By Sean Williams, TheMotleyFool
On one hand, marijuana’s momentum appears unstoppable. According to Gallup, more people favor legalizing the drug than not. Additionally, states like Colorado and Washington have been able to double-dip when it comes to tax revenue as medical marijuana and recreational marijuana have both been legal within those states for two years. Revenue from marijuana taxation can help fill budget gaps, including gaps that otherwise could mean layoffs of state-employed workers.
Then again, much is still unknown about marijuana and its long-term side effects. This is partly because most research surrounding marijuana has sought to examine its dangers rather than its benefits. Marijuana is also classified as a schedule 1 drug by the federal government, meaning it’s illicit and purportedly carries no medical benefits.
This past week, it swung largely in support of marijuana’s possible legalization. According to a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers examined the ratio of toxicity and human intake for a number of legal and illegal “drugs,” including alcohol and tobacco, and discovered that marijuana was by far the least dangerous drug of them all.
