Argument Against Legalizing Marijuana

Studies have proven that marijuana is no more harmful to a person’s health than alcohol or tobacco. Every year, tobacco kills roughly 390,000 people, alcohol contributes to 80,000 deaths in America and marijuana contributed to 0; no deaths from marijuana have ever been recorded in US history (Abovetheinfluence.org). When smoking tobacco, the user inhales tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, and 200 other known poisons into the lungs (Abovetheinfluence.org). All forms of tobacco, including cigars, pipe tobacco, snuff, and chewing tobacco, contain the addictive drug nicotine, and can also cause cancer. Alcohol alters a person's perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing. Alcohol plays a role in at least 50 percent of traffic deaths, about half of murders, and about 25 percent of suicides (Abovetheinfluence.org). Marijuana side effects include delusions, impaired memory, hallucinations and disorientation, which are no different from the side effects of alcohol alone.

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.

As the world advances people’s conceptions on the world change as well. Things that were viewed as bad in the 1900’s are now acceptable, and sometimes encouraged. Almost every aspect of life today as we know it is different from what we wear, to the jobs we have, and especially what we do in our free time. One thing that is was not very socially acceptable even in the last 5 years, and is a major topic all over the United States is marijuana legalization. It has always been used, but only in private or small groups. Marijuana which has been frowned upon for a long time, and users are labeled as “burnouts” and “losers” who are failures in the world. The world is changing its view on marijuana though. In the United States 27 states and D.C. have legalized marijuana

There are a lot of effects that can occur and happen to people who smoke marijuana. For example, if you smoke marijuana wherever you want and it’s in public there can be children that will see and think it is okay to smoke. Suppose you were smoking and kids are near you they are second hand smoking and can be bad for them. When you smoke weed (marijuana) you get what’s called a “high”, a high is something that makes your eyes red and you feel like you’re outside of your body. If people are high while driving it can cause a car accident and can end in fatalities. The more people smoke the more they get addicted to it and sometimes can’t stop smoking it unless they go through rehab.

The legalization of marijuana and other controlled substances is a highly discussed and controversial topic. Opponents have generally repeated arguments formed from long lasting government propaganda in the past, and proponents have been working tirelessly to break down those preconceptions. There are many arguments for and against the legalization of marijuana, and in many ways it is the same discussion that led to the end of prohibition. Generally, the opposing arguments are geared toward moral standards and focus on correlation as causation; the arguments for legalization are generally based on university studies and case studies from other countries and states that have already legalized marijuana. This essay will attempt to dispel the

Marijuana, also known as ganja, mary jane, pot, and dope is widely used by teens and adults. Today, society has come a long way officially 23 states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Although many people believe that marijuana is a gateway drug, and has been discouraged by society, it has been proven that “less than 8% of Americans smoke marijuana versus 52% who drink and 27% of people that smoke tobacco cigarettes” (Moore). This concludes the idea that alcohol is the real gateway drug, and marijuana holds less side effects. Recreational marijuana use would not pose a massive threat to the health of humans the way that alcohol destroys internal organs. Legalizing marijuana would allow more research about the

Marijuana is very safe and supporters of legalization would like to see it regulated like alcohol, or even believe that it is safe enough that regulation would not be necessary. Kayla Morgan states that “Marijuana is a safe and natural substance” and that people have been “using it for centuries” (100). Since people have been using it for centuries, no one has overdosed and marijuana is not physically addictive in the way that tobacco and alcohol are. “Studies show cannabis is not chemically addictive in the way heroin, nicotine, or alcohol is. This means the user’s body will not go into a physical withdrawal if regular cannabis use is stopped.” (Morgan 50). Marijuana is not physically or chemically addictive, which would not have as big of an effect on the user as other drugs. Drugs even prescribed to users for medicinal purposes can become addictive, and put patients through physical withdrawal.

