Essay On Legalizing Marijuana

The legalization of the drug marijuana is a hot topic nowadays. Many people want this substance to be legalized and regularly available like cigarettes. But what some people do not know are the serious health risks involved when using marijuana. There is a lot more to marijuana than just smoking it.

Most college students cease to believe that smoking marijuana is just as harmful as tobacco or other illicit drugs. In actuality, marijuana has a high level of carcinogens, as well as carbon monoxide, which makes the heart work harder to deliver oxygen to deprived tissues. The same health issues that arise from smoking tobacco such as, emphysema, bronchitis, and other respiratory problems can also be brought on by smoking marijuana.

The way that marijuana cigarettes are smoked- by inhaling and holding the smoke in the lungs creates an even greater risk for exposure to these poisonous chemicals. Other cases are quickly developing that show chronic marijuana users also develop mouth or larynx cancer. If such a drug can cause such devastating health problems, then why legalize it?

Many advocates say “ Marijuana is a common drug used by many people.”(Sandra) A lot of people think marijuana has numerous amounts of negative effects on the body. Marijuana helps the body in many different ways. It relaxes and relives stress from many people. It has been proven that marijuana does not kill brain cells, like most people seem to think it does. Marijuana also helps the creativity of people. It gives people new

People might think smoking marijuana is cool. They might try it without knowing what it is or what affects is has on you. Once someone smokes it for the first time, they might keep doing it again and again and they could get hooked on it for life. People who use marijuana usually never use any other type of illegal drugs, but more than seven thousand five hundred people get arrested for using marijuana every year. There is a wide variety of marijuana, but they are all based off of two marijuana plants, Indica and Sativa. Marijuana is very popular in America, and all over the world. Marijuana affects the body, it can be used as medicine, and marijuana can be addictive.

Thesis Statement: Marijuana has been regarded as a harmful plant that can endanger lives and is thought to be nothing more than an extra problem to be dealt with in today’s society. However, based on its economic value and medical benefits, the cannabis has proven to outweigh its negatives with numerous other positives.

Medical marijuana has been one of the most controversial topics in politics for years regardings its legalization and any possible benefits. Marijuana is commonly referred to as the “gateway drug” and has been thought to be what causes the downfall of our youth in today’s society. This has caused Marijuana to earn a bad reputation due to the immense surrounding propaganda and bias opinions. Cannabis is the scientific name of the plant which is absolutely natural and free of chemicals, but the psychoactive components in the plant has been proven to be of medical use. If medical marijuana is prescribed correctly it has the potential to help thousands of patients due to the variety of benefits it can medically provide. Medical Marijuana should

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 is a plant that people use for various reasons, whether that is for medicinal, recreational, social, personal, religious or nutritional uses. Recreational cannabis (marijuana), is designed to help get people high, the compound that recreational users chase is Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. THC is the active ingredient in marijuana, which bonds with specific receptors in the brain to produce a number of effects. It can have a sedative effect, relax your inhibitions, increase your appetite, lower your blood pressure and many other factors. Marijuana can also interfere with your short-term memory, lower your reaction time and make you unsteady and off balance. Even though marijuana has been classed as an illegal drug, there are some negatives, there are many studies that prove marijuana is less harmful to our bodies than other legal dangers, such as drinking or smoking.

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.

Although marijuana is a hallucinogen it does not have a highly addictive characteristic like other hallucinogens. In 2004 the National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that its short term effects include, but are not limited to: blood shot eyes, dry mouth and increased heart rate. Its long term effects include, but are not limited to: lower testosterone levels in men, and higher testosterone levels in women. When you compare this to other drug’s side affects you see that they are not so bad.

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.

Cannabis has copious amounts of effects on your body and brain. The effects range from bad all the way to good. Negative effects of cannabis may include anxiety, paranoia, and lowered reaction time, increased heart rate, distorted sense of time, and in some cases, psychosis. Cannabis does have positive effects for people with illnesses including cancer, multiple sclerosis, and many more. For teens, however, there is an increase of cannabis’ negative effects on the brain. This may include decreased brain activity, decreased neurons, trouble thinking and focusing, and a higher rate of dropping out of high school. Chronic users of cannabis may become dependent on it. It can also increase your rate of respiratory problems,

People usually do not think this will ever happen to them, because it is very rare that you hear of this occurring. What people do not realize though is that this is usually not ever found, they just suffer from the effects. Another bad side effect marijuana has is that it increases heart rates, causes anxiety and panic attacks (65). These effects can lead to serious trauma that could cause death. This is so serious because people do not think they ever have to go to the hospital, so it is never detected in their brains. Due to smoking marijuana, one’s brain and body are at an extremely high risk of these bad side effects.

We have all heard it over and over again, listening to everyone go on about how its wrong and its not healthy, but honestly people would not act they way they do if they cared what everyone else thought. This pertains especially to those of you who smoke marijuana. If marijuana users actually cared what everyone else thought, they would not be using it, even though it is illegal marijuana is one of the most attainable illegal substances out there. If marijuana is so attainable, and so many people like to indulge in using it then why has it been so hard to get it legalized? Marijuana can be extremely beneficial in several ways. Medical marijuana has many uses, its helped in easing pain, side effects of chemotherapy, and it can also