Support Marijuana Legalization Now!

1682 Words4 Pages

Alex, who lives in Oregon, is an 11-year-old boy with severe autism. Jeremy Echols, his father, said that his son Alex was diagnosed when he was 5 years old. When seizures are coming, he becomes a self-destructive boy by banging his head and body against the wall causing bruising. However, since after treatment with marijuana (also called cannabis), Alex's illness was significantly improved. His parents curb his seizures by giving him a liquid form of marijuana by mouth 3 times a week. For Alex's family, the benefits of marijuana are greater than the risks. "For us, the long-term side effects that are unknown for something that can't kill him are a lot better than the long-term side effects of him beating himself bloody," his dad said (Mosbergen, 2013).

Alex’s case is a good example to prove the important role of marijuana in medical use. Therefore, California passed a law for legalizing the medical marijuana use in 1996. This also increases revenue for the state since that time. In Oakland, California, Harborside Health Center, which is a nation's largest pharmacy for medical marijuana, distributed the packaged marijuana and marijuana plants in pots for consumers. Each person should have a doctor’s prescription for marijuana use with regulated amounts, which are not dangerous to health of users. In 2013, Pew Research Center found that 52% of people in the United States said that the use of marijuana should be made legal while 45% of the others said it should not (Pew Research Center, 2013). It is debated whether or not marijuana is legalized in the United States. Opponents of medical marijuana legalization address that marijuana is an addictive substance, causes harm to mental cognition and behavior of the users, and has many ...

... middle of paper ...

...ohol.” SAFERchoice.org. Web. 22 March 2014.

< http://archive.saferchoice.org/content/view/24/53/>

Mosbergen, Dominique. “Alex Echols, Boy With Autism, Gets Medical Marijuana To Manage

Self-Destructive Rages.” Huff Post. Huff Post, 31 January 2013. Web. 22 March

2014. rages_n_2552004.html> “6 Surprising Facts About THC”, Leaf Science, 16 March 2014. Web. 22 March 2014.

Szalavitz, Maia. “New Research Questions Marijuana’s Impact in Lowering IQ.” Time. Time,

15 January 2013. Web. 22 March 2014.

impact-in-lowering-iq-time>

Open Document