Analysis Of The Legalization Of Marijuana

Those who disagree with the legalization of marijuana across the United States state various concerns regarding its potential for negative side effects, such as causing addiction and deteriorating cognition (Loflin and Earleywine 293-296). Nonetheless,

For the last century there has been an abundance of false information being spread about the drug marijuana. Even in commercials on television, misleading facts about the drug have been presented to the audience. Some misconceptions about the drug include its potential to cause addiction, the damaging of brain cells, genetic damage, violent behavior, and damage to the immune system. These misconceptions, which have plagued a large percentage of the population into thinking that marijuana is a bad drug, have caused many set backs in the process of gradual legalization. (http://legalizationofmarijuana.com/ )

Marijuana has been deeply studied in the past few decades and has shown scientist many things that weren’t evident before. Marijuana has been linked to many health issues good and bad. It has shown to reduce stress and anxiety, help with headaches, lower blood pressure and one of the most evident and positive health affects is that it has been shown in many studies to stop and even kill cancer cells in the body. There are however negative effects that have been looked into and studied by scientist. These include, blocking memory formation, psychosis, and an increased risk of depression while using marijuana regularly. Not everything revolving around marijuana is a “health issue” though, the biggest reason that people use marijuana today is because it simply makes people feel good. That is a positive effect.

Marijuana smoke is a complex mixture that has many chemical components and biological effects similar to tobacco smoke. However, it also contains some different ingredients. This suggests the strong possibility that marijuana, like tobacco, could lead to lung cancer, or create respiratory distress. ?Smoking marijuana also causes changes in the heart and circulation that are characteristic of stress? states Morgan (5). Current evidence has shown marijuana also causes some chemical changes in the brain. After exposure to this drug, there have been reports of effects on brain electrical activity in human beings and in animals. Marijuana also has been found to produce an acute brain syndrome. ?This is a more severe mental problem consisting of confusion and loss of contact with reality? stated Berger (8). The main reason that the United States Drug Enforcement Agency doesn't want marijuana use to be legalized is because there is no evidence to date that proves that marijuana is an effective drug when used for medicinal purposes. Scientists have researched this drug for twenty years and have yet to produce reliable scientific proof that marijuana has medical value. New findings show that marijuana is acutely harmful to AIDS and cancer patients because the active ingredient in marijuana acutely reduces the white blood cells that fight off infection. The United States Drug Enforcement Agency agrees with police departments that if marijuana use is legalized, crime could

It seems every decade marijuana studies show that it has no side effects on users, in turn it become more available like when some states in America had legalized it. Dr Kevin M. Gray believes that the only side effect of smoking weed is the physical addictions it causes, he believes that over 51% of all teens have used weed at least once and the biggest problem we are facing with this rapidly growing drug use is only addiction. Dr Marshall M. Gay believes that the health effects of weed isn’t that much as smoking cigarettes and doesn’t see it a threat to people’s health. “More than half (51%) of adolescents reported that marijuana is fairly or very easy to obtain.2 this ease of availability may have contributed to a recently reported "reverse gateway" from cigarettes use to marijuana”. The more ignored belief is that marijuana can lead to a variety of developmental, mental and physical side effects. The effects of smoking weed can extend to those of smoking cigarettes “studies show regular marijuana use can lead to many of the same

Marijuana is considered in popular culture to be a widely accepted mainstream recreational illegal drug used in the United States; its use comes with severe adverse side effects that are often overlooked. Long-Term use of marijuana 'sis shown to have negative effects on physical, mental, and environmental health. Studies have shown that in the United States, up to 20% of daily marijuana users become dependent (Marijuana and Lung Health) showing a physical or emotional need for the drug. Marijuana use has the potential to affect every aspect of a person 's physical and mental wellbeing negatively. Its use also comes with potentially life-altering risks to one 's future including an individual’s likelihood of obtaining a degree, impacting their future earning potential and decreasing their overall reported life satisfaction. Once dependent on marijuana, people stop caring about their schooling. Long-term use of smoking marijuana can result in the inability to learn, retain information and think critically.

