Marijuana, a.k.

a cannabis, pot, weed, hemp, or reefer, has been a topic of heated

debates for many years, but now, it is in the spotlight more than ever. The issue about
the use of this drug is becoming more and more topical because people are debating
whether or not to legalize it. Marijuana, as well all know, is the most commonly used
drug in the world. In fact, around 3.8 percent of the world’s population or 158.8 million
people around the world use marijuana, according to United Nations. And the number is
continuously rising.

It is said that this drug can help cure diseases, including cancer, glaucoma, and AIDS.
Other people claim that it is a great stress reliever and a useful medicine for pain. Even
doctors prescribed this drug to people who have problems in sleeping and eating.

but here in the Philippines marijuana is still not legalize. Many said that people will
abuse it and that's the reason why marijuana is still not legalize. Here are the powerful
reasons why we should legalize marijuana

1) The truth is marijuana is not a harmful drug. Although the use of it can have negative
effects on physical and mental health, if used well, it benefits the user. And when it
comes to relative risks and harm, marijuana is proven to be far less harmful than other
products, particularly alcohol and tobacco.

1. Marijuana is Medicine. Of course.

Now, we don’t need to keep listing all the health benefits of cannabis. There are already
tons of articles about cannabis being an all in one medicine with only a tiny, tiny percent
of a chance of an overdose.
Even though 23 states have legalized cannabis medically, physicians still don’t have
national guidelines on how to prescribe it. High Times, a magazine publication
advocating the legalization of cannabis, recently quoted Dr. Jean Antonucci who told
CNN that she still feels “completely in the dark” about medical marijuana treatment,
dose, and whether a patient should smoke, eat, or vaporize it. Most physicians have
never been trained to prescribe marijuana and it is still not covered in medical schools.
Only some states are beginning to require doctors to take additional medical courses on
medical marijuana.

3) Marijuana doesn’t only benefit the body, but the economy as well. Just like medicines
and other goods, legalization of marijuana can substantially rake huge amount of
profits, which we badly need in these economic times. In the first six months of 2014,
Colorado alone has pulled in more than $25 million dollar pot-related tax revenue, and
the state expects the value to triple in the middle of 2015. Just think about how much
money the country will make if the entire U.S. legalized the use of cannabis?

According to the latest analysis by the NerdWallet, if all 50 states legalized marijuana
today, the country could gain over $3 billion in tax revenue. This very large potential
profit can be extremely helpful in our entire nation. It can used to better education,
improve healthcare, develop the justice system, help the poor, pay off country’s debt,
and fortify unfunded government programs. And remember that besides sales tax,
several other revenues can also be generated when marijuana is legalized. Once legal,
states and cities can impose other fees, such as licenses and annual fees, on consumers
and retailers.

4) It can help the goverment save cost

In addition to bringing in funds, legalization of marijuana gives the country an

opportunity to save billions of dollars per year. According to Harvard economist Jeffrey
Miron, a whopping $8.7 billion a yearis being spent for enforcing laws against marijuana
in the U.S. And what are we getting for the billions of dollars spent in stopping cannabis
use? Nada. Nothing.

Despite being illegal, thousands or more individuals are still arrested every day for
possessing and using marijuana. And that results not only to wasted resources, but also
to wasted time and lives. Our law enforcement officials devote their thousands of hours
to arresting, booking, and imprisoning cannabis users. And since there are millions of
marijuana users in the U.S., our jails and prisons are filled easily, which results to the
need of more money to building new and larger jails. This is not to mention the amount
that we spend in prosecuting, feeding, and defending these offenders. And the sad thing
is that being arrested doesn’t stop the users from smoking pot.

Continuing the arrest of these people is irrational. The $8.7 billion estimate is a serious
amount, which can be used to fund more important public programs and help our
courts resolve much more serious cases.
5) It is easy to grow and environmental friendly

n addition, cannabis itself has an ability to clean up toxins underground, which is known
as phytomediation, making the soil a lot healthier and useful for farming. And as we
already know, the fiber that comes from this plant can be used to produce paper
products, including cardboard, envelopes, and computer paper, which helps us
eliminate the need to chop down trees in the forest. Furthermore, the cannabis plant
can also be substituted for cotton in the production of textile. Cannabis produces
stronger and twice more fiber than cotton, which can be used to make all types of
clothing. Cotton, as well know, requires an enormous amount of pesticides to grow. If
we use cannabis as a substitute for cotton, we will significantly reduce the usage of
harmful

For one, the review confirms what previous studies have found: There is “substantial
evidence” that marijuana is good for treating chronic pain. This is one of the most
common reasons cited for marijuana’s medical use — particularly in light of the opioid
painkiller epidemic, which has spawned in part as patients turn to opioids to try to treat
debilitating pain. The report concludes that marijuana can treat chronic pain. And that
may allow it to substitute more dangerous, deadlier opioid painkillers.

The report also found “conclusive evidence” that marijuana is effective for treating
chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Coupled with the findings on pain, this
suggests that marijuana really is a potent treatment for cancer patients in particular,
who can suffer from debilitating pain and severe nausea as a result of their illness.