Persuasive Essay on Marijuana Should Be Completely Legalized

The use of medical marijuana has been shown to be much more safe than hard narcotics, and nearly as effective as painkillers. According to studies, “9,908 deaths were attributed to the use of FDA-approved drugs for conditions for which marijuana could have been used in its place.” On the other hand, no deaths have been recorded as a result of a marijuana overdose. It has also been verified that marijuana helps with life threatening diseases such as Alzheimer's, Epilepsy, and Cancer. These are more than enough reasons to prove why medical marijuana should be legalized in every state to help with opioid problems, most cancers, and other ailments.

"Researchers from the University of California, San Diego found that hospitalization rates of people suffering from painkiller abuse and addiction dropped 23% and overdoses requiring hospitalization fell 13% in places where medical marijuana was made legal. In 2016, more than 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses. Hard drugs are incredibly more dangerous than marijuana could ever be. With the relief of debilitating pain that weed gives, people can begin to wean off of harmful opioids.

An unfortunate side effect to chemotherapy, a cancer treatment, is extreme nausea, sleeplessness, and anxiety. A 2017 study in the Cancer journal found that among 926 cancer patients in Washington state, most were interested in learning about cannabis during treatment. “Most patients listed their reason as pain, followed by nausea or upset stomach and stress.” Mary Paris, a 60 year old woman, had gotten a painful cancer procedure. Paris said she is feeling much better than she did after a double mastectomy as a result of marijuana. Cannabis is definitely an option that many cancer patients are fond of. 

In 2013, Chase Gross, an 8 year old boy, was given medical marijuana. Chase suffers from a  seizure disorder which causes him to have around 1,500 seizures a day. After he received a liquid form of cannabis that's very low in THC, but high in CBD, his seizures reduced to 400 a day. “‘The cool part is he's happier,’ Randy Gross said. “‘He's a lot more communicative. Even his gait is getting to be more normal. We measure progress in little increments.’” Marijuana has certainly helped Chase and continues to help many other kids that are suffering from the same disorder.

In conclusion to all of these points, marijuana should be completely legalized so it would be an alternative option for people who are addicted to lethal opioids, help with chemotherapy for cancer patients, and from other cureless diseases to help comfort them. These prohibition laws must be changed so less people can go through pain of disease and/or loss of loved ones.

Works Cited

Bowen, Alison. "Cancer Patient Requests for Medical Cannabis 'Explode.'" Chicago Tribune, 7 Oct. 2018, p. 5. SIRS Issues Researcher, explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2267348708?accountid=37399.

Boxer, Richard. "Can Marijuana Alleviate the Opioid Crisis?" Wall Street Journal, 20 Nov. 2017. SIRS Issues Researcher, explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2265922389?accountid=37399.

Church, Lindsay. "Medical Marijuana Saved Me and Other Veterans." Washington Post, 29 July 2021. SIRS Issues Researcher, explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2560442594?accountid=3522.

Firger, Jessica. "Cancer and Kids: Is Medical Marijuana the Answer?" Newsweek, 28 July 2017. SIRS Issues Researcher, explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2266059875?accountid=3522.

Mccoppin, Robert. "Legal Pot for Kids' Seizures Hailed." Chicago Tribune, 22 July 2014, p. 5. SIRS Issues Researcher, explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2266115518?accountid=3522.

Newton, David E. "Arguments for Legalizing Medical Marijuana." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society, ABC-CLIO, 2022, issues.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1769268.

Vestal, Christine. "As the Opioid Crisis Peaks, Meth and Cocaine Deaths Explode." Stateline.org, 16 May 2019. SIRS Issues Researcher, explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2318331419?accountid=3522.