Nick Foley English 101 Professor Burch December 12, 2014 The Truth About Marijuana Ever since 1930 marijuana has been an illegal drug in the United States. Somehow even though it is illegal, it is the countries number one cash crop with the most margin for profit. Users of cannabis are not the only supporters of the legalization of marijuana, many people who do not use the drug are supportive due to the fact that they know that the prohibition of it does more harm than good. They also can see that making it legal would be useful in many ways to those people who have diseases, that way they could use it as a medicine as well as a relaxant. One more reason people are pro legalization of marijuana is due to the fact that it could really help …show more content…
For example, Pharmaceutical companies lobby against cannabis because at a lower price, there are so many drugs such as pain killers or sleep medication it could replace. Another group that benefits greatly from prohibition are the drug cartels. Legalize marijuana and you cut a huge percent of their profits, army strength, and political power” (truth about cannabis). When talking about the legalization of marijuana a lot of people will say it is bad for your health, which is true in the aspect of inhaling the drug and harming your lungs or even the possibility of brain cells being killed. If people want to argue that then you would need to explain alcohol and tobacco because scientifically speaking those two substances are equal to, if not worse for you than marijuana is. 79,000 people die per year from alcohol poisoning but 0 people have ever died from over dosing on marijuana (truth about cannabis). The government and many people tend to think that if marijuana becomes legal then this drug will be much more accessible to children and teens. But when looking at it children and teens have a much harder time getting their hands on alcohol or tobacco because a cashier or store clerk will check for an ID but a drug dealer will not care about the person’s age, they just want the money. Another controversial reason to keep marijuana illegal is that many state it is a
The dispute over the legalization of cannabis sativa, more commonly known as marijuana, is one of the most controversial issues ever to take place in the United States. Its use as a medicine has existed for thousands of years in many countries across the globe. Legalization should be considered despite efforts made by groups who say marijuana is a harmful drug that will increase crime rates and lead users to other more dangerous substances. The legalization of marijuana can improve our society by helping with our economy, freeing legal resources, and benefiting the overall health of the nation though medical uses.
The statement “marijuana is a lot safer than alcohol” cannot go unchallenged and should be debated. One important subject is the risk that marijuana use (especially in young adults) can lead to some kinds of mental illness. “Studies support findings that risk of schizophrenia doubles in young abusers” (U.S. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 2009). According to Joseph Califano Jr., CASA founder and chairman of Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) “If we were to make marijuana legal and taxed it, for approximately every dollar of tax revenue, there could be as much as seven dollars incurred in medical costs”.
Marijuana is a controversial substance. It is considered a schedule 1 drug by the DEA but it is still legalized in 4 states for recreational purpose which include Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon. Laws against the use, possession and cultivation of this plant are different in different parts of the world. People have been debating about its advantages and its disadvantages for many years. There are a lot of myths about marijuana and very few seem to be true. Most of the people know very less about this so they tend to go with all the ideas that the society has about it. It has a potential to play a significant role in the economic development of a country and lower the crime rates.
One of the primary focuses of America 's War on Drugs is the controversial drug Marijuana. Marijuana remains the most widely used illegal drug and stirs up constant debate everywhere. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime from the World Drug Report 2004 an estimation of about 4 percent of the world’s adult population (162 million) consume marijuana annually (156). For thousands of years human beings have attempted to find ways to get passed the struggles of everyday life. With the pain of the world stopping people from enjoying simple pleasures, sometimes there is a need for help. Marijuana brings millions of people relief from pain flet on a day-to-day basis. This completely natural plant which previously helped so many people has puzzled the leaders of our nation for a long time. The effects of the drug on a individual level is what 's prevented the product from being legalized. Many issues involving this plant, like the speculation of it being a gateway drug, has put yet another block on its legalization. Even with the drugs known speculations, the benefit that it brings to the table most definitely out way its disadvantages. Marijuana can also alleviate several symptoms associated with cancer and Aids treatments and disorders. While Marijuana is effective as a medicine, it is also extremely lucrative. The economic benefits that Marijuana brings to the table are endless. Non legalization is a waste of societies hard earned money to continue to enforce
The legalization of marijuana is, and has been a heavily disputed issue for decades. On one hand, marijuana could lead to a medical breakthrough, or at least provide relief to cancer and AIDS patients. On the other hand, legalizing a drug could expose it to too broad an audience. As a drug, marijuana has never proven to be anywhere near as harmful as cigarettes or alcohol. Each year in the United States, 400,000 people die from tobacco, 50,000 from alcohol, and from marijuana, zero. Regardless of what side one may take to this argument, there are some causes to this marijuana debate that everyone should know. Marijuana was not always illegal, and the reasons behind the history of narcotic regulation are interesting when viewed from
By legalizing marijuana less harm will be caused. This creates high levels of crime; addicts are forced to commit crimes to pay for a habit that would be easily affordable if it were legal. Police sources have estimated that as much as half the property crime in some major cities is committed by drug users. More drastically, because drugs are illegal, participants in the drug trade cannot go to court to settle disputes, whether between buyer and seller or between
Imagine having a son or daughter who has six or more seizures a day. If you could could decrease the number of seizures they had a day by half, wouldn’t you consider medical marijuana? It is well known that medical cannabis has been used to cure many medical conditions for a long period of time already. Among the diseases marijuana can help treat, nausea, glaucoma, anorexia, epilepsy and more. Medical marijuana also helps with the side effects of many treatments, such as cancer chemotherapy. There are many health benefits of marijuana; it may have some negative effects, but the pain and symptom relief of many diseases and disorders makes it well worth it.
