalized since the 1920’s. Many people have argued that marijuana is a “gateway drug”, but I believe that it just depends on the type of person you are. People know their boundaries and if they choose to cross the line and try other harmful drugs then that’s their choice, it has nothing to do with the use of marijuana. The low risk of marijuana abuse is at it’s lowest and there have been no reports of it increasing. The use of medical marijuana has been increasing throughout the US with 21 states legalizing it and many more states in the process of legalization. It has been proven that marijuana can help with mental illness, cancer, depression, eating disorders, sleep disorders, anxiety and many others. Many doctors today prefer prescribing medical marijuana to people over other drugs. Amanda Reiman, Ph.D., the director of research and social services at the Berkeley center stated, "Instead of having a pain medication, an antianxiety medication, and a sleep medication, they are able to just use cannabis, and that controls all of those symptoms.”
This is debate on medical marijuana has been happening for a long time and is still being argued today, but after researching there seem to be few, if any, reasons to keep marijuana off the market. It doesn't kill, and while it may not be as effective as other treatments, it is a safer path to take.
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