Marijuana Should Be Legalized Introduction Generally, throughout the globe there exists wide

The truths about marijuana are slowly starting to resurface, the government keeps ignoring that cannabis could one day be as powerful for the U.S. Unfortunately, these truths about marijuana are under a lot of criticism because of the stereotype of what people see as a "marijuana or cannabis smoker." There is a great difficulty in this law because marijuana is still recognized as a harmful and dangerous substance in some states. This can cause problems because each state has their different views and opinions on the matter, and have their own rules and how the rules apply towards it. The twenty-six states and the District of Columbia currently have laws legalizing marijuana in some form, but California, Massachusetts, and Nevada just passed the law for recreational use. The states that have medical marijuana and recreational legalization are Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Nevada, and Alaska. The states that only have medical marijuana legal are Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, Arizona, Hawaii (Ingraham). However, legalizing marijuana could have some benefits instead of being a drug with some bad reputations. Marijuana should be legalized because of medical reasons, safety reasons, and have some benefits to society.

“According to the United Nations, 158.8 million people around the world use marijuana—more than 3.8% of the planet’s population” (Drugfreeworld.org, 2014). Marijuana is one of the most widely used illicit drugs in the world (Sewell). It has received a plethora of criticism in the past and its negative reputation has carried on throughout history, making the legalization of marijuana one of the most controversial topics today. Marijuana does not deserve the reputation it receives, and in actuality it serves many medicinal purposes for the human body. Marijuana should be legalized in all 50 states for medical use.

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

Marijuana has been seen more as a recreational drug and not a hard-core drug which is why most people do not see it as a high- risk drug or to have longing effects on a person or the body itself. Since the 20th century, marijuana has been prescribed by doctors for use to deal with glaucoma and cancer. Being that it is legal for medical use but illegal to use on a federal government level will and has always set off two different sides of legalizing or not legalizing marijuana. Marijuana cannot and should not be in categories with drugs that can kill because there are no studies of marijuana killing a person.

In order to gain an understanding of marijuana's so called "harmful" negative effects; it should be compared to other drugs that are presently legalized in this country. In the pharmaceutical world, over-the-counter drugs are being prescribed for everything these days. Ritalin and Adderall are readily available for college students in the university health centers across the country. Kids are staying up all night studying, complaining that they can not pay attention, and are immediately referred to the prescription drugs which in many cases they do not even need. Along with the prescription drug problem in our nation, we have a serious issue concerning alcohol and tobacco. Alcoholism is killing people daily with liver malfunctions

Legalizing marijuana is crucial to the medical field because many patients cannot use this marvelous plant to relieve their pain. This plant can help patients with multiple sclerosis, nausea from cancer chemotherapy, HIV, nerve pain, and seizure disorders. Many patients must go behind the doctors back and consume cannabis or give it to a loved one to relieve their pain. Only twenty-nine states have allowed the use of medical marijuana. Furthermore, that means that twenty-two states do not allow the usage of any form of Cannabis. Marijuana should be an all-around legal

Marijuana has been decriminalized in Holland for over forty years. According to the 2011 United Nations World Drug Report, “the relevance of cannabis use in Holland has been lower than in many other European countries, the United States and Canada” (Spithoff, 2015, 1211-1216). The relevance of the drug use in Holland was at an all-time low of seventeen percent. The highest rate of the drug use was Canada, leading by twenty-eight percent. Holland’s view on marijuana is the most unique of the countries. The country focuses directly on accepting the practice rather than definite policy. Small amounts of marijuana can be purchased at local “coffee shops.” However, the coffee shops are prohibited from selling to more than 2,000 legal residents of Holland (“The,” 2012, A11). In order to promote a good workplace, the “coffee shops” have to be respectful of their neighbor’s space and environment. Holland’s government does not control many factors of the marijuana production. Such as, the packaging, pricing and the taxing of the drug, which leads to a chain of illegal supply. Surprisingly, marijuana use by youth have been