The health concerns of marijuana, while valid, are no more serious than that of cigarettes, alcohol or a lot of other legal drugs on the market. People in today’s society have widely accepted the use of marijuana, as evidenced in the passing of state laws allowing recreational use. The tax revenue created and money saved by using resources in other areas, gives the states huge financial rewards. Also, the disproportionate criminal penalties that minorities suffer due to marijuana laws are relieved by legalizing the drug. The benefits greatly outweigh the concerns of marijuana use.
Legalizing marijuana can be dangerous, unhealthy, One way legalizing marijuana can be dangerous is that it can affect your respiartory system according to leaf science.com believe it or not, “marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke, which means it has a much higher potential to cause cancer of the lungs and respiratory
Marijuana just relaxes you and is just something to make you feel better; it does not make people act stupid. Young people that get caught with marijuana ruin their record and often get stuck in the system with no way out except to continue living lives of crime instead of turning their lives around.” The people all for the legalization of marijuana might say something like that, but like every argument, there are always two sides. The people against the legalization of marijuana and that are fighting for marijuana to remain legal, argue, “Marijuana is a gateway drug and it leads to the use of harder, more serious drugs, and marijuana is often the cause of drug addiction. There would more people driving high on weed, which would result in more accidents and traffic offenses, especially among the youth. The drug marijuana is just not right and it was not made to be smoked by humans or used to get high. If marijuana is legal, then there is more likely a chance that kids will start using it at a younger age because it will be easier to obtain. Marijuana is just unhealthy, and physically, not good for your body. It doesn’t serve a great or accepted medical purpose. With marijuana illegal, the country can keep all the drug users and criminals off of the streets.” These are some of the arguments that some people fight for against the legalization of
Ethically, marijuana seems acceptable, because it is no more addictive or dangerous than any drug already legalized and beneficially challenges preconceived ideas of addiction. Medically, it could be beneficial to a large quantity of people looking for relief from pain, emotional or physical, who are hesitant about using highly addictive pills. Economically, marijuana could possibly provide a much-needed boom to America’s economy. With all these positive aspects of legalizing marijuana, it is hard to see why it is still criminalized. Misconceptions about cannabis has caused many Americans to be weary of it, however, by eliminating these prejudices against the drug and producing more supporters, America as a whole will be greatly benefitted.
The legalization of marijuana has been a debated subject in America since the 1970's. The pro-marijuana society in America has made claims as to how marijuana can help cure or lessen the effect of some diseases and that by legalizing the drug; the use of pot will actually decline. The fact of the matter is that marijuana is a drug that can be placed into a similar category as cocaine or heroine. Like these other drugs, pot (marijuana) smoking carries with it serious side effects that can effect the user forever, and sometimes-even cause death. Marijuana was first cultivated in America during the colonial time period and was used as a fiber for rope and even clothing. The plant was not used for its psychoactive properties until 1910,
Marijuana is arguably the most controversial drug in history. In general, when someone hears the word “drugs” they think of a terrible substance that will destroy the human body. However bringing up marijuana, many people think of different things. Some think of a degenerate hippie, but many Americans simply do not know what to think, and bringing up the legalization of the substance is even more controversial. There is a large group of people that believe the legalization of marijuana is pointless and only serves the purpose of making people unhealthy, but at the same time there are many that believe its legalization will solve many problems in America. Marijuana should be a legal, regulated drug because of its long history, the United States growing economic crisis, and the strong medical purpose it has.
Some may argue that marijuana can alter one’s perception and changes the way the human body works. Another argument is that smoking marijuana is a gateway drug to other drugs. If marijuana is legalized it increases the chances of the drug falling into the hands of children. Marijuana causes damage to the brain, poor lung health, and increases the risk of getting heart disease (19 Primary Pros and Cons of Legalizing Weed, 2015). Marijuana is not necessary for one’s health and there are safer, alternative methods of relaxing that yields the same effects as marijuana without the negative consequences. Marijuana legalization is immoral and shows that making money off the legalization of marijuana shows that profit is more important than
Marijuana should not be legalized because it will increase health issues, its use will rise rather than decline, and taxation will result in economic failure. In recent years, however, society has become very moderate, and this is why society’s views can be swayed by the benefits of legalization. Nowadays, legalizing marijuana is not that big of a deal as it was in the 60’s and 70’s when hippies and peace organizations were advocating for marijuana use. However, if marijuana is legalized it has been said that it might be the gateway drug to legalizing all illegal drugs.