The controversy over marijuana has been going on for a long time and is still far from being…

The controversy over marijuana has been going on for a long
time and is still far from being resolved. Advocates of legalization suggest
that marijuana use should no longer be subject to legal control. Some states
have adopted some form of decriminalization for the possession of small
amountsusually less than one ounce or soof marijuana. Other states have
passed medical marijuana laws that permit use of the drug under specific
medical circumstances. Advocates of these laws believe that doctors should be
allowed to prescribe marijuana or that the federal government should lift the
ban on

The controversy over marijuana has been going on for a long
time and is still far from being resolved. Advocates of legalization suggest
that marijuana use should no longer be subject to legal control. Some states
have adopted some form of decriminalization for the possession of small
amountsusually less than one ounce or soof marijuana. Other states have
passed medical marijuana laws that permit use of the drug under specific
medical circumstances. Advocates of these laws believe that doctors should be
allowed to prescribe marijuana or that the federal government should lift the
ban on the medical use of this drug altogether. Advocates of medical
legalization believe that marijuanas benefits in treating certain medical
conditions far outweigh its possible adverse consequences. For example,
marijuana can help control glaucoma, an eye disease that eventually produces
blindness. It also can forestall AIDS-related complications, ease the nausea Michigan,
Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and
Washington) and the District of Columbia currently allow the use of marijuana
for medical purposes, and several state have decriminalized its recreational
use so that the fine for possession of marijuana in limited amounts is about
the equivalent of a traffic ticket. However, that does not mean that a person
cannot be prosecuted for marijuana use. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2005
that medical marijuana users could be federally prosecuted because federal drug
laws take precedence over state drug lawsand under federal law, marijuana is a
controlled substance, which makes distribution of the drug a crime, even if it
is being used for medicinal purposes. Marijuana is defined as a controlled
substance because it is listed as a Schedule I drug under the 1970 Controlled
Substances Act. Schedule I substances have a high potential for abuse, no cur