Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Uses

LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA FOR MEDICAL USES

The legalization of marijuana for medical purposes has been questionable for many years, and it has been an active debate in the United States even up to now, with many different issues on which people have many different opinions. There is opposition to the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes because it has the potential to be used incorrectly, however it is also considered that there is the potential for marijuana to be used in relieving the suffering of many seriously ill patients. Marijuana has been used by people for thousands of years to provide relief from many different serious medical problems.

For thousands of years marijuana was not only legal, it was a common crop. It is only in the past ninety years or so that marijuana has been found to be not only unusable, but also harmful and extremely illegal in some States in America (Blaszczak, 2014) .Up to now 23 states in America have legalized marijuana for medical uses, each state has its own regulations to control details such as allowable quantities and registration requirements (State by state marijuana law, 2015). However, the debate on the legalization of its medical uses is still going on in the rest of the states in America.

Marijuana is defined as a shredded, green-brown mix of dried flowers, stems, and leaves from the plant named Cannabis sativa. Marijuana has been used as an agent for achieving a feeling of intense excitement and happiness since ancient times; it was described in a Chinese medical reference traditionally considered to date from 2737 B.C. Its use spread from China to India and then to North Africa and reached Europe and to America (Blaszczak, 2014).

 Some historians say its emergence in America was brought about by Prohibition. Its recreational use was restricted to jazz musicians and people in show business. “Reefer songs” became the rage of the jazz world. Marijuana clubs, called tea pads, sprang up in every major city...