Marijuana\Cannabis should be legalised for both medical and recreational purposes in the U.S.

I thank Wush for this debate. == Definitions == Cannabis\ Marijuana: Cannabis, also known as marijuana, marihuana, among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug. [1] Recreational: A pastime, diversion, exercise, or other resource affording relaxation and enjoyment. [2] Medical: Curative; medicinal; therapeutic. [3] Legalised: To make legal [4] U.S.: http://en.wikipedia.org... == PRO Arguments == --- Harm of Marijuana --- There has so far been no deaths recorded that directly result from the use of Marijuana, and there has been no recoded deaths in the U.S., and when stacked up against other products, Marijuana is relatively harmless [5]. Indeed, unlike many other substances, it is extremely hard to die from the use of Marijuana. As noted on the below article: "A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response." [5] We can therefore conclude that it is extremely hard to technically kill oneself solely through the use of Marijuana. Also, Marijuana does not have any detrimental long term effects on a person health and mortality. As noted in two studies [6], the users of Marijuana were far less likely to have shorter life spans. The only noted possible health effect of Marijuana is a increase in heart attacks 1 hour after smoking Marijuana. This is however an extremely rare risk, given that it only occurs in .2% of all heart attacks [6], of which would have to occur within the first hour of Marijuana consumption, an extremely rare risk indeed. However, if one was concerned with the increase in heart attacks, there would be substances with a far greater plausibility of increasing the risk of heart attacks in the long term, such as Fast Foods [7]. We can conclude from this Marijuana is a therefore a substance which, while it has risks, is safe. One must consider that while Marijuana has negative effects, every product has risks and negative effects. --- Benefits of Marijuana --- While we know the are very few extremely low chance risks involved with the use of Marijuana, there are many benefits to it use, most, if not all, of which are medical. There is a list as long as my arm of illnesses treated by Medical Marijuana [8], but some illnesses include various cancer (Testicular, Prostate, Skin), forms of Hepatitis, Diabetes related illnesses and dependence illnesses. It is also used to stop the build-up of Alzheimers Disease [9], reduces the growth of breast cancer cells [10] and stimulating appetite in HIV\AIDS patients [11]. It is clear there are a large number of medical benefits from the use of Medical Marijuana. --- Individual Choice --- Currently, the use of Marijuana is a victimless crime, that is to say, no one is harmed in the consumption of Marijuana other than the consumer, who has willingly consumed the Marijuana by choice. Even should there be mounds of evidence suggesting Marijuana is extremely harmful to consume, it is still the personal choice of the individual to consume it and suffer any negative effects. There is no need for the government to impose themselves in people's lives unless they are preventing them from harming another person directly, which is why people would obviously not be allowed smoke Marijuana and drive a car, or operate machinery. --- Benefits of Legalisation --- As it stands, the US government spends a huge amount of money to suppress the use of Marijuana. It is estimated that the US could gain $14,878,200,000+ by legalising and taxing the sale of Marijuana [12]. It is clear that the US economy would benefit from the legalisation of Marijuana through the creation of jobs. The War on Marijuana is also ineffective, as most of the arrests (89%) are possession of Marijuana, not distribution [12]. Furthermore, it would reduce the amount of funding available for criminal gangs, as drugs trading is a huge source of income for them. This would reduce criminal activity and have a benefit to society. --- Conclusion --- From my argument we can conclude that Marijuana has very few real risks associated with its use, and has multiple uses as a treatment. Furthermore, the use of Marijuana is one which only carries risks for the user once used on private property, and furthermore, it is uneconomical to attempt to enforce a prohibition of Marijuana. Seeing as Marijuana has medical benefits, it should to be legalised for medical purposes. Furthermore, as it is a victimless crime and has few risks, it should be legalised for recreational usage. [1] = http://en.wikipedia.org... [2] = http://dictionary.reference.com... [3] = http://dictionary.reference.com... [4] = http://dictionary.reference.com... [5] = http://drugwarfacts.org... [6] = http://www.webmd.com... [7] = http://hubpages.com... [8] = http://www.letfreedomgrow.com... [9] = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... [10] = http://mct.aacrjournals.org... [11] = http://www.thebody.com... [12] = http://iloveweed.net...