Velasquez1

Andrew Velasquez
Professor Noh
English 114A
21 October 2015
Marijuana: Beneficial thoughts to explore
Marijuana has been the controversial topic through history, and has been
seen in many of the presidential election debates including this years election.
Current Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders argues that the legalization of
marijuana will save the government millions and decrease the war on drugs.
Marijuana is beneficial to our country, whether its curing diseases or helping the
economy as seen in the prohibition from 1919 to 1933. The government would lose
money, and crime rates would increase the solution was to end prohibition making
alcohol once again legal and lowering crime rates. This is just one of many cases in
which marijuana has proven beneficial to society.
Berny Sanders is not the only voice for marijuana legalization, in the article
by Daniels Melissa a Washington post reporter who wrote about the effects of
marijuana, states that in states where it's legal, marijuana is a treatment option for
illnesses including glaucoma, seizures, post-traumatic stress, cancer and chronic
pain, (Melissa3). Marijuana has recently been known for treating illnesses, such as
Mania, Asthma and many others. The legalization of marijuana may lead to
alternative treatments in the medical field which may allow doctors to do further
research and expand the usage of marijuana. By doing so they will be able to come
up with alternative uses for marijuana.

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Doctors will be able to come up with new treatments that are affordable for
people who cant afford expensive medication. Karen Rowan a fox news reporter
wrote that Americans are not filling for prescriptions because they cannot afford to
do so (Rowan). Healthcare prices have increased making it harder for Americans to
pay for their medication, recently a film by Michael Moore called Sicko has been
released depicting the fraud that many health care organizations commit. With the
legalization of marijuana not being able to afford health care would no longer be a
problem, the low price and easy distribution well help many Americans save on
expensive prescription pills.
Lane Charles states in his article A bipartisan marijuana myth that
Apropos of former Florida governor Jeb Bush's admitted youthful marijuana use
(Charles). Lane challenges the stereotype behind the typical marijuana user in his
article, he does this by using current presidential candidate Jeb Bush as an example
that not all marijuana user are necessarily drop out or black, Mexican, or homeless.
People against marijuana debate that marijuana is used by blacks or Mexicans with
no future. Not necessarily true however, many influential actors and leaders who we
look up to have smoked pot no matter their skin color. Miley Cyrus for example is
seen as a strong and successful female and is also known to have smoked pot, as
well as Obama the president of the United States, is known to have smoked
marijuana in his college years. This shows that using marijuana doesnt necessarily
mean you will end up incarcerated or a drop out.
While many are for the legalization of marijuana others are opposed, such as
Del. Joseph F. Vallario Jr. member of the house of judiciary Committee who stated
marijuana was a bad message to the kids". The message we put out to the kids is
the debate in this article, however our kids in todays society are exposed to much

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more than just marijuana. Sex, alcohol and marijuana have all been given bad
names, because of our society. Marijuana is now seen as a gateway drug that leads
to a dangerous lifestyle. Media has taken the image of marijuana and demoralized
the use for it, people blinded by media no longer see the beneficial uses of
marijuana such as medication or pain relievers. Society now portrays marijuana as a
drug that is addictive and leads to a bad life.
Yet another controversy is the money issue behind marijuana legalization In
the article by Parker Phillip a reporter from Dayton daily news writing on why
marijuana is bad for Ohio states that to just outright give 10 private companies the
license to create a closed cartel and make hundreds of millions of dollars controlling
the growth and marketing of this drug is by far the most self-serving idea I've ever
heard of (Parker), Phillip fails to mention the amount of money that would also be
saved by legalizing marijuana. With these privately own companies growing
marijuana jobs well be created and the legalization of marijuana will also keep those
incarcerated for marijuana use out of jail and save the government millions of
dollars. This money which comes from tax payers could be used for other beneficial
purposes such as finding cures for deadly diseases or building more hospitals.
Making marijuana legal would mean new medical possibilities, saving money from
the war on drugs, and a stress free life. The single story of drug abuse and
dangerous life style all pertaining to marijuana has blinded many into thinking
marijuana is all bad news, but when u see a different story to marijuana, we see the
many beneficial uses marijuana has.

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Work Cited
Marijuana bad for Ohio Dayton Daily News [Dayton, Ohio] 23 Aug 2015: D.6.
ProQuest. Web
Rowan, Karen 1 in 8 Meds to Save money Live Science 11 Apr. 2013
Livescience.Web
Nardo, Melissa Compassionate access to Medical Cannabis: Real Medicine for Real
People Washington post 25 Feb. 2015
Lane, Charles A bi partisan marijuana myth Washington Post Oct 15 2015