Medical marijuana is quickly sweeping across the nation, and more and more people in the United States are able to see how medically beneficial cannabis can be in the right situations. In fact, many pro-cannabis individuals and organizations testify that medical marijuana is much less dangerous than a lot of other medications and substances that are available on the market today. If the government makes something illegal, most people assume that it is because it is dangerous or risky to use, correct?

Well, what if I told you that using cannabis is less risky than using another substance like alcohol? Or even less risky than common prescription medications? Yes, I am serious. One of the main arguments for the legalization of weed is because it is a natural alternative and generally considered risk free. For some medical patients in the United States, medical marijuana is used in place of more dangerous drugs like opioids and strong prescription painkillers.

There are almost 96,000 deaths every year in the United States alone related to opioid overdoses and abuse. The saddest part about all of those deaths is that they are preventable. The majority of people who are using these medications are just trying to treat their symptoms from their chronic conditions, but end up getting addicted to the drugs. Medical marijuana is not addictive, and it is nearly impossible to overdose on it. According to an official court case, a cannabis user would have to smoke more than 1,5000 pounds of marijuana in 15 minutes in order to lethally overdose. That is impossible.

So why am I talking about all of this right now? Well, it does not make that much sense that medical marijuana is not legal on a federal level right now, especially when we consider other substances in the United States that are legal. In fact, for the first time in the United States, more than 100,000 people died from drug overdoses in a 12 month period, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

Again, most of these drugs are being used to treat painful conditions that can also be treated with medical marijuana. In fact, many of these conditions are found on state’s medical marijuana programs and are very treatable. Cannabis has more of the same benefits of other substances in the United States with little to no risk at all. It is basically impossible to give yourself a lethal overdose with marijuana, which is not the case for a lot of prescription medications and drugs out there on the market. It is safe to say that, for many medical marijuana patients in the United States, cannabis is a much safer alternative to the other substances they could be using.

It is also worth bringing up alcohol in this conversation, and I will tell you why. Did you know that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports an average of 95,000 Americans dying from causes attributable to alcohol in the span of 4 years? All of these deaths are preventable. Many Americans succumb to drinking just about every day to deal with emotional or physical pain – or to simply find an escape.

Medical marjiuana can also be used in these situations. It has more health benefits than alcohol and is a much safer alternative. However, it is important to keep in mind that there are certain risks with cannabis, especially when consumed often and in very high doses. One such risk is the development of cannabis dependence or cannabis use disorder, which basically causes the patients to have an addiction to marijuana.