The initial usage of marijuana for medical or therapeutic purposes emerged in the early nineteenth century and gradually gained popularity among physicians. It was not until the late 1930s that the prescription of marijuana faced any legal restrictions. Minor federal limitations such as the Marijuana Tax Act, Boggs Act, and Narcotics Control Act eventually propelled the ultimate legislation which is still in place today (Clark). This legislation, the 1970 Uniform Controlled Substance Act, categorizes marijuana as a Schedule I illicit drug. That is, the possession, purchase, distribution, or medical prescription of marijuana is considered a felony. It characterizes marijuana as a substance subject to abuse and lacking any medical purpose or

In American Marijuana is becoming a popular drug with over 100 million people using it . Marijuana is known for being “safe” and “harmless” to a person's health. Upon looking closer at the fact you’ll find this is not true. In fact Marijuana has severe short term and long term effects. According to www.drugabuse.gov some of the short term affects are altered senses, mood changes, impaired movement, difficulty thinking, and impaired memory. In addition to this long term effects are Breathing problems, increased heart rate, and problems with child development during and after pregnancy. To go into more detail Marijuana can affect breathing because the smoke irritates the lung which causes coughing better known as a smokers

The first recognised use of marijuana dates to 2737 B.C. where Chinese medics used this plant to treat several diseases like malaria. Marijuana first started being popular and draw worldwide attention was when the U.S. outlawed alcohol in the 1920s, many people turned to weed as a replacement for the extremely popular alcohol. Since then there has been a staggering trend in recent decades in the use of ‘pot’. Marijuana was first classified as an illigal drug in 1970 when the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) identified weed as a schedule 1 drug which is considered an illicit drug. This has caused controversy worldwide that is still ongoing today. In today's climate, one of the most controversial issues is if Cannabis should be legalized

Marijuana does have its unpleasant side of effects to the body. Weed has its physical, mental, short-term and long-term effects. First, the physical affects to the body that marijuana causes are breathing problems, increase of heart rate, and problems with children developing during or after pregnancy. Second, the mental affects are temporary hallucinations, paranoia, and disorganized thinking. Finally, the short-term and long-term effects are on the brain developing, which really affects memory, impaired body movements, and having a difficulty with thinking or problem solving. For example “A study shows that people who started smoking marijuana heavily in their teens and had an ongoing cannabis use disorder lost an average of eight IQ points between age 13 and 38” (National Institute on Drug Abuse). Marijuana can leave its mark in the body with people not even knowing how disastrous it can be, some can’t even the difference when they start till they end. It can also be even worse if it becomes an addiction and thinking of quitting. When departing from smoking marijuana it can leave effects such as grouchiness, sleepiness, decrease of appetite, anxiety, and cravings. Not everyone knows or notice this because when becoming a quitter they seem to only focus on discontinuing, which makes them think there are no effects to stopping. In other cases, “long-term marijuana user trying to quit report

I agree with marijuana being legalized for medicinal purposes because there are many people who benefit from it. Many people use it to help treat pain from cancer and diabetes. For this reason, it should be legal for a doctor to prescribe it is deemed necessary. You are correct however that people will do what they want and use marijuana regardless of its legal status. Legalizing it will help control the production and distribution of it and take it off the streets and away from cartels.

There are numerous reasons as to why I think the legalization of marijuana has been made legal. Those reasons include the fact that not many cases have been determined that a person died because of the consumption of marijuana use, as well as the taxes and funds the government will receive making it legal, (Estelle Goldstein, 2013). I believe whether it is legal or not those whom consume it or going to continue consuming it therefore will bring the government more profits by legalizing it.

Even though marijuana has many ways in which it may help an ill person, it is like other drugs in which it has side effects also. Smoked marijuana has the same affects on the body as tobacco, which is a legal and tolerated substance. Chronic smokers of marijuana are at risk for chronic obstructive lung disease and lung

Cigarettes are very harmful to the body. They contain substances such as “Formaldehyde used in embalming fluid”, “Plutonium used in nuclear weapons” and “Hydrogen Cyanide used in bug killers and fumigation”. All these substances are very dangerous and would normally be feared, but in cigarettes these substances are smoked. Smoking cigarettes can cause emphysema which is similar to “breathing through a straw” for your whole life. Smoking can cause “Gum disease”, “Tooth Loss” and “Lung Cancer”. Smoking can have huge effects on the body and is extremely unsafe. There are many myths about Marijuana, the most common being that marijuana isn’t harmful. This is a very dangerous myth because it can lead to people using it and knowing of the effects. Obviously letting any smoke into your lungs is dangerous and marijuana does lead to tar build up inside of your lungs. Another myth that is less common is that Marijuana use cannot lead to addiction, this myth exists because most people cannot become addicted to marijuana, but for the people that can this myth becomes dangerous. They can end up relying on Marijuana. Substances affect our bodies and brains in many different ways and should always be used