As we are closing in on the November election issues are flying all over the place. A big issue is the legalization or Weed. Rather it be medicinal or recreational this issue is a tough one for people. Even with 58% of Americans supporting its legalization. For me the answer is simple LEGALIZE IT for medical and recreational use. The positives out way the negatives, if there are any good ones. So I will tell why I feel it weed needs to be legalized. I will also state why the opposition feels weed should not be legalized and debunk them or explain why they are misleading.

First Marijuana has huge health benefits. For starters as most people know Marijuana helps fight cancer. There is a common misconception that it cures it cancer. No what weed does is slow down the spread of cancer cells. Which is great for people with pancreatic, colon, and lung cancer. Weed is great for people with depression. Depression medicine is full of side effects that can have the alternate effect of a person. While weed can help stabilize moods and ease depression. Cannabis is a safer choice than most other drugs. This includes alcohol and pain killers. There are less deaths, less addictions, and if addicted it is more controllable. Weed is a big help with ADHD as it safer than most ADHD medicine. It helps with anxiety, PTSD, headaches, nausea, etc. Also medical marijuana is healthier since it can be regulated. The weed you get from your local drug dealer isn’t.

Marijuana is good for the economy as well. Its great for investors, as states will start to legalize it so it will be a key investment. When the state of Colorado decided to legalize weed they made over 180 million just in taxes. Where does some of that money go, to schools and programs for youth and more programs. So as you see you can tax it and make good money from it.

Another good reason to legalize cannabis is because less people will go to prison. This means more money into the economy and not in the prison system. This is a big part of the push to legalize it. As people are getting years and years in prison for smoking pot, or having an addiction to it. As far as selling goes I don’t think selling me a gram of weed should cost you 20 years in prison. A few states such as Massachusetts are moving to make it less of a crime. If get caught in Massachusetts with weed it is a civil charge and will cost you no more than a 100 dollar ticket. And as you know crime rates go down as we start to decriminalized weed. When this happen law enforcement can focus more on solving real crimes.

Now with this issue there are people who oppose the legalization of Marijuana. A big reason people do not want to legalize it is because they claim its a “Gateway Drug.” That is not true in most consumers. There are a tiny few who do decide to chase other stronger drugs on the market. Majority of people who choose to enjoy weed stick to it. This argument is invalid because so many things go into this gateway drug myth. For one the environment you grow up in. People tend to use whats available to them. Also those people who do try or go on to a different drug than weed have outside factors. Such as people around them use the drug or they are introduced to the drug by an outside person. To me this is just a scare tactic by the people against weed. There is no study that shows the gateway drug myth is correct. If there is one the data isn’t correct as most people who did the studies admitted to omitting certain things. Another big argument from non-supporters is there is not enough science. While this is true but untrue. In the United States Marijuana is Schedule I. Deeming it a drug with no medicinal value and high potential for abuse. This makes it hard for scientist in the United States to study it. There are plenty of other countries with scientist who test it all the time and provide a good data base with it. Also those countries with those scientist are legalizing it or have already legalized it. One small argument people make is it will get in the kids hands. This is just stupid as hell. Alcohol isn’t for people under 21 and I know A LOT of people at my college under 21 who drink. The same goes for tobacco, you must be 18 or older to use it. I see so many underage people smoking cigarettes like it is normal. Setting an age restriction doesn’t mean underage people will not get their hands on it. We just have to be tougher on it or run ads against it like they do tobacco.

The legalization of Marijuana is a big subject and will come up a lot with the next President. Donald Trump opposes the Federal legalization of Marijuana. He does say states should be the one to say yes or no to the idea and he wants medical Marijuana to be further researched. BIG SURPRISE THERE RIGHT. Hillary Clinton would take it from Schedule 1 to a Schedule 2 drug so it can be tested. But Hillary will let states do as they wish to study it regardless. Bernie Sanders just wants it all legalized. This issue is touchy with 58% of the United States wanting to legalize it. We can only sit back and watch where things go from here.