Should it be legal?In 1978 the New Mexico state legislature passed a law allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to patients suffering from nausea caused by chemotherapy, largely thanks to the efforts of a patient of cancer named Lynn Pierson. The federal government amended the law to comply with IND regulations requiring a research program. The FDA also required many studies and required doctors to fill out many pages of forms for each patient and document their progress, slowing the process to a halt. This process of getting marijuana to patients was taking so long that New Mexico officials considered using marijuana confiscated from the highway patrol. In August 1978 Lynn Pierson, who worked so hard for the legalization of marijuana, died of cancer without ever having received legal marijuana. A few weeks later, the federal government suspended the marijuana program. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics' reasons for making marijuana illegal were that it was highly addictive and caused violent crime. Today none of these reasons are supported by much data and many experts believe the opposite. According to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, more than 76 million Americans admit to trying marijuana. Along with those who enjoy marijuana: for recreational reasons, many doctors say it also has medicinal uses. The government should consider these facts and consider legalizing marijuana. There are many arguments against the legalization of marijuana. A common view is that marijuana is a “gateway drug” or a drug that opens the door to the use of harder drugs such as cocaine or heroin. The Institute of Medicine disagrees and explains in its 1999 report that marijuana has been mistaken for a “gateway drug” in the past because patterns of drug use in adolescents are surprisingly regular. Because it is the most commonly used illicit drug, it is likely to be the first illegal drug people try. Most drug users start with alcohol and nicotine, before using marijuana (Joy 32). Another complaint about marijuana is that it is a dangerous drug that causes permanent brain damage. Dr Iversen of the University of Oxford says: "Cannabis does not cause structural damage to the brains of animals as some reports had claimed, nor is there any evidence of long-term damage to the human brain or anything other than mild residual changes in cognitive function after cannabis. 'drug use'. use is discontinued (Woolf 24).