Should medical marijuana be legal everywhere in the United States? Imagine a world where people with chronic pain no longer have to suffer. Imagine a cure for cancer, a disease that kills many Americans every day. Imagine people with severe and violent mood disorders being treated. Most people think the answers to these problems are simple and could be solved by overmedicating patients. Today, twenty U.S. states have legalized medical marijuana for specific health and medical conditions (Medical Marijuana 1). The United States should legalize medical marijuana so that patients with chronic pain can be treated, cancer can be cured, and mood disorders can be treated. Legalizing medical marijuana in the United States could cure many health problems such as chronic pain. Bill McCarberg states that cannabinoids found in marijuana have been shown to reduce pain (1). For example, researchers “randomly administered oral THC or a placebo to hospitalized cancer patients with severe pain. THC relieved pain for several hours at doses as low as five to ten milligrams, and even longer at twenty milligrams” (Grinspoon and Bakalar 93). As a result, researchers were able to prove that marijuana can be used to relieve chronic pain in patients with serious cancer and other painful illnesses. Another example is that of a twenty-seven-year-old man who was referred to a neurology clinic for evaluation and treatment of his severe spasticity. The man suffered loss of vision and acute weakness in both legs. He suffered episodes of severe leg spasms at night. The man could not tolerate the side effects of painkillers; that's why he tried to relieve his leg pain with Tylenol and...... middle of paper...... "Mother and Son: The Case for Medical Marijuana." (case study). » The Hastings Center report, September-October. 2002: 11+. Opposing viewpoints in context. Internet. January 31, 2014. ProCon.org. “20 Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC.” ProCon.org. December 13, 2013.Web. February 20, 2014. Seamon, Matthew J, Jennifer A Fass, Maria Maniscalco-Feichtl, and Nada A. Abu-Shraie. “Medical marijuana and the developing role of the pharmacist.” » American Journal Of Health-System Pharmacy 64.10 (2007): 1037-1044. Academic research Premier.Web. February 7, 2014. Weld, Mark. “Marijuana should not be legalized for seriously ill people.” Terminal illness.2004. Opposing viewpoints in context. Internet. February 7, 2014. US Drug Enforcement Administration. “Marijuana is dangerous to its users and to others. » Medical marijuana. 2006. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web.February 7. 2014.