Imagine being five years old and not being able to have a normal childhood. Instead of going to school and playing with other children, you take intensive medication to stop your body from seizing. In fact, some medications make your condition worse and keep you in and out of the emergency room. Here's a look at the true story of Charlotte Figi. Sometimes she had as many as 50 seizures a night until her parents got her a medical marijuana card in the state of Colorado. (Gummow) Marijuana is the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp plant, used for their euphoric effects. (Marijuana) It is often used for purposes similar to alcohol, but medically, marijuana is an excellent natural remedy for life-threatening illnesses. Cancer, epilepsy, and some surgeries have been cured or treated with marijuana. One of the biggest controversies in America today is whether marijuana should be legalized, meaning that people over the age of 21 would be allowed to purchase and have one ounce of dried marijuana in their possession. (Lavender) Some disagree, but the wonders that marijuana does and will continue to do for people with serious illnesses is why it should be legalized; in addition to tax revenues that would benefit the American economy and the dangers of the illegal drug trade would decrease if legalized. Those who might oppose marijuana legalization believe that machine-caused fatalities will increase, like car accidents, because the bodily effects are similar to alcohol consumption. They also believe it is a gateway drug to worse illegal drugs like crack, heroin or methamphetamine. The reality is that people will continue to use drugs whether they are illegal or not. However, marijuana is the least harmful of all drugs and if it is legal... middle of paper ...... the economy and the number of seriously ill people in the country, there is no time to wait. ,Ross. "California Elections: Can Marijuana Be Healthy?". Ask the men. Np, and Web. May 5, 2014. “DrugFacts: Marijuana.” National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Np, January 2014. Web. May 4, 2014.Easton, Stephen. “Legalize Marijuana for Tax Revenue.” Bloomberg Business Week. Bloomberg, 2009. The web. May 05, 2014. Gummow, Jodie. “8 Miraculous Stories of Surviving Medical Marijuana.” Alternet. Np, November 29, 2013. Web. May 5, 2014. Lavender, Paige. “Legalized marijuana raises a question: What about hash?” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, July 14, 2013. Web. May 5, 2014. “Marijuana.” Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, and Web. May 05, 2014.Young, Saundra. “Marijuana stops severe seizures in children.” CNN. Cable News Network, January 1, 1970. Web. May 05 2014.