Medical Marijuana Facts

Marijuana prohibition has been a complete failure. It costs millions of dollars every year and hasn't achieved its intended purpose.

Mexican drug cartels operate in 230 American cities, and marijuana sales account for up to 70% of their profits in the U.S. Just like during alcohol prohibition, marijuana prohibition is creating a lucrative market for violent criminals and limiting the government's ability to control and regulate marijuana.

A policy of taxation and regulation would better serve America by allowing the government to tax marijuana sales, keep it away from children using a program similar to the successful "We Card" program used for tobacco sales, and hit the drug cartels where it hurts by eliminating 70% of their profits.

In 1937, with the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act, the United States effectively banned recreational and medicinal use of cannabis.

Many nations followed suit and in 1961, through the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, fifty-four nations agreed to "adopt such measures as may be necessary to prevent the misuse of, and illicit traffic in the leaves of the cannabis plant."

Despite such restrictive control, cannabis has become the most widely used illicit drug in the western world.

Medicinal use of cannabis is legal in a limited number of territories worldwide, including Canada, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Israel, Finland, and Portugal.

Since 1996, sixteen states have legalized medical marijuana use. They are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

There are 10 U.S. states currently considering medical marijuana bills in their legislatures.

Because I believe that taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol is a better policy than prohibition, I would like to share the following definition with you.

Legalization [noun]: The act of making something legal; especially: the act of giving legal validity or sanction to