Argumentative Essay: The Legalization Of Marijuana

For many years, the prohibition of marijuana has led people to believe that marijuana was extremely dangerous, therefore, it could never be legal; but, most dangers spoken about marijuana are myths as it is found less harmful than alcohol, and even tobacco. In 2007, research done by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare came to the conclusion that alcohol was a large contributor to death and the cause of more than 3% of the overall disease and injury in Australia, while marijuana was accountable for no deaths and only 0.2% of disease and injury. Despite what many are told to believe, this research poses that marijuana holds way fewer risks than alcohol does, and alcohol is legal. Around 88,000 deaths occur each year due to alcohol consumption, and half of those are due to binge drinking. With this in

Armand, Wynne. "Marijuana: Health effects of recreational and medical use". Ed. Armand,Wynne.Research.2016.Armand provides research information that recreational marijuana can cause health issues in one's life in the forms of long-term and short-term use ranging from battling one's memorization skills, cognitive skills, to how damage to the lungs like bronchitis and asthma. Armand expresses that recreational marijuana is a common use among teenagers to young adults. That how among that age bracket, marijuana consumption is the highest in the nation. That among this bracket when marijuana is consumed in the body, it creates short term effects that can damage these developing brains, which could lead them from growing at the regular pace for

One of the biggest issues since legalization of marijuana in Colorado is the effect it has on our youth and future generations. In a report posted regarding the cause and effect on teenagers using marijuana Krista Lisdahl, director of the Brain Imaging and Neuropsychology lab at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, talks about the changes in the THC levels from the seventies to now. She also talks about how through modern technology it is possible to physically see the difference in the brain when a teenager is

We all know that marijuana is an addictive substance. Legalizing cannabis use is an easy way for people to use drugs. Using marijuana impacts teenagers’ learning outcomes, ability to work as well as driving, increases car accidents. The consequence of using stimulants at a young age leads to conflicts

Marijuana is the most used drug by teens and adults today. There are many strong arguments against the legalization of marijuana; there are also many valid reasons to legalize the drug. Although marijuana alters the natural brain functions like: memory, attentiveness, and coordination, keeping it illegal will not stop people from using the drug, but it imposes on other issues that need to be solved. With legalizing marijuana it would give law enforcement motive to focus on real crimes, the government would make a huge profit by taxing it, and it can also be beneficial for some medical needs.

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

The article Teen brains aren't adult brains claims that the use of marihuana for teens is unhealthy and can affect motor skills in teens in and out of school, and also can affect decision making. And some studies say that the use in younger people can cause long term damage , the brain is still developing till the age of 20. And the use of marijuana in medication is for those 21 and older with a prescription from doctors . The medicine is used for those who have pain or certain illnesses that the medicine can ease. The article states that 36% of high school students have at least tried marijuana once . And its popularity in students in schools have risen the number of student that do use marijuana . The article thinks that adults are not

Marijuana is the most used drug around the world in adolescence and adulthood. Those who believe in the legalization of this drug are down right wrong Marijuana ruins lives. My first article states “Marijuana was an identified drug of abuse for 57 percent of the individuals referred to treatment from the criminal justice system”(substance abuse administration). This article explains that more than half of the inmates in the criminal justice system has used marijuana. Adult society would deteriorate if it was legalized it would add to all the problems that alcohol and tobacco cause. Usage of marijuana in adolescence will alter brain development and will lead to poor academic

Although marijuana is non-FDA approved, neither are vitamins, which no one really thinks, or worries, about. No one has ever overdosed because of marijuana, but overdosing on alcohol kills about 88,000 people every single year, just in the United States (“Alcohol Facts and Statistics,” 2016). Studies have shown that marijuana can affect development of the brain in adolescents (William and Robert, 2015). Marijuana does affect the brain, so it, like many other legal drugs, should not be available to people under the legal age. There is no long-term effect on adults, so simply do not give it to adolescents (Bonnie and Jill, 2014). Finally, driving after smoking marijuana can be dangerous (William and Robert, 2015). This is true, but you also should not drive after drinking alcohol or taking anxiety medications. Marijuana is still a drug that affects the mind, but, if you use it responsibly, it is completely

