I think cannabis shall be legalized for medical and recreational use. But instead of legalizing the buying/selling/possession of cannabis, why not give people licenses to grow it in thier own homes. If you had government inspectors come in and check out what you are growing and have yourself pay a fee to get a growing license, it will help in many ways. There will be no more drug crime (the selling and buying of marijuana), it will create jobs for gov't inspectors, and lower the risk of obtaining marijuana that is laced with other "hard" drugs.
T Kelley, USA

If it helps people why keep making it illegal? I think the laws against marijuana should be looked over again. People have forgotten how beneficial it is for people with life threatning diseases.
John S, USA

Everything in this world was created for a purpose, but people sometimes choose to abuse what God has given us. Marijuana, is an example of this. Though used for purposes other than what it was created, it can and should be used for the medicinal purposes for which I'm sure God put it here.
Katherine Haynie, USA

Only if it is safe and proven, it should not be taken via a spliff this is not medicinal, if there is a safe way to use it to alleviate pain then it should be legalised but as with all drugs it should be illegal to abuse it by smoking it!
Bob Johnson, UK

If cannabis is to remain illegal in the UK, then surely more harmful drugs like cigarettes and alcohol must also be banned?
Katie, UK

Who is going to pick up the pieces of such drugs getting into the wrong hands, as they inevitably will? Society already suffers enough from legal addictive drugs. And what will be legalised next?
Philip, England

In my country, people are being arrested for buying, selling, and using a drug called Rittilin. Yet from age 6-12, this drug was forced down my throat by doctors. My performance in school declined, and by age 14 I was in a mental institution. Yet no one her worries about a "mixed message" about drug use when it comes to Rittlin. Or morphine, or marinol, or prozac. Of course, these drugs are made by pharmaceutical companies and sold for great profit. Marijuana is a natural plant created by God and could be grown by the patients themselves, which would profit no one. The real issue here is MONEY, not the welfare of sick people.
Michael O'Day, USA

Lets think of two drugs.... We will call them drug 1. and drug 2. Drug 1 is taken by millions of people every day, it is considered socially acceptable and looked down upon if it is not taken. The results can be violent, destructive and in can cause many accidents that cause death to many people each year. Drug 2 on the other hand brings happiness to the people that take it. It helps some people get through the day by taking away the physical pain of every day life. It is addictive but perhaps not as addictive as other legal drugs. However if to stranger it was revealed that drug 1. (alcohol) the destructive drug, was legal.... and drug 2 (cannabis) the happy drug was illegal they would perhaps, like me be very confused. Surely the government should tune in to Sanity FM and finally LEGALIZE CANNABIS !!!
Paul, UK

We do not let animals suffer so why should humans suffer? If cannabis is helping to relieve their pain and is not doing any harm, then they should have it legally prescribed to them.
Georgina, UK

I feel Marijuana should be legalised for medicinal reasons. The people of California and Arizona have passed laws legalising marijuana for medicinal reasons but only with a prescription from a medical doctor. Several cannabis clubs have opened in Los Angeles and San Francisco as well as several other cities within the state but the U.S. Govt. has threatened the states with breaking federal laws that prohibit marijuana.
Carlos A. Bugarin, L.A., California, US

I think that cannabis should be legalised for everybody!!!!!!!
Elle, Africa

We must dispel myth and irrational paranoia about something which could be very valuable to the quality of life to thousands of people in this country alone. A government cannot claim to be democratic in any way if they refuse to discuss a subject simply because of a unreasoned mental image
Roy Whittle, England

I strongly suspect that the UK government has been forced to maintain a ban on medical cannabis by pressure from America. Pathological hostility to drug use derives overwhelmingly from that country via organisations such as the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) and UN Drug Control Programme that depend entirely for their funding on maintaining drug prohibition. The DEA has even blocked the growing of industrial hemp in the US. Europe should follow the example of Holland and show complete contempt for US-backed drug policies.
Mark Lewis, UK

Many 'harder' drugs are used for medicinal purposes (such as morphine) so why should those suffering with MS be denied a drug that can help them deal with their condition? Why are clinical trials necessary as Cannabis has been used for many thousands of years?
N. Sinclair, England

I suffer from Multiple Sclerosis and cannabis is the only effective drug to alleviate the serious muscle spasms I get
Andrew Coldwell, United Kingdom

If people with Multiple Sclerosis find that this substance alleviates their symptoms, then nobody should have the right to tell them that they are breaking The Law; least of all lawyers or politicians who have very little knowledge of Pharmacology.
Clive Rasanayagam, UK

