Marijuana, which started as a simple, harmless drug has seen a drastic increase in popularity throughout the past half century. With its newfound home among the popular hallucinogens, this once harmless drug has now evolved into a gateway drug, opening the door to many more harmful and more deadly drugs.Although marijuana has proven to be beneficial towards certain medical conditions such as Glaucoma, the drug’s harmful effects on the human body and its addictive nature serve as good motive for it to be outlawed. With all of the drugs that are in use, marijuana seems to be the main substance that is obtained and or used among young teens and adults of all ages(Cassandra J. Dorius, Stephen J. Bahr, John P. Hoffmann and Elizabeth Lovelady …show more content…
If Marijuana was legal and there was no age limit as to when people could begin to smoke it, there would be absolute chaos in kids’ lives as they continued to progress. At first everything would seem fine, but thirty years or so down the road those kids, along with those who joined in smoking Marijuana, will have some serious issues.
Of some of the effects that marijuana can have on the body, many of the effects can either be long term or short term, depending on the amount of marijuana that the user of the substance uses throughout the time that they smoke. Many of the short term effects are no where near as bad as the long term effects, due to the fact that some of the long term effects could possibly alter the users DNA.(Josh Wright) Some of the short and long term effects consist of hallucinations, fantasies, paranoia, laid back, red eyed, bronchitis, emphysema, sore throat, pulmonary disease, impaired motor skills and dryness of mouth est.
While most marijuana users consider this drug to be harmless, most other big institutions such as police unions and alcohol and tobacco companies consider marijuana to be a threat. Also, schools are finding that marijuana is
In addition to increase public health problems, legalizing marijuana will lead to increase use of the drug among youngsters. Despite the regulatory approaches, legalizing marijuana has the inevitable effect of increasing the availability and consumption of the drug. Under the current prohibitions, the rate of consumption of marijuana among teenagers is already high; however, the rate of use would greatly increase if the drug was legitimately available to the population. For instance, despite the prohibitions against distribution of alcohol to teenagers, many youngsters who are under the legal age drink alcohol today. Similarly, high percentages of the young population are currently smokers even though the law prohibit them from buying cigarettes. Therefore, it is expected that the usage of marijuana among teenagers would increase if marijuana was legalized. Notably, the marijuana use will impair the development process of teenagers, which will negatively affect their health in later life. Thus, the increased use of marijuana among teenagers is a great concern. It will contribute to great dangers on the health of the youths.
marijuana is not considered as dangerous as other substances. In fact some states are even
Marijuana has been proven to be safer than alcohol, yet marijuana is against the law. Alcohol is known to contribute to acts of violence and crime, while in most cases cannabis can reduce aggression in its users. “In last year’s cases of reported violent crime three million offenders had been drinking. Almost all cases of date rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence had some kind of connection to alcohol” (Medical Fact: Marijuana is Safer Than Alcohol, 2009). Marijuana has not been linked or has
The effects of marijuana on the undeveloped minds of teenagers include an impairment in concentration and the ability to retain information. This poses an extreme hindrance to learning and can potentially tarnish the intellectual ability of a promising young man or woman. This has been depicted in studies as students with an average grade of D or below were four times more likely to have used marijuana compared to students with an average grade of A. Another fallacy about marijuana and its perceived “harmlessness” is that it is a non addictive drug. This again, could not be farther from reality. “Of the 7.1 million Americans suffering from illegal drug dependence or abuse, 60 percent abuse or are dependent on marijuana” (The impacts of marijuana use). Although we are led to believe this drug can be used once and forgotten, it is a concrete fact that more than half of all americans addicted to an illegal drug are dependent on marijuana. On top of this “more young people are now in treatment for marijuana dependence than for alcohol or for all other illegal drugs combined” (The impacts of marijuana use). At this point the question shouldn’t be whether or not marijuana is an addictive drug, but rather is there anything more addictive than marijuana. Finally, an old theory that the new pro marijuana culture is trying to dispel is that marijuana is not a gateway drug, or a drug that leads to usage of other drugs. According to a study done by the Journal of the American
Marijuana is an addictive drug. Fifty percent of everyday marijuana users become addicted. Most of all my peers I go to college and went to high school with smoke everyday with no intention in stopping. They smoke maybe five times throughout the day and when I ask why, they told it helps them stay calm and chills them. So they are really telling me that their body cannot function properly without their daily dose of marijuana because their body is trying to keep at homeostasis. That is why when everyday users try to quit smoking, they suffer from irritability, sleeplessness, anxiety, and a decreased appetite. Marijuana effects motivation, short term and long term memory, and also school work. College students smoke throughout the day, so it makes it very likely that they try to do school work or even go to class under the influence. One fact that I really didn’t know about with marijuana is that it increases the heart rate, along with raising blood pressure and damaging the lungs. For me that is important because I was born with a defective heart that takes twice as much energy to pump blood and I also have high blood pressure which is hereditary in my family. So not only did I put myself at a criminal risk, I also put myself at a health risk as well. There is also a risk for someone to buy “laced” marijuana which means that there is potential that
Since being officially outlawed in the 70s with Controlled Substances Act marijuana has been a completely illegal substance for anyone to have or consume(Burnett). However, that has not stopped anyone from using the plant. Growing up in a small conservative town it was pretty surprising how many people actually admitted to using the drug. The drug has been demonized for years by parents that believe that it will turn their kids into burnouts. However, that has not necessarily been the case. Like other substances any form of abuse can ruin a person’s life. Let’s take for instance a legal substance that suffered the same fate as marijuana at one point in time. Alcohol has long been the
5. Prohibition is based on lies and disinformation. Justification of marijuana's illegality increasingly requires distortions and selective uses of the scientific record, causing harm to the credibility of teachers, law enforcement officials, and scientists throughout the country. The dangers of marijuana use have been exaggerated for almost a century and the modern scientific record does not support the reefer madness predictions of the past and present. Many claims of marijuana's danger are based on old 20th century prejudices that originated in a time when science was uncertain how marijuana produced its characteristic effects. Since the cannabinoid receptor system was discovered in the late 1980s these hysterical concerns about marijuana's dangerousness have not been confirmed with modern research. Everyone agrees that marijuana, or any other drug use such as alcohol or tobacco use, is not for children. Nonetheless, adults have demonstrated over the last several decades that marijuana can be used moderately without harmful impacts to the individual or society.
