Should medical marijuana be legal throughout the United States? Imagine a world where people who suffer from 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 in treatment. Most people think that the answers to these problems are simple and could be solved by over-medicating patients. Today, there are twenty states in America that have legalized medical marijuana for specific medical and health conditions (Medical Marijuana 1). The United States should legalize medical marijuana so that patients suffering from chronic pain can be cured, 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 the cannabinoids found in marijuana have been shown to be effective in reducing pain (1). For example, researchers “randomly administered oral THC or a placebo to hospitalized cancer patients suffering from severe pain. THC relieved pain for several hours in doses of five to ten milligrams, and even longer with twenty milligrams” (Grinspoon and Bakalar 93). As a result, researchers were able to demonstrate that marijuana can be used to relieve chronic pain in patients suffering from serious cancer and other painful diseases. Another example is that of a twenty-seven-year-old man who was referred to a neurological clinic for evaluation and treatment of his severe spasticity. The man suffered vision loss and acute weakness in both legs. During the night he had episodes of strong leg spasms. The man could not tolerate the side effects of painkillers; so he tried to relieve the pain in his leg with Tylenol and... middle of paper..."Mother and child: the case of medical marijuana. (case study)." The Hastings Center Report September 2002: 11+. Opposing Views in Context. January 31, 2014. ProCon.org .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.” (2007): 1037-1044. Academic Research Premier.Web. Opposing Views in Context. February 7, 2014. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. “Marijuana is dangerous to users and others.” Medical Marijuana 2006. Opposing Views in Context. Web. February 7. 2014.