As a primary caregiver I can tell you first hand that cannabis is a very effective medicine. Why would someone waste good money buying something that didn't work? The competition has always been the reason for prohibition. Please allow the patients and Doctors to decide, not the police or politicians.
Dennis M. Dryna, Aptos,CA,USA

I believe Cannabis should be decriminalised, because as far as drugs go, there are minimal dangers involved with its use, apart from the obvious lung cancer from smoking the stuff. It does have a large number of medical applications too. It has been used for thousands of years as a medicine, at least up until prohibition had it banned in the USA, as well as medical uses there are many industrial uses, such as paper production (the American constitution is written on hemp!) It has become a political pawn, and the police waste a fortune on enforcing the applicable laws for the reason that the government might loose a few votes.
C Schorr, E.Sussex, UK

Cannabis has been described by the US DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) Law Judge Francis L. Young, as "one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man". It is often the only drug that can give any genuine relief, particularly in MS, chemotherapy and AIDS sufferers. I consider that it is a criminal offence to deny this drug too the people who need it.
Martin Cooke, Ireland

Why should it not be legalised? Drugs like Aspirin have side effects but are perfectly legal. If cannabis is more effective in relieving pain then it should definitely be made legal.
John Tweedie, UK

Not only for medical use but for recreational use as well. It is less dangerous than alcohol, less addictive than nicotine and the decriminalisation would not only decriminalise the drug but also decriminalise a large proportion of this country's population who, in the simple pursuit of enjoyment, are being associated with those in our society who the law should really be targeting - those who inflict violence and misery upon others.
Stewart Morris, UK

My father is 62 years of age and suffers from glaucoma. My mother is 48 and recently diagnosed with cancer. It hurts me a great deal to see them in pain. I say, if there is a natural remedy that can help them along with medical science, why not do the research to see if it can truly be helpful.
Veronica, USA

I suffer from Fibromyalgia, which causes widespread pain. I use narcotic painkillers that are currently causing me liver damage. I would much rather use an effective herbal remedy. The sedative and tranquillising effects could prove extremely beneficial and help prevent severe muscle spasms and seizures.
Robert S Charig, UK

I think marijuana should be regulated and legalized if only for medicinal purposes. Britain should provide safeguards so that cannabis use can not be abused or fall into wrong hands. Thousands of disease sufferers would be helped if such a law is passed.
Edwin Magsakay, Philippines

Arguments against medical marijuana are ascientific, silly, reactionistic status-ism. Arguments towards are evocative and part of a better tomorrow. Everyone who has persued the topic for more than five minutes can tell you that marijuana is non addictive, impossible to overdose on, less damaging than smoking or drinking, and besides, very beneficial and sometimes crucial to sufferers of some diseases. Not to mention the enormous industrial, textile and agricultural benefits.
James Malcolm Alexander Smith, Canada

It should be decriminalised, full stop! Has the government got a loose screw? Just think of the TAX revenue they could receive if they were to decriminalise it. The government is just scared at losing too many middle class voters.
Jon, UK

Cannabis should certainly be legalised for medicinal purposes, but I think it should be de-criminalised anyway. It is far and away the most widely used illegal drug, it is not addictive and is arguably less harmful than alcohol and tobacco. Why should we devote vast customs and police resources into cannabis when these resources could be better used tackling serious crime and hard drugs?
Barry Tregear, UK

It seems obvious to me, it is helpful to those with serious illnesses, and it is not harmful. Where is the problem here?
Aaron Hyslop, UK

Why does the medical industry have such a fear of Marijuana? Just like any drug, they should be able to administer properly.
Dee Brady, USA

The insane expenditure of huge amounts of money and manpower to track down and incarcerate thousands of people because they use a naturally occurring plant that induces a mild state of euphoria, reduces anxiety and is an effective treatment for several serious illnesses should be criminalised and the cannabis users should be left alone. The government's argument that cannabis use cannot be allowed until studies have been completed is bogus. Cannabis does not have to be regulated by the government, it just needs to be decriminalised so that people can partake of the plentiful supply already available without having to worry about the institutionalised hysteria of anti-drug zealots.
Alan Murphy, USA

Medicine shouldn't be mixed with drugs in this way.
Francisco Ortiz Gonz�lez, M�xico

The argument that the legalization of Cannabis for medical use will in some way slow down the production of "Better drugs" is ludicrous. When did the researchers ever think "we have a good drug here lets drop all our investigations into other promising molecules."
ANDREW BAYNES, Spain