Effects of using Cannabis: As stated by LiveScience.Org, 2015, the effects of cannabis oftentimes vary from person to person. However, the most noticeable effects are altered perception, poor thinking and memory, impaired coordination and loss of inhibition. Users may
Weed, bud, ganja, chronic, dro, herbs, grass, trees, pot, reefer; these are all names of the one drug that causes so much dispute, marijuana. Loved by so many, and hated by the law. It’s a two sided argument which everyone has their own opinion on. Is there any specific reason why weed should be illegal, or is the government just making money from catching people with it? Is there any real medical purpose for marijuana, or is it just a gateway drug for kids? These are the questions everyone should know the answers to. Whose side are you on?
The issue with cannabis and high schoolers is that teenagers maturing from 13 to 18 are having coming to their customary sought after objectives and are turning out to be less inspired to be fruitful in life. Weed is said to be one of the real reasons for less inspiration in youngsters that always smoke this cannabis. In the event that adolescents keep on partaking in these exercises within reach they will experience difficulty with later on.
This drug whom the majority of teenagers has explored, named Marijuana can have long-term physical and mental effects. Teenagers are the most affected since we are in a phase of risk taking, willing to do anything to feel more superior. They tend to make the mistake mixing multiple drugs, in which it can result in their own addiction or even worst their own death.For instance, my uncle started smoking marijuana at an early age (17 years of age) and he landed in prison because the cops caught him with cocaine and other kinds of drugs when he was driving home; now he is assuming the consequence in prison. It may be an excellent idea to never legalize the marijuana in society, and the government should make a more powerful law that may keep out teenager or any human away from these
The use of marijuana for medical purposes and personal use can be recorded as far as 12,000 years ago. Marijuana is classified as a schedule 1 drug. Schedule 1 drugs are drugs are drugs that have the potential for abuse (Drug Scheduling,2016). The government contains the high-level drugs, this is the reason we have pharmacies. Pharmacies are regulated so that people can not get medicine that can be easily abused. Pharmacies require a medical prescription from a certified doctor for any drug that could be used improperly. Marijuana should be in the same category as prescription drugs because, like any medicine/drug it can be easily abused. Decriminalizing marijuana is not helping millions of people that could benefit from its medical benefits from legalizing it. Even though legalized marijuana may result in an increase in black-market drug trade, marijuana should be legalized because its sale could benefit the economy and can also be used for medical purposes.
While many people think that marijuana is dangerous should be considered as illegal drug, I firmly believe that marijuana should be legalized medically and recreationally. Marijuana provides its user relaxation and peacefulness which indicates that the drug does not influence bad or criminal actions. However, marijuana is still illegal in some areas where dangerous products like alcohol are legal. In the field of medicine, marijuana is one of the safest drugs among all medications nowadays. Marijuana is a very unique drug as marijuana can reduce many symptoms of varied diseases and treat many illnesses. The effect of marijuana on the user is making one relaxed and peaceful, Cannabis major components are called THC and CBD, which have been known for treating wide variety of illness throughout the history. For example, marijuana could help treat anxiety disorders, glaucoma, AIDS related illness, bipolar disorders and cancer related illness. Marijuana is recommended by many professional physicians and scientist because it does the job with very minor side effects. Most legal medications these days cause many side effects as they mostly contain chemicals, but marijuana is a natural drug and is still illegal. Although marijuana would safer and more beneficial in the field of medicine, many people still criticize the idea of legalizing marijuana and disregard the fact the many lethal drugs are being prescribed every day. People have logical reasons to be against legalizing
There is a disconnect between the legal status of marijuana and the physiological/psychological dangers that occur from the use of marijuana. Alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous than marijuana and yet they are still legal. For example, there is little evidence that marijuana causes cancer but there is much evidence that tobacco causes cancer.
The public has been told how bad marijuana is for the longest time without ever addressing the facts behind what it does to the human body. Which one is really safer though, marijuana or alcohol? Contrary to popular belief marijuana is safer and more beneficial than alcohol is, when examining the health effects on the brain and the body during consumption as well as long term. Meanwhile bars stay open till 2 am every night and no one questions that alcohol is very detrimental to a person’s health and can even kill when consumed. Although some authority figures may claim that marijuana is a gateway drug or can lead to heart attacks most research shows that these impressions are false.