Legalization of Marijuana Essay

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.

With marijuana being a very popular drug, it is not a harmful drug. Marijuana is used by many people all around the world. The percentage of people who smoke has increased by a significantly large amount. “Ever since marijuana has been known to mankind, not one single account of death

Marijuana is a popular, and illegal, drug. Its largest consumers are young adults. Marijuana is smoked in a pipe or rolled in a cigarette. Thirty-seven percent of people between ages 12-17 have tried marijuana.(Adams 102) Marijuana gives a slight buzzing feeling of lightheadedness. Experimentation with marijuana is dangerous because studies show that 60% of people who smoke marijuana on a regular basis move on to try harder drugs soon after.(Lorimer 44) Marijuana tends to diminish the ambition and motivation in the user. In the long run, it may cause lung cancer and other respiratory problems.

Legalizing marijuana will lead to many societal benefits that will reduce illegal activity while helping the government control the use of the substance and making a profit that can be used to help taxpayers. Marijuana is not a dangerous drug and should be legalized because it does not cause harm to anyone and by legalizing marijuana the government will take control of marijuana distribution and it can benefit a lot of people in many ways. If the government controls the market for marijuana people would no longer be in danger of trying to acquire it illegally and there would be tax for selling marijuana which will benefit both the government and society. By legalizing marijuana the government can make laws about its use.

The fact is that there is not one reliable scientific study that shows smoking marijuana to be a safe and effective drug.

Legalizing marijuana would not just help teenagers choose a safer drug, it would also hurt drug cartels and benefit the U.S. economy. Drug cartels operating out of Mexico have made billions and billions of dollars by distributing illicit drugs all over the United States. According to RAND corporation Mexican drug cartels make 6 billion dollars of illicit drugs every year in the United States. They make most of their profits of marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. The

2. Once they discover that the government has been lying about marijuana, they are less inclined to believe official warnings about other drugs. 3. Once they buy marijuana on the black market, they are more likely to have the opportunity to buy other drugs” (Sullum). There is an obvious connection between pot smoking and other drug use because people who like the “high” that they get from pot, will enjoy a different “high” from another drug. However there is no connection between using marijuana and the desire to use other drugs. It is a matter of personality, environment, and personal influence. Even a National Academy of Sciences panel stated “There is no evidence that marijuana serves as a stepping stone on the bases of its particular drug effect” in a recent report (Sullum). Many other pro-prohibitionists have stated that marijuana is responsible for a long list of health problems. Although marijuana is connected to immediate lung problems like occasional coughing and phlegm production, and an increased risk for acute chest infections, there has never been a single tie to cancer. The results of studies linking marijuana smoking to lung cancer have also been hindered by small test sizes and subject bias, and the true results are saturated with unconfirmed studies and secret procedures with public results (Buddy). Marijuana is gaining headway with the most recent Gallup poll reported that 48 percent of the population supports decriminalization of marijuana, while

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.

So while it is very possible to die from having a few too many drinks, smoking marijuana seems to be far less toxic of a substance (Foland).

If pot was made a legal drug it would also greatly affect the crime rates in the U.S. Legal prohibition does not stop consumers from purchasing or using illegal drugs. By instituting a system of regulations on the drug, as with alcohol or prescription drugs, illegal drug prices would fall, leading to lower prices of the drug, therefore related crimes such as theft would be reduced. Illegal drugs are higher in price because of the inherent risk involved in production and distribution of them, which gives them a “black market status”. When people develop drug addictions (although pot has not been shown to be addictive) or habits they will do anything to get money to support their lifestyles. Many times people will resort to robbery or theft to account for money to gain access to the drug. By legalizing pot, it in turn reduces the risks associated with an illegal drug and therefore can lower the prices, which helps cut down on the secondary crimes. Drug dealers are also affected by legalizing pot. Most marijuana dealers would go out of business because of a loss in profits. By making the drug illegal, the

The drug marijuana in general, is not more harmful than alcohol or other legal drugs such

First, marijuana is less dangerous than alcoholic beverages. Each year 2.5 million people worldwide die from alcohol related injuries and illnesses. The number of reported deaths from overdose on marijuana is 0. Which is really strange because alcohol

Marijuana is a contrast to tobacco and alcohol when addiction characteristics do not show with the use of marijuana while addiction shows with legal tobacco and alcohol. It shows that less than one in ten marijuana smokers convert to consistent consumers of the drug, and most intentionally terminate their use after age 34, by comparison, 15 percent of alcohol users and 32 percent of tobacco smokers display indicators of drug dependency. Cannabis withdrawal indicators are uncommon and do not need replacement medication to stop the habit. When smoking marijuana comes to an end of an intake, the vast majority of smokers do not feel subjected to uncomfortable withdrawal indicators commanding restarting the use of marijuana.

the stem or trunk of a marijuana plant is the best maker of paper in the world.

Many studies have shown that the “more marijuana one uses, the more likely one has the risk of developing head and neck cancer” (Giannasio). This is why marijuana is as harmful as tobacco because the more one consumes it for medical uses or even just as an escape from reality then, the bigger the chance that person will develop head or neck cancer. In addition, “it has been proven that a smoke of marijuana “contains 50%