I have always been passionate about the legalization of marijuana. So here are some of the reasons why.
Medical Uses
According to a Discovery Health article, marijuana has been extremely successful in relieving nausea. Which is a very common side effect of cancer patients going through chemotherapy. Marijuana also helps those with a loss of appetite due to diseases. It also helps those who suffer from chronic pain and spasms by relaxing the muscles. Weed can also be used as a sleep aid for those who suffer from insomnia or other sleep disorders.
Safer than drugs that are already legalized
Harm to the user and others is less with marijuana than harms posed by alcohol and cigarettes. No one has died from a marijuana overdose. There is a very low risk of abuse when it comes to marijuana. Contrary to popular belief, marijuana is not as addicting as one may think. Dependence on marijuana is around 9-10 percent in adult users while cocaine hooks 20 percent of its users. Heroin gets 25 percent and the worst culprit is tobacco with 30 percent of its users becoming addicted.
Insanely common
Already 40 percent of Americans have admitted to using marijuana. Marijuana is becoming more and more common every year despite being less addictive than caffeine. Even famous people use marijuana. For example, Martha Stewart, Morgan Freeman, Ted Turner, Michael Bloomberg are all high-functioning marijuana users.
Simply not a gateway drug
As Scientific American points out, the studies that show people who use marijuana first before trying other drugs is correlation and not causation. People who use harder drugs tend to use alcohol and cigarettes more rather than marijuana. Personally, those who I know have smoke weed have not more on to harder drugs. I believe that is true for many others as well.