As long that it is legalized for medicinal use only - and that is properly controlled, then it should be.
Sukaina Mackie, Lebanon

Of Course Cannabis should be legalised for those whose pain or illness it can treat. Why should this drug be incriminating while other drugs, admitted in clinics that also have the same intoxicating effect be legalised or allowed? Because some people fear the abuse of this drug does not mean that others should suffer terrible pains or any pain at all when their pains can be relieved by a simple drug like cannabis? And those who are really concerned about the use or abuse of the drug, they should take The Netherlands as an example. Because of cannabis being legal the amount of deaths, compared with other European countries is relatively low. The policy in The Netherlands has been such a success, low crime rates, that is being copied by other states, realising that it is an advantage, to legalise cannabis for private and medicinal use.
Masoud Poorthoven, The Netherlands

Cocaine has been used as a painkiller in various forms - so what is the difference? It has benefits for sufferers then let's make progress and develop our research fast.
Kate Wilson, UK

If an MS/Cancer/AIDS patient gets some relief from cannabis - who can look them in the face and deny them it? Moreover, who is going to arrest and prosecute them as a criminal for using it? Mr Straw & co are pathetically clinging to their own perception of 'moral' values and enforcing them on the masses. Alcohol and tobacco have serious side effects that have been researched to the ends of the Earth - yet they are legal, and often far more dangerous. I appeal to the powers that be; cut out the hypocrisy, and represent the people!
Richard, England

I think it should be decriminalised. That way it would be more stringently controlled. More attention and money should be diverted into educating the public about the harmful effects of alcohol than a comparatively harmless drug like marijuana.
Nicholas Kelly, Ireland

In a supposedly caring society, one might have thought that the comfort of terminally ill patients would have prevailed over the scientific interest into side effects of a drug that has been in use for countless centuries.
Ken Fletcher, England

To prevent the terminally ill from taking a naturally occurring substance that offers considerable pain relief is heartless, immoral and downright criminal.
Scott Colvin, England

The last time I had dental treatment, the dentist handed me a package of painkillers and said "These are addictive. Don't use more than you need". That was legal. On any city street you can see the human wreckage of people who have destroyed themselves with alcohol. That's legal, too. Meanwhile, we are throwing people in jail for using a drug they buy themselves, and which has not been show to do anyone any great harm unless they grossly overuse it. It shouldn't take a genius to see what ought to happen here.
Jon Livesey, USA

As an Oregon voter, I voted for medical marijuana in our election this month. Oregon, along with four other states, passed laws permitting marijuana for some illnesses. I think that if sick people feel better there is no reason to deny them their choice of medication because the state thinks it would be bad for them. After all, much more dangerous drugs, such as morphine, are routinely prescribed with hardly a murmur from the anti-drug crusaders.
Stewart King, USA

If the evidence suggests that it can help people with their illnesses then why are the government not allowing it. I am sure they would put some type of taxation on it any way. I smoked Cannabis once about 10 years ago when I broke a bone in my back and the pain was unbearable, a friend gave me a cannabis cigarette I can honestly say that it was better than the prescribed pain killers the doctor gave me, and I can say that I have not smoked it since. So yes make it legal.
Gary Enderby, China

How can we make a herb that is growing within our world illegal, when it might help the suffering? Have the major pharmacutical companys got their goals in mind or the health of the dying?
Steve Hamilton, England

Denying ill people a drug which often is of great benefit to them is quite immoral in my opinion. I have many reasons to be disgusted with the current government but this is one of the biggest ones. Aside from medicinal uses, it is rank stupidity to allow people unlimited access to tobacco and alcohol while criminalising those who wish to use a much less dangerous and socially damaging drug.
Richard Galloway, UK

Having to see a friend suffer from MS, she copes very well, I just feel that if it makes her quality of life better then why not.
Helen Johnson, UK

Cannabis has been smoked for years, how many deaths have been attributed to cannabis compared to alcohol and tobacco? Tobacco even has a warning on the packet saying it kills you, yet it's still on sale. Why aren't tobacco and alcohol banned while a 5 year testing programme is carried out? We know that high levels of fat and salt in processed foods cause premature deaths, why aren't these levels reduced by law. The government aren't being consistent with their, so called, concerns for our health.
Dermot Ryan, England

Isn't the medical community responsible for relieving the pain of those which are suffering by means which we are capable.
John, USA

It is so silly that marijuana is illegal while methadone morphine and other opium derivatives are available by prescription. Current marijuana laws were formalized in the 1920's and based largely on unfounded fears and superstitions put forward during the period in and around prohibition. I would hope anyone in a position to change the current archaic laws would avail themselves of the Jamaica report commissioned under then president Nixon. The report went against the grain of those conservatives in power and therefore went unpublished.
Terry M. USA.