A major health issue that is seen with the use of marijuana is a loss of coordination. As a person uses the drug they begin to become slower and slower when an instantaneous reaction is required. For example, using marijuana can make it difficult for a person to simply catch a ball in the sport of baseball even if before using marijuana that same person did not have difficulty with this task. (“Marijuana”) The main ingredient in marijuana that has a negative effect on the body, specifically the brain, is THC. When the drug is inhaled it begins affecting the brain immediately. These effects include the aforementioned issue of losing certain motor functions in addition to a few other effects. One of the dangerous effects of marijuana in the more long-term spectrum is what THC does to the brain. According to “Drug Facts: Marijuana,” a recent study has shown that the use of marijuana causes a major deficit in the brain when it came to memory and learning. This effect carries into careers and lives, and therefore the legalization of marijuana in Colorado will cause an issue in the comprehensiveness of employees all over the state. The inability to comprehend and remember will be a financial and generally inconvenient strain on the economy of the state simply because employees will need to be retrained more often than if they did not use the drug marijuana. Furthermore, marijuana gives its users a sense of dizziness and sluggishness, which, if used during work or driving could

"Marijuana is the second most popular drug after alcohol in the country today. So many people smoke marijuana that the numbers alone seem to legitimize and condone its presence in people's lives. Yet, even in moderation marijuana is not 'safe.' Somehow this information had not filtered down to people who think they are smoking a fairly innocuous drug. Our society perpetuates the myths about pot being a fun, harmless, recreational drug. These myths feed into people's denial of marijuana's problems" (Baum 6). However, the abuse of marijuana is a problem. It is not only a personal problem, but also more importantly a social problem. Throughout history marijuana has been used to serve various purposes in many

Starting with Colorado and Washington in 2012, there are many states in the United States that are considering legalizing recreational marijuana use. Both Alaska and Oregon have legalized recreational marijuana and there are been many other states that have decriminalized people who are found with small amounts of marijuana on their person. Although all of this action towards marijuana legalization shows the changes in perspective that are occurring across the United States, there are still anti marijuana advocates that do not want want it to be legalized recreationally. My belief is that the use of recreational marijuana should be legal for multiple purposes. Economically speaking, the legalization would help to both earn and save money

This is such a great topic to discuss this week, especially in the state of Pennsylvania. We recently saw some big changes in the legalization of Marijuana in the surrounding areas. “On April 17, 2016, Gov. Tom Wolf signed The Medical Marijuana Act (SB 3) into law, making Pennsylvania the 24th state to legalize medical marijuana” ( MPP, 2016). It is such a debated topic, and personally, I never really took a stand on either side of the line. For me, this would possibly be the only drug that is listed on the DEA’s controlled substance list that I would even think of legalizing. I couldn’t pronounce half of the others and they seemed quite scary to be honest. It is kind of amazing to think of the progressive times we are living in though and

Many will argue that legalizing marijuana would only increase the number of health problems in America. Marijuana has proven effects on those using the drug as well as those exposed to it. Research shows that long-term use of marijuana is linked to a various amount of mental health issues, such as hallucinations, paranoia, and even schizophrenia. Along with these issues, marijuana can trigger many other issues,

The intake of marijuana can also be harmful for the people around the users. Not only in the act of second hand smoking, but also in the acts that the marijuana conveys you to do. As mentioned earlier, marijuana has a greater concentration of carcinogens and irritants that can cause damage to the participant’s trachea and lungs. It is also possible to have enough marijuana in your system to fail a drug test from second hand smoking. Consequently, this can cause real danger to the roommates, suitemates and anyone else around the participants while they are smoking. They can also be affected by the mental side effects mentioned earlier. Another key point in the argument against external conflicts is the enhancement of sexual behavior. In “Get

This article talks about the cons of legalizing marijuana, and the damage it does to developing brains. The article claims that a new study in the journal Current Addiction Reports found that regular pot use (defined as once a week) among teenagers and young adults led to cognitive decline, poor attention and memory, and decreased IQ. The author William J Bennet, Is a s an American conservative pundit, politician, and political theorist, who served as Secretary of Education from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. This could lead to some biased articles, but for the most part

Marijuana, also known on the streets as weed, reefer or Mary Jane is a psychoactive drug that contains 483 known compounds including THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), marijuana’s main psychoactive integral (Kalant 2004). Marijuana can be smoked, vaporized, consumed as a food or as part of a tea amongst the imaginations limitations. While some drugs can be easily categorized as a stimulant, hallucinogen or depressant; marijuana displays a combination of all of these properties. Marijuana has an extensive history and its usefulness depends on ones point of view.

While Cannabis use can be very effective in relieving pain and relaxing a person it has many negative effects. Marijuana use is a danger in the way it impairs the way your mind creates memories. When driving your judgment is altered and not many would appreciate if someone under the influence is on the road. Another way is the effects it has on a person’s lungs causing respiratory illnesses. Not only that, but Smoking marijuana is a factor to poor education outcomes from that smoker. Marijuana can be a very unpleasant thing to think about especially when you start to think about what it does to your mind.