Dear Mr/ Madame President,

I am inclined to agree with the naked truth- ‘[Marijuana is] not a drug, it’s a plant’, and wish to see a more rapid and systematic advancement of laws to allow the use of the possible benefits that this plant has the potential to offer. Amongst other reasons, the truth is silenced to appease the monster medical corporations that reap the benefits of the illegalized plant. However, their time as the champions of civilization has far past expired. This is an era of change, one of which is crucial to bettering the lives of millions of human beings. We are inclined to fixate on the possible negatives of every situation, when in reality they are insignificant and miniscule to the actual aid that is experienced with marijuana being legal.

Currently, 25 states have legalized medical marijuana. Of those 25 states, four have legalized marijuana for both medical and recreational use. That means that 25, half, of the states in the United States of America have no form of legalization of marijuana. That also means, that in 25 states, people who could greatly benefit from using medical marijuana, possibly even save their own lives, are forbidden to use it. This makes the 25 states who have legalized medical marijuana seem far beyond ideal. But in our experience, man is selfish, although he wants to believe that he is in favor of the greater good. We often pretend we are fighting for a noble cause, but behind closed doors, our shallow advocacy is insignificant to the aid which we condemn solely because it would hinder our own benefit. I believe this is true, for I have silently stood by observing as my own parents went through the laborious process of receiving a medical marijuana license to administer the plant to my twin brother- a last hope of gaining even the slightest control of his seizures. Even in a state where medical marijuana is legalized, so few are able to legally obtain cannabis it as receiving a medical marijuana license is a tedious and mentally exhausting of tasks. Four times my mother had to re-apply for this license, due to a single misspelled word, a doctor’s signature on the wrong line, or any other meticulous detail. Each new submission waiting between one to five months only to be denied again. The irony of it all being that all of this was for a simple piece of paper that approved a strain of cannabis called Charlotte’s Web in which the THC is removed. That means that you cannot get high from it. Essentially the one controversial part of cannabis was removed yet it was still nearly impossible to receive a license to posses it. By the time of approval, nearly a year and a half had passed. For many, this length of time is unfortunately not an option. Time is precious, even more so for those who are terminally ill, some with terminal illnesses which could be delayed and even reversed by receiving medical marijuana. Cannabis has been proven to reverse and even cure various forms of cancer, reduce epileptic seizures, reduce the pain of multiple sclerosis, reduce anxiety, reduce muscle spasms, reduce arthritis pain, and ease post traumatic stress disorder amongst the many other medical problems that this plant can reduce. In terms of the cancer industry, there is a mass advocacy for funding foundations that are ‘in search of a cure’ other than chemotherapy. In many cases, cannabis has been proven to extend life and even cure various forms of cancer without the detrimental physical effects of chemotherapy! However, this is not publicized because that would threaten billions dollar profits that are made by large pharmaceutical companies that sell ‘cancer curing’ drug. It would essentially diminish the need for chemotherapy and thus put these large corporations out of the business. Keeping a much less invasive and painful form of treatment from those who could benefit from it- in order to maintain an industry- is inhumane and needs to be changed. Cannabis should be an available option to all cancer patients rather than resorting straight to drugs that are harmful to the bodies organs. This is not a blue or a red problem, this is a human problem, a fixable, rectifiable problem that does not impact one race, ethnicity, one group of people, but all of humanity. There is no valid reason to not legalize marijuana in all 50 states for at least medical purposes, and to make the process of obtaining a medical marijuana license easier. Life is already hard for those who have to bear the weight of such diseases, they deserve an alternative route to reduce the pain they are already in. Go green and legalize marijuana.

Sincerely,

Catherine Denny