Many other prescription drugs have far more dangerous side effects than cannabis.
Alastair Cunningham, New Zealand

It's about time it was legal, not only for medical use, but recreational use. One only has to look to Holland to see how successful their drug tolerance policy has been in all but eradicating heroin use, and what a totally sorted out society they have in general, to realise that Britain would be greatly improved, drug related crime would drastically drop, and there would be a lot more happy, healthy and relaxed people in the world.
Mark S, USA

Yes, it should be made available for medical purposes. And since more testing is recommended, then it should be those afflicted to partake in the studies.
Joan Lisa, USA

Not only should it be legalized for medicinal purposes, but hopefully this legislation could bring back the ability for farmers to grow industrial hemp--this is a more vital issue to me because in order for THC to be used as medicine, it cannot be the plant itself, but rather must be a synthetic; however, hemp is ideal for a cash crop and there are no chemical equivalents for the physical plant which is able to produce better paper, fabric, and rope than the current products, but is cheaper and less destructive to the soil hemp is grown in. It is a shame that more efficient and more environmentally safe does not yield greater profit margins for the corporations and their synthetics for these products.
Jeanette Heinrich USA

It is naive to believe that heath is the reason for cannabis being illegal. If this were true the MORE harmful drugs tobacco and alcohol would also be illegal. Cannabis is illegal because it can be used to make products competing with the forestry, pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals and petroleum industries...paranoid conspiracy theory? Why else have countless studies and reports been ignored?
Rick Earl, New Zealand

I feel it is cruel and beyond belief that people who can get relief from suffering very serious conditions cannot legally get cannabis to help them. We prescribe Valium and other addictive substances yet the Government will not even look at this in an open-minded way. To state that other research would suffer is an appalling cop-out, meanwhile people continue to suffer. The Government is terrified of this issue as it shows them up as terribly reactionary when they are trying to present a liberal face. It really is time for the UK to join the twentieth century before we get to the twenty-first!
Graham Levett UK

There is no good reason not to legalise medicinal marijuana. Drugs that have been used recreationally are already legal for medicinal use yet there have been no significant adverse affects on society. Benjamin Smawfield, England

If we were to smoke any of the numerous plants that help make medicine, do you think at least one or a couple would get you high? So why pick on marijuana? Take what is considered bad and do something good with it.
Damarok, USA

Cannabis is a herb which should be able to be grown naturally and organically and used by those who need it without the use of a middle man. If you want/need to use it then why not be allowed to grow your own.
Jean Howard, UK

Of course it should be legalised for MS victims, if a person is suffering from such a terrible affliction then they should be allowed to use whatever substances they can that offers relief.
Faryl, London

If it helps people alleviate the pain that they have to endure, then who are we to deny them access to it?
TG, England

There is not justification for preventing ill people from receiving a treatment that will help them. Doctors will provide Valium to seriously ill patients to relieve pain, even if it may speed their death. Cannabis is mild in comparison. People already abuse it, and I do not think that making it available medicinally would greatly increase the number doing so. In any event, it is better to help those who need pain relief, rather than refuse to, on the basis of protecting potential cannabis-abusers from themselves. I'm sure that people can get hold of the stuff easily enough anyway, and its status need not change, except where prescribed.
Dr D Wilson, UK

If people want to use cannabis in the privacy of their own homes for any purpose, medicinal or leisure, they should be allowed to. Apart from the money saved in terms of the resources used by the police to pointlessly persecute users, the government will also be able to TAX IT! Think of the extra money raised for schools, the needy and the fight against real crime. It really is time the government woke up to this one.
SR, UK

The fact that cannabis is illegal for recreational use is absurd when one takes into account the fact that both alcohol and cigarettes are legal. That cannabis is illegal for those who need it as a form of medicine is preposterous. Although still viewed as a "dangerous drug" cannabis is still only plant that has gone through no chemical processing or altering, thus making it infinitely more natural than virtually every other form of medicine or intoxicant used today.
Gustaf Nilsson, UK

