In the United States, there are 50 states. Twenty of them have already legalized limited use of marijuana, known as “weed.” Voters in Maine’s largest city voted to legalize marijuana in November this year. Portland became the first city on the East Coast to do so.

Marijuana can affect or change your lifestyle mentally, but some people use this drug as a pain-killer. It’s used in hospitals, too; for example Maine Medical Center (MMC) allows marijuana users to get their medical marijuana, if you only have a medical card (I.D). Maine spent more than $9 million a year on “aggressive enforcement” of marijuana laws that “ensnares thousands in the criminal justice system,” said the Maine ACLU’s Bob Talbot. In my own words, I would say that the legalization of the medical marijuana should be a right for those who need it.

Portland, being one of the cities that allows this use, made the citizens proud. It also gave people who need this plant the ability to function. It should be more about what the population wants, not what the government likes, as it was proven in the election.

Patrick Jabo,

Rwanda