Legalization of Marijuana - Paper 8

Cannabis is a subject that people hold strongly contrasting views towards. There are strong points both for and against it, which I will be taking into consideration in this essay. I will compare these points and ask 'should cannabis be legalised?'
In 1971 Cannabis was reclassified by parliament and became a schedule 1 drug. This means that it was viewed as having no medicinal value. In 2002, Cannabis was reclassified again as a Class C drug meaning that it is seen as less harmful in comparison to other drugs such as Cocaine and Heroin. This is reflected in the way offenders are processed by the criminal justice system, having relatively lenient sentences or cautions. These changes in the law reflect changing public perceptions and increased tolerance of soft drug use contributing to the public pressure to legalise cannabis.

Several studies have indicated that cannabis use may be beneficial for certain medical conditions. Studies show that cannabis use is helpful for Multiple Sclerosis, Tourettes Syndrome, epilepsy and HIV related illnesses.
Pro marijuana legalization groups such as the Physician's Association for AIDS Care and the National Lymphoma Foundation argue that Cannabis should be legalized in order to treat terminally ill patients. Among them are AIDS victims who find that marijuana stimulates their appetites so they can fight off dangerous emaciation, glaucoma sufferers who said it has prevented them from going blind, and cancer patients for whom it alleviates the severe nausea that often accompanies chemotherapy and sometimes makes lifesaving treatment impossible.
Aswell as the typical idea of smoking the cannabis plant, it can also be used to make clothing and rope in the form of 'Hemp'. Hemp when used to make rope, is one of the strongest rope's ever made and is cheaper to make than regular rope. When made into a cloth, it can be used to make extremely resilient clothing.These products would be cheaper in production and sale and being the...