Opinion Piece: Issues of Medical Marijuana in News Media

An editorial by Jordan Allyssabeth Orozco

Introduction
Cannabis, commonly known as medical marijuana, has opened doors of hope
for many. Medical marijuana has dropped suicide rates, depression, and helped
individuals with serious illnesses cope with pain. Currently, there only 23 of 50 states in
the United States that allow marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes. Two of those 23
states are in the process of legalizing recreational marijuana. There is an upside to
legalization but there are also very many issues that come along with it. The research
done on the issues will credibly inform and educate the readers about this topic. There is
no certainty on whether or not legalization will boost or destroy our economy, but with
continued research the American society can build knowledge towards making the right
decisions.

Figure 1: Image of the 23 states that have

legalized medical marijuana.
Discussion of Discourse Community Problem
For generations medical marijuana has carried a bad reputation. It was a
misconception that marijuana leads to violence and crime. Medical marijuana has proved
beneficial for many serious illnesses such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and cancer.
Only 23 states in the United States have legalized medical marijuana. Many people who
depend on cannabis to help their pain have to travel to other states in order to use medical
marijuana. Many Americans believe legalization will destroy our economy and society. In
reality, us as Americans are the farthest behind in research on medical marijuana.
Countries such as China, Netherlands, and Israel are far ahead of us in research. The

problem in this discourse is that Americans arent allowing for the proper amount of
research in order to benefit the society and economy.
Solution to the Discourse Community Problem in My Opinion
Legalization of recreational marijuana and medicinal marijuana can regulate the
market, harvest the tax revenue, and fewer people will be caught in the drug war violence
(Graham, 2014). Colorado and Washington D.C. are currently writing laws for legalizing
recreational sales and use. In addition, 40 states took a step in taking their drug laws
down a notch. Research claims that marijuana may have the ability to take place of
alcohol or harmful drugs in Americans lives (Graham, 2014). The increase in legalization
may prove beneficial for public health. If smoking increases there are theories that
drinking will decrease. The costs of drinking are at an all time high such as alcohol
poisoning, over-drinking, and drunk driving. Although high driving is just as dangerous
as drunk driving, if pot is made available to people they are more likely to stay home and
smoke weed rather than go bar hoping (Graham, 2014). If marijuana is legalized
everywhere it could show a dramatic decrease in traffic fatalities at night which is a big
thing in the state of Texas. In my opinion the solution to the discourse community
problem is to first carefully watch over the states that have legalized cannabis and see
how it is benefiting their society and see what little changes can be made to make sure
nothing goes wrong. One enough research has been done on these states it would be
smart for the government to put legalization into effect across the United States.
Conclusion
In conclusion, medicinal and recreational marijuana are going to play a big part in
the years to come. Whether legalization is for better or for worse is up in the air, but with
continued research the American society can become more knowledgeable at making
smarter decisions pertaining to marijuana. Legalization is going to continue to cause
more issues however, the opposing side holds up a good fight. This research allows the
audience to hear both sides of this argument, such as is marijuana good or bad, who will
it affect, how serious is the issue and what happens if nothing is done. Overall, in my
opinion after doing 8 weeks of research on this topic I feel medical marijuana should be
legalized worldwide. After all, you have the right to be in control of your own body and
what you put in it.

References
Bostwick, J. M. (2012). Blurred boundaries: The therapeutics and politics of medical marijuana.
US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3538401/
Evans, D.G. (2013). The economic impacts of marijuana legalization. The Journal of Global
Drug Policy and Practice. Retrieved from http://www.globaldrugpolicy.org.
Graham, R. (2014). Is marijuana good for public health?. JSTOR Daily BETA. Retrieved from
http://daily.jstor.org/marijuana-and-public-health/.
Harvard Health Publications. (2010). Medical marijuana and the mind. Harvard Medical School.
Retrieved from http://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/medical-marijuana-andthe-mind.
Khamsi, R. (2013). How safe is recreational marijuana?. Scientific American. Retrieved from
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-safe-recreational-marijuana/?page=3.
Stimson, C. (2010). Legalizing marijuana: Why citizens should just say no. The Heritage
Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/09/legalizingmarijuana-why-citizens-should-just-say-no.
Zimmermann, K.A. (2015). Medical marijuana: Benefits, risks & state laws. Live Science.
Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/24554-medical-marijuana.html.
Google Images (Figure 1): http://patientsoutoftime.org/state-programs/
Note: It was incredibly difficult to find books on medical cannabis since this controversy is
so new to the American Society. It was also hard to find articles so one of my sources did
come from a .com page but the article was written by a Live Science Contributor so it
was credible.