The legalization of marijuana has been a widely fought issue since its prohibition in 1937 ("Does" 1). This drug has been grown for many years and for different reasons other than pleasure. Marijuana can be used for medical purposes as well as hemp being used for industrial purposes. These purposes are very beneficial to society. Yet, the down side is the amount of people who smoke marijuana, which has been proven to cause short-term memory loss while the drug is in use ("Marijuana Myths" 1). But, are the cons of legalizing marijuana outweighed by the pros? Or is it simply another drug to cause problems to today's youth?

In 1937 the government came out with The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 banning the cultivating, selling, buying, trading, or consuming of marijuana. This after the media and government produced many articles putting down marijuana and its supposed harmful effects. Many advocates of marijuana believe that the new, money producing materials of synthetic fiber and plastic were being overlooked because of the less expensive (which meant less revenue for the government) crop, hemp. The frenzy known as "reefer madness" began because of the government reporting that

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et, coffee has as many as1,500, while rat poison carries as little as 30. In argument to advocates of prohibition, marijuana, 75% of the time, doesn't lead to the use of other drugs (Marijuana Myths 1).

Before deciding what side to stand on with the issue of legalizing marijuana, a person must first take all of the pros and cons into consideration. There are many strong arguments on both sides of this issue. Research idicates more reasons to legalize marijuana rather than keeping it banned. Yet, the strength of the cons is much more superior. This makes it a very controversial issue which has been an ongoing battle since its prohibition in 1937.

While there are many positive reasons for the re-legalization of marijuana, there are also the facts that putdown marijuana. Some researchers believe that the use of marijuana provokes other drug uses. The use of marijuana has also been proven to cause short-term memory loss: Yet, this is only while the drug is actually in use. Not only does this drug temporarily affect the memory, but also awareness, decision making, and other basic skills (Marijuana 70-71). Many government officials feel that legalizing marijuana is

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