It’s funny to me that most medicines are created from plants (found in the rain forest amongst other places) and people have no problem with them because they are processed by scientist and given out in droves. Marijuana is no different, I think it is getting a bad rap because it was utilized for pleasure before it was utilized for health issues. Alcohol is much worse than marijuana when it comes to the function of one's motor skills. I don't believe just because it becomes legal it will fall into the hands of minors, any more than it is today. I know If I had cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, etc…I better have access to whatever helped me through the day!

No, I do not smoke. I did as a teen and early 20’s. It would help with local, state, Federal taxes. My opinion is that it is no more harmful than alcohol.

I am 28 years old and was diagnosed last year with MS. My entire life I have been an average healthy person. I experimented with marijuana, as a teenager, but it didnt "do much" for me (except make me feel calm.) Since being diagnosed, I have found that marijuana takes away my anxiety, pain in my back and legs, and spascity (stiffness/ridgedness) in my legs which makes it easier to walk, think, and live in general. I am also EXTREMELY sensitive to medications, most likely because I have NOT been on them my entire life. I have tried THREE anti-anxiety meds in the past year and had severe reactions to all of them (confusion, sweating, excessive yawning, fatigue, SEVERE panic attacks where I pass out and throw up etc). Marijuana does the same things as these medicines (AND MORE) for me with NO SIDE EFFECTS. There is SO MUCH that people DONT KNOW about marijuana and its medical uses. I only know because I had to find out the hard way. With marijuana being illegal. I have been forced to deal through petty drug dealers, on the street, who dont care that I have pain and legitimate issues that I need the marijuana. I have been ripped off for HUNDREDS of dollars because I am forced to deal through criminals. Recently I spent 10 days straight in the hospital with a relapse, and the "withdraw" symptoms some doctors say could happen with marijuana didnt happen to me. I had NO PROBLEM going off of it, the only problem I experienced is that it made my life harder without it.

My daughter has MS and has extreme spasticity in her legs, as well as anxiety and depression that is caused from the disease. She is on one muscle relaxer and then they decided it wasnt enough and put her on another. This caused her liver to react and become unsafe so she was taken off. Marijuana is an alternative for this. The problem is #1 its illegal. #2 she has to commit a misdemeanor to use #3 she has to buy from criminals #4 she has to risk what the marijuana has been cut with #5 she has to risk her doctors not choosing to treat her because she makes this choice. It is unfair she has to make choices to get something that is PROVEN to help her condition. It also helps people with eating issues and pain issues. There is a definite benefit to using marijuana. As a parent you want your child to be as healthy as they can be. I don't feel a natural plant based medicine (marijuana) is harmful.. the benefits far exceed the risks and in reality if you take a look down the side effect and adverse effects on any pain relief medication, muscle relaxer or anti anxiety medication you may be surprised how safe marijuana seems to you!!

marijuana is not "cut" with anything...ever, really. no really. can't we just legalize a plant that requires nothing but sunlight and water to grow?

My sister got a bag of marijuana that was cut with something 10 years ago and had to be rushed to the hospital. Around the same time there was marijuana circulating cut with opium. Its not safe to buy on the street from some person just trying to make a buck. ANOTHER reason it should be legalized and safely regulated!

I've studied this in the context of social policy and psychopharmacology and favor decriminalization. I'd advocate allowing cultivation for medical conditions or for personal pleasure. Medical set-ups could benefit on research done on which strains are useful for which conditions.

For recreational use it could be sold at State Liquor stores and taxed heavily. Pharmacologically it has not been shown to damage organs the way alcohol and tobacco do (unless it is smoked and then of course it damages the lungs). The "gateway" hypothesis has not been supported and in fact in societies where cannabis is decriminalized there have been decreases in "harder" drug use because of broader legal alternatives.

Several pharmacologists (e.g. Ronald Siegel)have suggested many people have a "fourth drive" to alter their consciousness and cannabis use is one way they achieve that (of course exercise, sex and bungee jumping will also alter it).

The down side for me is impaired driving under the influence which would still be illegal but legalizing the substance may invite more people to risk getting behind the wheel. Also, because cannabis stores in your fat cells drug tests can come up "positive" days-weeks after use. In that case how could courts determine if a person had been "impaired" when pulled over in the afternoon or just testing positive because they use cannabis in the evening at home.

I appreciate all the comments to date. Admittedly, in this Land of the Free, we seem to enjoy fewer and fewer freedoms.
-- Regarding the drugged driving issues. In Ohio, a person is presumed to be guilty of impaired driving if: "The person has a concentration of marihuana in the person’s urine of at least ten nanograms of marihuana per milliliter of the person’s urine or has a concentration of marihuana in the person’s whole blood or blood serum or plasma of at least two nanograms of marihuana per milliliter of the person’s whole blood or blood serum or plasma” -- O.R.C. 4511.19(A)(1)) (j) (vii).
You may have a defense to this blood / urine tests. ORC 4511.19(K) states: “Division (A) (1) (j) of this section does not apply to a person who operates a vehicle, streetcar, or trackless trolley while the person has a concentration of a listed controlled substance or a listed metabolite of a controlled substance in the person’s whole blood, blood serum or plasma, or urine that equals or exceeds the amount specified in that division, if both of the following apply:
(1) The person obtained the controlled substance pursuant to a prescription issued by a licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs.
(2) The person injected, ingested, or inhaled the controlled substance in accordance with the health professional’s directions.”
However, you can still be found guilty of impaired driving if you fail the roadside sobriety test.

I cannot submit to a roadside test at all having MS. I cannot walk a straight line without assistance, never have been able to due to poor balance/leg weakness since diagnosis. So it would have to go strictly by testing my levels.

Btw. cannabis is an Ayurvedic herb and has been used since antiquity. The human brain even contains cannabanoid receptors. The body also produces natural cannabanoids. For some reason, the US gov't has been against utilizing the power of the human brain to heal the body---whether through the medium of dance, herb, or spiritual arts, in place of holistic and natural methods pharmaceuticals have been pushed and rein supreme. the US is the only country with this unique hang-up.

This is a very interesting thread - I appreciate the different points of view. I guess I come back to this problem about being "guilty" until you prove yourself innocent. Isn't that "martial law" as formulated by Napoleon? What about people like Amanda? Aren't they being discriminated against if forced (facing a 90 day suspension for refusing a test) to take a drug test? Anyway - all this has made me think about the issue.

I strongly suggest if you do facebook you check out the The Ohio Medical Cannabis Act of 2012... page. It is informative and they are having meetings all over Ohio. They are trying to get enough signatures to take this to the ballot this year..
I dont understand how they will use the blood tests as a test for the levels because each person maintains marijuana differently ..such as it stores longer in a person who has more fat cells than a person that does not..and how could we determine our own level since its not like other medications per se that maintain a specfic time frame in our blood.. I believe in Amandas case she would be forced to take the blood test since she could not pass a road side test. She would probably be forced to hire an attorney and go through the hassle of court.. Im glad to see that this is making people think.. to me thats a postive step forward!!