Allyson Runyon
                                                                       

	The legalization of marijuana as a prescription drug should be allowed.  Medical research shows that marijuana has therapeutic value in patients with various types of cancers, some neurological disorders, and AIDS patients.  The marijuana eases some of the effects of chemotherapy such as nausea and dizziness.  It also controls muscle spasms and contractions and aids in the relaxation of patients with neurological disorders.
	Many researchers and administrations of the government, such as the Drug Enforcement Administration(D.E.A.) feel that legalizing marijuana is  an unnecessary approach in the treatment of patients.  Many of them feel that not only those people with the diseases and the disorders will use the drug, but other people will want to use it for everyday problems.  First, a doctor must prescribe the marijuana in order for a patient to take it. It would be almost impossible for a person to obtain the drug without a prescription.  It is up to the doctor whether or not the patient needs it.  The D.E.A. also has fears about the possible addiction to the drug and its effects in society.  As with any other drug, the possibility of addiction is a concern, but when a doctor prescribes the marijuana, he will have the chance to control and monitor the intake of the patient.  There are many other drugs that are legal with the same types of effects such as codeine, cocaine, and morphine.  If drugs like those are legal and are under control, then a drug like marijuana that is very similar to them, should also be legalized and easily kept under control.
	Many other complaints of the legalization of marijuana have been argued and show no relevance in reasons of why marijuana should not be legalized.  The D.E.A. is trying to make the argument that by legalizing marijuana, the drug problem in America will worsen.  The way the DEA sees this issue is that  if they allow marijuana as a medicine, there is the fear that there will be many more people using it.  Then after using it, they will see how good they feel and that they are functioning fine.  When that effect hits the people, that will raise questions of why marijuana is illegal at all.  That is an invalid fear because if that was the case, then drugs like morphine and cocaine, which are prescribed legally, would be causing problems. Those legal uses are not adding in any significant way to the country's drug problems, so marijuana should not either.
	Many of the government organizations have expressed their opinion that the patients being used in these experiments by marijuana lobbyists to bring attention to their real motive: legalizing marijuana in general.  It is unfair for the government to make the public try to believe that these medical researchers are the bad guys and the government is trying to protect the public from the evil.
	As much research has conducted, it has be proven that marijuana has been effective in treating sick patients with their discomforts.  The many arguments of the government and the D.E.A. have yet to be proven.  Until those arguments are proven and considered legitimate reasons for not legalizing marijuana, the medical world should encourage their patients to use the marijuana as if it were legal.  Eventually, it will be proven that marijuana is a wise choice for the sick.
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