Dear Next President,

Medical marijuana, an often spoken upon topic, very controversial, and legalized in many states in the United States. The question is, why not all states? Do you believe that medical marijuana is bettering more people than it is harming them? I believe, Mr. /Mrs. President of the U.S., that the legalization of the use of medical marijuana in every state can benefit and help so many people struggling through health conditions that they cannot deal with on their own. It is also known that the research for the use of medical marijuana has been limited by federal restrictions for many of years, according to www.usatoday.com. Many people don’t realize that the government is stuck on the idea of narcotics that has been around for thousands of years, and it’s leading to the rise of people abusing the drug, and the rise of heroin. These researchers know that medical marijuana can better the lives for adults and adolescents and give them a better quality of life but there’s one problem, federal agencies and doctors. Researchers are being denied because these federal agencies and doctors don’t know the long-term side effects of medical marijuana. Research on something so big and life changing can only be done through grants, because the money needed is not being provided by the federal agencies. I ask for the next President of the United States to change the outlook of the use of medical marijuana. Spend more time researching this treatment instead of pushing it to the side and hiding it. Medical marijuana should be funded just like any other treatment has been. Such a powerful and useful treatment can be used to change the lives of others and help those in need.

“In 1970, the US Congress placed marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act because they considered it to have "no accepted medical use." Since then, 25 of 50 US states and DC have legalized the medical use of marijuana.” (www.medicalmarijuana.procon.org). It is argued that medical marijuana can be a safe and effective treatment for many symptoms. This includes cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, pain, epilepsy, and the list goes on and on. However, many others say that medical marijuana is the cause for drug legalization and recreational use. With this topic the list of pros and cons lasts forever, but in the bigger picture it helps more than it damages. According to the Huffington Posts more than 300 economists have signed a petition to the findings on a paper by a famous Harvard economist. Jeffrey Miron, the Harvard economist, says that if the government would legalize medical marijuana is could bring in approximately 7.7 billion dollars annually to the U.S. In addition, it could bring an extra 6 billion to the U.S. if they taxed the medical marijuana with the same tax rates of alcohol and tobacco. Overall legalizing medical marijuana would positively affect the government and bring in the money that is needed.

The body produces its own cannabinoid chemicals. These chemicals play a role in regulating pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, body movement, awareness of time, appetite, pain, and our senses. Medical marijuana refers to using the whole unprocessed plant or simply basic extracts to treat a disease or a symptom. Marijuana contains hundreds of cannabinoids, chemicals that are mind-altering. There are two main cannabinoids currently in the marijuana plant that are medical interests, these chemicals are THC and CBD. There is a growing interest in the United States for CBD (cannabidiol). This chemical is used to treat certain conditions such as childhood epilepsy. Scientists have been breeding marijuana plants and making this chemical in an oil form for treatment. CBD has been known for also treating or calming mental illness and drug addictions. THC is the main mind-altering chemical in marijuana. It is also FDA- approved for the use of increasing appetite and reducing nausea. Being said, scientific study of the chemicals in marijuana has led to two FDA- approved medications in pill form, dronabinol and naboline. These scientists have performed many preclinical and clinical trials with marijuana and its extracts to treat numerous diseases.

Dear next President of the United States, I ask of you to take the time and research such a powerful drug that can positively affect the lives of others who are in the need of help. I believe that it would greatly benefit the society if the research was funded enough to have a detailed understanding of this drug. Many people only believe that marijuana is troublesome and they never look into the positive side and how many people that drug can help. Medical marijuana not only helps adults but I can be used to treat diseases that adolescents have also. Through the research that has already been done to medical marijuana, we now know that it has more positive effects than negative. It is your job to change the outlook on medical marijuana and inform the people of the United States that is purpose is good. You must make the people understand the good this drug could do. 25 states of the whole country plus D.C. have already legalized medical marijuana. If you do not plan to legalize medical marijuana and bring to the public how useful this drug is, please consider funding more research so that people attain the knowledge they should about medical marijuana.

Sincerely,

Meghan Murphy