Cigarettes and alcohol are much more dangerous to humans than marijuana, yet they are legal to purchase and consume (at a certain age). “The effects are generally less severe than those of tobacco and alcohol, which together cause more than 560,000 American deaths annually. Unlike booze, marijuana isn't a neurotoxin, and unlike cigarettes, it has an uncertain connection to lung cancer.” (Barcott, Bruce, and Michael Scherer. "The Great Pot Experiment. (Cover Story)." Time 185.19 (2015): 38-45. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.). This shows that substances that are already legal and available to Americans are much more dangerous than marijuana. This shows that there is no reason for the government to be concerned about it in a health risk point of a view. Marijuana has no reported deaths from overdosing on the drug, because you need to smoke 1,500 pounds in 15 minutes to do that, which is a physically impossible task. Top scientists know that there are no reported deaths from marijuana alone, unlike other substances, but due to their extensive research they were able to find it is technically possible to overdose, but highly unlikely. This shows that the health risks of consuming marijuana are little to non-existent when compared to other legal substances, therefore it should be legal in the United States of America. The fact that marijuana is less harmful than other legal substances proves that is should be

Marijuana, the most abused drug in America, has had a lot of publicity recently. Marijuana has caused multiple economic problems within the U.S. A controversial question has arisen from the increased popularity and troubles of this drug. The question is whether or not the U.S. government should legalize marijuana possession and sale in the country. Many Americans believe that the drug should be legalized for various reasons; others, however, are against the legalization of the dangerous drug. While legalization has both pros and cons, the positives of legalizing marijuana for those people over the age of twenty-one far outweigh the negative aspects of legalization.

Of it was smoked before driving a vehicle or flying a plane, they are subject to its effects and therefore the catalyst of any suffering they may bring upon innocent people. If marijuana was fully legalized in all 50 states, is this what you would wish on your friends and family? As for the states who have already legalized medical use of marijuana, it is not approved by the FDA whose approval is mandatory for prescription pills. They support the stand that marijuana is harmful as do several other organizations in the field. Two other medications that were approved by the FDA involved two safely isolated components of the plant. The compounds of cannabis that can positively contribute can be safely isolated rather than coming with the harmful parts. Despite the fact that marijuana can be partially useful, when something is more dangerous than it is good, the law tends not to be liberal with it.

Gallup polls reveal that almost half of Americans think that marijuana should be legalized (Newport, 2011). It is a movement that does not happen overnight. The efforts of reformists to change public opinions are working. The poll data reveals that the percent of people approving of marijuana legalization is greater now than it was in the past. In other words, the efforts to change public opinion about marijuana are having an impact. However, it will still likely be a long time before any changes occur at the Federal

Some medical reasons that marijuana shouldn’t be decriminalized are that it has long and short terms effects. Examples of the short term outcomes include memory loss, difficulty with thinking, loss of motor skills and increased heart rate. According to the National Institutes of Health show that someone smoking about five joints per week is taking in as many cancer causing chemicals as someone smoking a pack of cigarettes every day. There is no science proof that smoked marijuana can be used for medication. Since cannabis plants are polluted with a range of fungal spores, smoking marijuana may increase the risk of infectious organisms. Taradiff, J. "Marijuana and the War on Drugs. “Marijuana. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Thomas Gale, 2008. 157. Print.

Other recreational things such as: alcohol, tobacco, and even prescription drugs cause such a bigger threat to health lives than cannabis does. As we know it alcohol causes liver cancer, and tobacco causes lung cancer, and overdosage of prescription drugs will leave you dead before you know it. While cannabis isn’t attributed with any deaths. If it poses less of a death risk, and shown to improve health it should be legal (Claim of Policy). Getting into numbers further proves how much safer cannabis would be, “Prescription drugs kill about 100,000 people in the world each year” (International Business Times). 100,000 people each year compared to zero in 10,000 known years. The numbers don’t lie and should be taken into account for legalization

Many people claim that there is no known case of people dying due to marijuana. This is a half truth since it’s not the marijuana itself that kills; it’s its side effects. Marijuana causes lung and throat cancer much like cigarettes. As a matter of fact, marijuana is worse for the lungs, since it contains three times as much tar as cigarettes and it’s usually smoked without a filter. They also claim there is not nearly as much crime due to marijuana use compared alcohol. This is also true but for one simple reason. Alcohol is legal and more easily accessible than marijuana. It’s the fact that marijuana is illegal that is keeping these numbers so low. Legalizing marijuana would be like adding fuel to a fire. If marijuana were to be legalized these number are sure to increase.

Marijuana is a cannabaceae plant, which has always been associated with negative connotations until recently, when it has been discovered that this plant may be used to cure diseases and improve a country economy. Thus, the American opinion is split on the question of “Marijuana Legalization”. In fact, a survey undertaken by CNN/ORC International Poll states that 55 % of Americans believe that the use of marijuana should be legal, while only 44 % think it should be illegal (CNN). I also share the American majority opinion since there is some evidence that marijuana yields positive results.