The Legalization of Marijuana in Canada

Marijuana, also referred to as cannabis, pot, dope, Mary Jane and many other street names, is a strong smelling plant from whose dried leaves a number of euphoriant and hallucinogenic drugs are prepared. It is the most used illicit drug in North America and is on a rise in all age groups (Canadian marijuana related statistics, 2003). So why is marijuana still illegal if it has so many positive factors? Marijuana should be legal because it is a multi-billion dollar industry, it is beneficial to medical patients and research, and it has less harmful effects when compared to Canada's other tw…