Argumentative Essay On Legalizing Marijuana

The legalization of marijuana is a very debatable subject, some people think it is bad and should be illegal, and some people think it is good in some ways if used properly. It should be legal because it has few negative effects, it serves other purposes than getting people stoned, and it is better than other drugs.

Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in the United States. Despite this, Marijuana remains illegally in many states across the country. Legal drugs like tobacco, and alcohol are proven to be more deadly then marijuana. However, they remain legal nationwide. Tobacco itself is the second major cause of death in the world. The United States should legalize marijuana because it’s not as deadly as some other legal drugs, it’s already widely used, and it’s nearly impossible to enforce its’ use.

The U.S Centers For Disease Control and Prevention said that there's a big amount of people who have died from the use of alcohol but not from marijuana. (37,000 annual deaths in the U.S). Alcohol also damages the brain and causes serious problems. It is also proven that alcohol can give you a variety of cancers (stomach, lungs and liver) but on the other hand, marijuana helps to deal with it.

The legalization of marijuana has been a hot topic in the media for many years now. There is a major divide in those who believe it should be legal, those who do not, and those who think it could be legal with modifications on the usage. The number of those who support the legalization of marijuana is on the rise with nearly 50% supporting recreational marijuana legalization, and 81% supporting marijuana legalization for medical treatment as of 2015 ("Public Support for Marijuana Legalization, 2015”). Marijuana should be legalized on a federal level because it is safer than alcohol, it will increase the economy, and there is an unfair criminalization of marijuana.

Growing up, I’ve always been taught that drugs are bad, and my parents have always told me that there is nothing good to them. I remember taking D.A.R.E in fifth grade, learning how marijuana was bad for you and that you should go to jail if you use it. My teachers and parents were my role models though, so I took in everything they told me as a fact, until now. Now I realize that drugs are a good thing. Drugs are a way of life, and they are used by millions of people everyday. There are drugs such as advil, which is used to help patients who suffer from many things, including headaches and fevers. But the drug i’m talking about is marijuana.

Marijuana is much safer then alcohol too. Marijuana is one of the few drugs without the risk of overdose. In 2006, alcohol was the cause of 22,073 deaths in the united states. Alcohol, by itself or combined with another illicit drug, was involved in approximately 577,521 emergency room visits. Marijuana use, on the other hand, has no effect, increasing or decreasing, on mortality. Marijuana was only involved in approximately 290,563 emergency room visits. This means that alcohol is involved in two times the amount of emergency room visits as marijuana and kills more people each year because marijuana doesn’t have a direct affect on mortality.

Drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana have been around for years. The fact that it has been around so long has made it become a trend for many adults, teens, and even kids. Many of those who use, either use one or both without knowing the health effects either of the two drugs can have on you. Some say marijuana is more harmful than alcohol, and others vice versa. Although both drinking and smoking have short and long term health effects, experts show that marijuana is much safer to use health wise rather than drinking.

Marijuana has been used in religious ceremonies or for medical purposes for thousands of years. I have always been against the use of Marijuana up until four years ago when my husband at the age of twenty seven underwent invasive surgery on his knee and has never been the same since. Colorado took a huge step several years ago legalizing marijuana for medical use and in recent years took the plunge to legalize it for recreational use. Marijuana is not always a bad thing nor is it always a good thing. A lot of people will compare it to any other mind altering substance and have very valid points. I would rather have a loved one or myself smoke marijuana or ingest it, instead of popping pain pills or other harmful substances put on the market by the pharmaceutical industry; Recreational use can be safe and accepting if it is regulated correctly and used responsibly.

Marijuana has linked to, lack of motivation, anxiety, reduced sexual capacity, confusion, mood changes, and schizophrenia-like brain changes, however all of these effects have not been proven. A study in 1999 concluded that heavy-users of marijuana over a 15 year period had not had any negative impacts on the users intelligence. (Armentano) These facts combined together show that both drugs have an effect on the brain but neither worse than they other.

Marijuana usage is a topic that has been discussed for some time now but the recent medical and recreational legalization of this drug has brought about a new area of unchartered territory. The business industry will have to revise many of their employment and safety requirements. After viewing some current policies many businesses are likely to be forced to established new protocols for intra and inner state practices. There are many types of complications as to why the marijuana usage laws should stay at the federal level and not within the state.

Marijuana is known to ease symptoms from medical conditions such as: muscle spasms, nausea from cancer chemotherapy, poor appetite and weight loss from chronic illness, nerve pain and seizure disorders, and more…. Marijuana won’t kill you like other drugs such as: heroin, crack cocaine, or even alcohol. According to Dave Smith (2012), “It’s a fact that anyone can die from ingesting too much aspirin, or too much coffee, or too much wine. Marijuana, on the other hand, medical or not, is not only non- lethal, but likely beneficial. Several studies, some published as recently as a few months ago, have shown that marijuana can even be good for your health, and could help treat conditions better than the solutions being cooked up in the labs. There has never been a single death from marijuana use, recreationally or just medical use. Even, prescription drugs are known to kill people, nearly over a hundred thousand each year. Marijuana can help your health not hurt

. Marijuana is a drug that can not be overdosed on while there are about eighty eight thousands deaths reported of alcohol overdoses a year. The likeliness of crashing while driving an automobile is also significantly higher when being under the influence of alcohol. Tobacco is also known to be worse than marijuana in terms of health.

They also determined that alcohol was a significant contributor to death and responsible for 3.2% of the total of disease and injury, whereas marijuana was responsible for zero deaths and just 0.2% of the total of disease and injury. Experts found that alcohol causes more deaths every year rather than marijuana, which has no deaths recorded. They also found out that it is easier to get addicted to alcohol and to become an alcoholic, which can lead to an increase in aggressive behavior. They say that marijuana relaxes the body and calms the body and mind down. In 2007, experts formed an analysis on the relative harms of marijuana, alcohol, and other drugs. It showed that marijuana had far fewer health and safety risks than

Marijuana is by far safer than both cigarettes and alcohol, two substances that are legal in the U.S and all over the world. Many people will argue that marijuana is more harmful than the two, but thats not the case. Cigarettes and alcohol are much more dangerous and addictive than marijuana.

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.