In an attempt to “get the most out of it”, marijuana users have a tendency to inhale deeply and hold the smoke for as long as possible to increase the effects of the drug, which then on worsens the damage to the lungs. Another organ marijuana effectively destroys is the immune system of which alcohol has not yet been seen to damage. Marijuana also contains some cancer-causing ingredients that remain for incredibly long in the body after the drug has been taken. Studies in 2008 have shown a link between years of heavy marijuana use and brain abnormalities - a large suspect of the long patterns of psychosis in the users of the drug. Some other effects of marijuana use include: deformation of the sperm cells, disrupted menstrual cycles, diminished mental functions, hereditary defects and, most prominently, major depression and/or anxiety. Marijuana’s unpleasant effects take away any user’s quality of life, let alone a small teen, and continues to have substantially larger impacts unto these children - especially in comparison to alcohol.

The brain of a teenager has to undergo a lot of developing at this stage of development. Krista Lidahl the director of the brain imaging and neuropsychology lab at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee says, “it is the absolute worst possible time for a person to start using marijuana, because the mind-altering drug can disrupt development in the brain at this point of development." Lisdahl points to the growing number of studies that show that a regular use of marijuana, one or more times a week can actually change the developing structure of the teenage brain, specifically in areas dealing with memory and problem solving. Researchers from Duke University analyzed data on the topic of marijuana, gathered over many years. This data showed that teenagers that frequently used marijuana had lower base IQ and GPA compared to those that did not. Obviously this (not so harmful drug) is turning out to be pretty

First, legalizing marijuana in America will send a message to children that using the drug is acceptable. Because marijuana would be easier for children to obtain, there is a greater chance of a part of them becoming addicted to the drug. According to the Seattle Post Intelligencer, adolescents are at highest risk for marijuana addiction, as they are "three times more likely than adults to develop dependency" (U.S. Drug 65). However, this is transported from the fact that treatment admission rates for reporting marijuana as the primary substance of abuse increased from thirty-two to sixty-five percent between 1993 and 2003 (U.S Drug 66). Therefore, more young children ages twelve through seventeen entered treatment in 2003 for marijuana dependency than for alcohol and all other illegal drugs combined (U.S. Drug 67). With this in mind, not only are children at risk for becoming dependent

I can understand the fact that marijuana can be really harmful to youth. When used by adolescents, the effects are going to be permanent and crucial since it is a major time of brain development. The major effects include long term or even permanent impairment in cognitive ability. Marijuana can cause major pulmonary diseases like tobacco does. The article named “Legalizing Cannabis: A physician’s primer on the pulmonary effects of Marijuana” showed that “an estimated 23.9 million Americans aged 12 or older were current illicit drug users. Marijuana (cannabis) was the most commonly used drug, with 18.9 million users, an increase from 14.5 million between 2007 and 2012.” As per this statistics, peoples’ drug usage tend to get higher each year, and one of the most widely used drug was cannabis. So, legalizing cannabis might end up in an increased number of drug

Because of the widespread use and acceptance of marijuana as well as the passage of several state medical marijuana laws several research studies were conducted. These studies were analyzing whether new medical marijuana laws were causing an increase in teen use. The data from the research showed there was an increase in teen use over the last four years. One such study even revealed that it had increased in the youngest age group studied, eighth grade students (Anonymous). This increase in teen use is further supported by an article from Target News Reports that states “one in every fifteen high school seniors today is smoking pot on a daily basis” (Marijuana). These studies show a growing trend in teenage use of marijuana and popularity of marijuana which would seem to support the fact that legalizing marijuana even for medicinal purposes has led to increased teen use.

The use of marijuana for medical purposes has stimulated debate for many years. Some people find it beneficial, and believe it is the best way to relieve their chronic pain. There are a growing number of people who think marijuana is safe and think it should be legalized in small quantities for recreational use. Despite its illegality, marijuana has continued to be used by many people. Though some discount it as a harmful substance, there are many others who worry about increased criminal behavior, addiction and other health problems that can arise from its use. But more importantly they are concerned about the message teenagers would get if marijuana was legalized for recreational use. Since marijuana is a natural product many people may