First off, I'm for legalizing and regulating the recreational use of marijuana. That said, the denial of any substance that could help a person cope with the symptoms of AIDS, cancer, etc. is simply cruel. Moreover, the current drug policy of most developed nations is, in this regard, quite inconsistent. If you are in intense pain, a doctor can give you morphine, but marijuana is unacceptable for any reason. I suppose consistency is the hobgoblin of those concerned with the seriously ill.
Jeff Myhre, USA

Clearly cocaine, heroin and other opiates are legal for medical use when prescribed by a physician. Many very dangerous substances are dispensed by pharmacologists legally, every day. There is a peculiar and obvious obstenance on the part of nearly all western governments (US and UK included) regarding cannabis. The reality is that for most of this century, governments have maintained a campaign against cannabis for recreational use. They demonise it. They have maintained the 'big lie' on cannabis and fear with some justification, that allowing its use for medicinal purposes will begin to unravel their irrational position on cannabis. When (not if) it is legalised for medical use, the legalization for recreational use will be just around the corner; and these governments know this. Their position is wrong and irrational; the tide of history will see the legalization of cannabis for medical use and recreational use by adults (hey, it's a new source of taxes!).
Roger Langille, USA

This kind of attitude is ridiculous. Cannabis has been shown for centuries, if not millenia to be of medical benefit. This is not a decision based on knowledge, but on ignorant prejudice. People suffering pain have a right to relieve it. Are the government going to ban pain relievers based on opiates, because that would make the users opium dealers?
Patrick Dean, Belgium

Large pharmaceutical companies control the research and clinical trials that are needed to asses the effects of using cannabis. If clinical trials approve the use of cannabis for treatment of various diseases then patients will be able to 'grow their own' medicine, or purchase it cheaply. This would mean they will not need to pay for, or receive on the NHS, expensive synthetic drugs produced by large pharmaceutical companies.
Alan, UK

I firmly believe that marijuana should be allowed in medical cases where it would relieve pain and suffering. On 4-Nov-98 Washington, DC passed this initiative into law.
Craig Carter, USA

It seems to me that we already know more about the long-term use of cannabis than most prescription drugs. the only real issue here is our old fashioned morality and the profits we put in the hands of the real criminals who sell this stuff.
Lionel Smith, Belgium

There have probably been more studies of cannabis than any other drug, ever. Requiring yet another study is just bigotry on the part of those people who can't see past their prejudices. I think it should be legal anyway, but refusing its use by those people it could positively help (as opposed to those who would simply enjoy it) is sheer stupidity and, by prolonging unnecessary pain, cruelty.
Rik Gammack, UK

With all the research and years of use which has been going on, cannabis hasn't been identified as an addictive drug (much to the dislikes of certain social groups). However, it must be said that there are some very good points for its MEDICINAL use in quite debilitating conditions. I therefore believe that cannabis should be legalised for medicinal purposes and probably should be decriminalised too. However I don't think that this should give rise to its uncontrolled public 'leisure use', as this could lead to problems.
Adrian Federico, Gibraltar

It should be legal anyway!
Cat, England

Has the government got another natural, cheap and effective medicine that will relieve these people's suffering? The answer, of course, is no. The government is letting prejudice and dogma get in the way of common sense.
Richard, UK

Don't take it away from the people who need it for medical reasons. What if it was the cure for cancer? Would people be so edgy then? Just because it can be abused doesn't mean everyone will.
Stuart Goss, England

How can anyone deny sick and desperately ill people relief from their suffering because of political cowardice and prejudice?
Shane Montague-Gallagher, Scotland

People are either responsible or not. They either know when they've had enough to drink or not, etc. I am a 48 yr. old woman who has a father with glaucoma and standards. He will not use cannabis unless it's legalized. Every person with a medical problem this might help deserves the opportunity to at least try this and see if it helps. Alcohol is legal, why not cannabis?
Dianne J, U.S.A.

It's been knows for years that Cannabis helps pain, especially MS sufferers. WAKE UP! Why spend 50 billion quid investigating new pain killers and 'chemical' drugs when we already have the cure!!!! What a stupid, sad, pathetic waste of money that could be given to, say, help hurricane mitch survivors! Just think of the HUGE amount of money saved if the police force wasn't looking for people using Cannabis (that's like 15 million people isn't it?).. we would have more money to use elsewhere! LOGIC!
I'm not going to get into an argument here, but the ONLY DRUGS that are worth worrying about are: Heroin (so cheap these days, it really is gonna wreck society) and Crack! All other drugs are 'soft-to-medium' and should be of personal choice.
Jim, UK