Why we should legalize marijuana

Election season is upon us, and so are the different propositions. One of the most debated ones is Prop. 64, which would legalize marijuana for adults. There’s a plethora of reasons it should be legalized that benefit everyone, the first and most obvious being that marijuana is far less harmful than alcohol or cigarettes. It has been proven to be a very successful medicine for many types of illnesses. Also, the cruel punishments for the use of the drug have led to the imprisonment of too many people, who are no worse than someone taking a prescription drug. Marijuana has started to become medically legal in some states, visit altmedcaredocs.com to find the best medical marijuana clinics in Florida.

Cigarettes are harmful to the people who smoke them, as well as anyone around them, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). “Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including nearly 42,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure. This is about one in five deaths annually, or 1,300 deaths every day,” said the CDC.

Two of America’s most beloved drugs, alcohol and nicotine, happen to be the most dangerous, yet are somehow thought to be completely different, even better, than marijuana. But in a study by Time Magazine, 1,037 New Zealanders who use marijuana were analyzed from ages 18-38.

“The only bad effects pot seemed to have were on the teeth… Even more surprisingly, the researchers found that cannabis use over time was linked to a lower BMI, smaller waist circumference and better HDL cholesterol, suggesting that cannabis may be involved in metabolism,” said the researchers of this study.

There are actually benefits from taking this drug. According to prevention.com/health, marijuana can help with an array of pain symptoms from different diseases, ease anxiety, and can even slow or halt the growth of cancer cells!

This seemingly harmless, mostly beneficial drug is still illegal in most states and federally and puts a lot of people in prison. “Marijuana arrests now account for over half of all drug arrests in the United States. Of the 8.2 million marijuana arrests between 2001 and 2010, 88 percent were for simply having marijuana,” said the American Civil Liberties Union.

There is absolutely no reason for marijuana to be illegal, other than to fill prisons, ruin medical discoveries, or to stop a bunch people from eating too much junk food and having the giggles.