Arguments For Legalizing Marijuana

     Marijuana does have some negative effects, but compared to other drugs marijuana is harmless. Other drugs are highly addictive were marijuana is not. Alcohol is one of the most leading causes of car crashes. Marijuana is nowhere near being a leading cause of death. Other drugs can lead to cancer where marijuana is used to cure it, and other drugs can lead to deaths. Other drugs impair you vision, but marijuana does not. All the other drugs except alcohol are gateway drugs, and the only way to purchase them is by smuggling them across the border. Many advocates say “we should begin to reflect that reality in our state and federal legislation, and stop acting as if otherwise law-abiding marijuana smokers are part of the crime problem. They are not, and it is absurd to continue using law enforcement resources arresting them.” (Gary) Many advocates also say, “Far more harm is caused by marijuana prohibition than by marijuana itself.”(Gary)

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

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.

First, the federal government believes that if legislation is passed in legalizing marijuana, illicit drug abuse will increase among the general public (Clark, Medical marijuana: Medical necessity versus political agenda). Secondly, the DEA fears that marijuana serves as a “gateway” drug for harder drugs such as cocaine, heroin, etc. Finally, the federal government contends that legalizing marijuana for medical purposes would contradict the nation’s zero tolerance policy on the use of illicit drugs. Therefore, this legalization could result in corrupting adolescents into believing that illicit drug use is tolerable and even helpful to some degree (Clark, Medical marijuana: Medical necessity versus political agenda). It is the fear of law-makers that similar to alcohol and tobacco marketing techniques, marijuana distributors will advertise to adolescents that substance abuse is socially acceptable (Joffe). While the government focuses its attention on the potential social harms that may or may not arise, thousands of patients suffer from not being given this access to

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

Everyone wants to feel good. No one wants to be in pain, be depressed or anxious. Marijuana is given a bad reputation because people believe it will negatively affects the brain like heroine or the lungs like cigarettes. The main argument against using marijuana is that it lowers intelligence, but that is when it is abused. Many legal substances have long terms effects on the brain and have the power to kill. Drug War Facts reports 33,171 deaths were alcohol induced, 42,249 overdosed on opioids, 480,320 caused by tobacco, and zero related to marijuana. Cannabis can be used in place of medication, would decrease crime rates, and improve the economy. 64% of people believe marijuana should be legalized yet only 9 of 50 states

The overall use of marijuana has also help the trend increase as well According to Gallup Poll, “marijuana use has increased among most subgroups in the past decade, but more so among certain groups than others. For example, support is up 33 percentage points to 77% among adults aged 18 to 34, while it is up 16 points among adults aged 55 and older to 45%” (Swift).

More than one in three people have experimented with marijuana in their lifetime. Meaning that if you’re living, breathing, and socializing chances are you’ve met thousands of people who have either tried or is currently dependent on marijuana. Whether it’s referred to it as cannabis, hemp, weed, pot, reefer, grass, or mary-jane, it’s gone global and has proven significantly difficult to control. There is no substantial research stating whether weed is clear cut good or bad for people to consume, but most doctors and counselors will tell you it's a no-go. Pot is detrimental to mental and physical health, your personality, and society as a whole and should only be legal in instances where death is inevitable. The negative side effects of this

The legalization of marijuana is a very controversial subject. The use of far more addictive substances such as tobacco and alcohol have been available to the public for recreational use for quite some time. So what's stopping us from legalizing marijuana, when far more dangerous substances are available at every liquor store and pharmacy.

Government prohibition of marijuana in this day and time is an ongoing debate. Both sides make clear cases and voice their opinions on why they think it should or shouldn’t be legal. People against its legalization argue how it’s a possible gateway drug or how it messes with your memory, learning, judgment or coordination. As for the people for it, they usually justify its medical usage or how its all natural since it’s made from a plant. Personally, I think marijuana should be legal, however, there should be restrictions and regulation placed on its usage. Marijuana itself has never killed anyone; whereas, alcohol and tobacco users die ever day from substance abuse. Everybody needs a way to blow of stress, and I personally think marijuana

Since the 1930s, the U.S. government as classified Marijuana as an illegal drug. Marijuana, according to the Controlled Substances Act of 1990, is a schedule 1 substance. This means there is no legal medical use and high potential for abuse. Today a large number of people including doctors would argue that the law is wrong, there are many medical benefits from the use of marijuana. This law is clearly outdated and needs to be reformed to fit today’s society. Not only does this law restrict medical benefits, it also has a negative effect on our economy, and law enforcement. Enforcing cannabis laws costs billions of dollars every year. This does not help our society. This enormous amount of money could be used to better our society, but instead is being wasted on Marijuana prohibition, which is a complete failure. In fact, even though marijuana remains completely illegal, nearly half the population has tired marijuana. As a teen I have witnessed this happen numerous times.

In Our society, Marijuana is the biggest enemy. The questions we ask our society today is how are alcohol and tobacco two life threatening substances legal, but marijuana the least harmful of the two illegal. In 2013, The National Survey on Drug Use and health stated marijuana is the most common used illicit drug worldwide. The Marijuana plant is very common and naturally found all around the world. Its known to give users some type of “high” and is illegal in most places across the world. Marijuana refers to dried leaves, flowers, and stems from the hemp plant, cannabis sativa. Marijuana users smoke marijuana in joints that you roll out of cigarette paper, Blunt that you take the tobacco out and put the plant in and lastly, water pipes. Often, users like to mix it in their foods therefore becoming an edible. Marijuana has many positive benefits to certain diseases, our economy, crime would decrease, and to generate revenue over the year. Our

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.

Think for a minute about alcohol. It's something we are well accustomed to in our every day lives. We associate it with celebrations, parties, relaxation, and many other things that involve leisure. What else do we associate alcohol with? How about drunk driving and the deaths that occur as well. The thought of alcoholism and the destruction of the body as well families might spring in to mind. Now think about marijuana. Pot is something we all have been taught is next to sin. " Pot will make you stupid and lazy." "Pot will ruin your life." These might be a few examples of phrases that accompany the mentioning of the marijuana in any context, and the government has spent a lot of

Science has proven that marijuana is not as harmful as previously believed; instead, it actually can have health benefits. Still, our government rests on its laurels and fails to respond on a statutory level. Those who utilize the positive effects of marijuana today face potential federal penalties, despite following state laws. Others suffer, sometimes in silence, as they are refused natural medicine that may very well be more effective than what has been prescribed to them. Some Americans struggle with addictive substances, continuing to use what is legal because the safer alternative comes with the baggage of punitive consequence. The arguments that contradict the legalization and regulation of marijuana have no scientific evidence to support them. As we previously learned with the prohibition and eventual legalization of alcohol, legalizing and regulating marijuana is the right thing to do for the health, economic stability, and overall wellbeing of the American people. Marijuana is less addictive, does less damage to the body, and is less likely to contribute to violence and reckless behavior than alcohol (News24, 2015). Put very eloquently by News24, “marijuana is safer than alcohol: It’s time we treat it that way”