Morals and politics are what make up the structure of this country. When an issue arises with different viewpoints, it becomes controversial. The legalization of the plant, cannabis (marijuana) is currently one of the biggest debates in forty-six of the fifty states, while four states have already legalized the “drug” as of April 2015. Marijuana is a plant that originated in southern and central Asia. The plant is known for it’s high content of the psychoactive ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Marijuana is currently classified as a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States and is illegal under federal law. The most common form of consuming marijuana is by smoking the dried flower parts of the plant. The process of baking goods with marijuana is also becoming more popular, especially among those who are very lung and overall health-conscious. Marijuana is commonly seen on a similar level to that of current legal substances, alcohol and tobacco. The drug has many potential benefits that it can bring to individuals, and to the nation as a whole if it were legal in the United States. This document will explain in depth these benefits this plant brings to the table, as well as a few downsides. It will overview factors such as the economy, government, laws, politics, and industries affected. Marijuana is currently legal for use in the medical industry in twenty-three states, most of which fall in the northeast and the west coast regions. It’s common medical uses include but are not limited to: glaucoma, Crohn’s Disease, muscle spasms, seizures, poor appetite, and nausea (especially from chemotherapy). In addition, researchers have also recently claimed that there’s a link between marijuana use and the shrinking of cancer tumors. “A tandem approach to shrinking brain tumors with two of marijuana’s key ingredients - tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol -  has proven successful, according to the result of a newly published study.” (Weller). Let’s compare marijuana to a few common prescription drugs – Xanax, Percocets, and Adderall. Marijuana naturally grows in the ground of our planet earth while these man-made pills are unnatural chemicals pressed together in a factory. Majority would probably agree that marijuana doesn’t have nearly the abuse potential of these man-made drugs, nor would it harm the body the way these drugs do, if abused. Yet these drugs, along with many others are legal in fifty states with prescription and still find their way to the streets to people without a prescription, resulting in a black market. Let’s say people could be prescribed marijuana instead of percocets for a moderate pain, and this trend continued. The abuse rate for percocets would likely decrease. The ease of being able to obtain a medical marijuana license is starting to seem comical. FOX 5 did a test in San Diego to see exactly how easy it is to obtain this license by sending someone with no medical condition to see a doctor. “The most common thing I hear from kids is that they go in and say they’re anxious and can’t sleep. I’m going to give that a shot and I’m pretty confident that will work,” said Glidewell. It did work. Less than an hour later, Glidewell walked out of the first clinic with a card to legally smoke pot (Karlman).” Aside from the medical industry, if marijuana were to be legalized nation-wide, it would become an industry of it’s own. Forget about a gold rush, we’re talking about a multi-billion dollar green rush. The cannabis plant has far more uses than to get people high and cure some pain. It produces industrial hemp that is already widely used. The U.S. currently imports about $500 million/year in hemp products. The chart shown below overviews the benefits industrial hemp already brings to our country. The legalization of marijuana would open up a ridiculous amount of job opportunities. These government-paid jobs could include growers, packagers, store representatives and more. In addition, smaller marijuana accessory businesses could emerge by selling glass pipes, herb-grinders, rolling papers, and fancy airtight containers. Since recent legalization, Colorado has created nearly 10,000 jobs within the industry. “A report out from Greenwave Advisors, a comprehensive research and financial analysis for the emerging legalized marijuana industry, projects that legal cannabis could be an industry with revenues of $35 billion by 2020 if marijuana is legalized at the federal level. They note that this is a floor representing revenues in the first year of countrywide legalization (Ingraham).” That’s 3.5 times more annual revenue than the NFL currently generates, and just shy of the newspaper publishing industry ($38 Billion). Marijuana is currently 100% legal for recreational use in four states, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. The laws in the other 46 states vary. Here’s a breakdown of the laws by state: Before legalizing m