Although marijuana has medical benefits, it is certainly not a harmless drug, especially for adolescents who can suffer long-term adverse consequences.

Despite negative health effects, acceptance of medical and recreational marijuana use is progressively gaining acceptance by policymakers, the medical community and the public.

In a recent BK Strategies survey of Indiana voters, 64% favored regulated full legalization for both medicinal purposes and adult use (45% strongly). Even among Republicans, 52% favored full legalization. The majority of those opposed to recreational legalization supported legalization of medical marijuana.

Nationally, more than half of adults admit to at least trying marijuana. A Pew poll found that 68% of Americans believe cannabis should be legalized for recreational use, and 91% feel that it should be legal for either medical or recreational uses.

National support for legalization of marijuana is also bipartisan. Nearly 80% of Democrats and 55% of Republicans approve of legalization. And the younger the generation surveyed, approval of legalization progressively increases, foretelling what the future holds.

In studies conducted by WebMD, nearly 70% of physicians believed medical marijuana should be legalized, and 56% believed it should be fully legalized.

Although still federally illegal, medical cannabis is legal in 37 states and recreational use in 21 states and Washington, D.C. Marijuana is legal in the surrounding…