Andrea Robinson Composition 25 April 2002 The Legalization of Marijuana           One question that's been dominating the American public's interest for a long time is, "Should the use of marijuana be legalized?"  Some say, "Yes," while others say, "No."  In most countries, marijuana is illegal because of its classification as an illicit drug.  Possession of marijuana was made illegal in the US when Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937.  Despite this law, the drug is still available and used in society today.  Controversial assertions have been made that show the positive and negative sides of the legalization of marijuana.  One issue is that the government feels marijuana is a "gateway" drug.  According to this theory, legalizing marijuana would lead to the use of much harsher drugs such as cocaine and heroin.  But there are positive uses for marijuana such as for the terminally ill.  The government claims there is no therapeutic value in its medical use, but there is no hard evidence to prove this.  They don't believe marijuana is effective as a medicine.  In all opposition to the government, others believe the legalization of marijuana would have great benefits to medicine and the economy.             Marijuana has many medical benefits for treating terminally ill patients.   Among them are AIDS victims, who find marijuana alleviates the wasting syndrome associated with this disease.  Patients with cancer find marijuana controls the severe nausea and vomiting that often accompanies chemotherapy and sometimes makes lifesaving treatment possible.  Research shows marijuana reduces interocular pressure that can lead to blindness in glaucoma patients.  In addition, patients with spinal injuries and multiple sclerosis find relief from severe muscle spasms that complicate nerve damage.  These are facts that show the positive effects marijuana has in medicine, but marijuana is still illegal.           Legalizing the use of marijuana would have many economical benefits.  Ethan Nademan, an assistant professor of politics and public affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School Of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, wrote in his book, Drug Abuse: Opposing Viewpoints, about several strategies of legalizing marijuana.  One strategy would consist of the government exercising strong regulatory powers over all large-scale production and sales of marijuana.  The second strategy is to make drug treatment programs available to those who need them.  The last, but not least strategy, is to make marijuana available to competent adults.  This legalization strategy would allow the United States to reduce government expenditures on enforcing drug laws and would allow the US to enjoy new tax revenue from legal drug production and sales of marijuana.  According to Nadelman, this strategy would increase public treasuries by at least ten billion a year and maybe much more.  This would also lower the crime rate associated with this drug.           In conclusion, marijuana usage should be legalized to help people suffering from terminal diseases such as AIDS, cancer, and glaucoma.  The legalization of the drug would also allow the government to profit by taxing sales and production of marijuana.  Marijuana is here to stay and is only going through the stages alcohol did during the prohibition era.