Marijuana Should Not Be Legal Essay

The legalization of marijuana has been a debated subject in America since the 1970's. The pro-marijuana society in America has made claims as to how marijuana can help cure or lessen the effect of some diseases and that by legalizing the drug; the use of pot will actually decline. The fact of the matter is that marijuana is a drug that can be placed into a similar category as cocaine or heroine. Like these other drugs, pot (marijuana) smoking carries with it serious side effects that can effect the user forever, and sometimes-even cause death. Marijuana was first cultivated in America during the colonial time period and was used as a fiber for rope and even clothing. The plant was not used for its psychoactive properties until 1910,

Marijuana is by far the most commonly used illegal drug. Statistics show that over 70 million Americans have tried Marijuana and over 20 million smoked it last year. So it is safe to assume that although marijuana use may decrease in the years to come, as

lowest number since 1951, when the nations population was about half its present size.”(CQ Researcher 530) Marijuana was not only more safe than the effects and harm of alcohol but also it

Marijuana has proven medical benefits. For example, investigators at Columbia University published clinical trial data in 2007, showing that HIV/AIDS patients who inhaled cannabis four times daily experienced substantial increases in

Marijuana does have side effects. Your body and mind be relaxed to the point that you can be in your own world. It can cause a person to be paranoid and temporary loss of memory. Marijuana can also have hyperphagia, which is excessive hunger. Medical marijuana can make a person lazy. Medical marijuana can help people with insomnia because it can help a person sleep. Marijuana can make a person be alert and in some people, marijuana can help a person function and think things clearer like dealing with psychological problems depending on the person.

All Americans have their ideas on legalizing marijuana, yet they need to make sure they have done substantial research using past experiences the American people have already experienced from using this drug; also they need to take a good look into what the actual outcomes are of smoking marijuana, before making a final decision on whether or not to legalize marijuana for medical purposes or any other reason. Americans will look at health and social issues as well as review money matters concerning legalizing marijuana and realize it is not right for the United States .

Medical use of Marijuana is probably the most discussed topic of the legalizing campaign over the recent years. Some opponents of Marijuana say that it does not have any medical uses at all, and argue that Marijuana is only harmful and should remain illegal. Others for legalization have an opposite view that is starting to gain more recognition as time goes on. Around the late 1990’s, some members of the nation’s medical establishment began to acknowledge marijuana’s potential health benefits. One respected health organization, the Institute of Medicine, released a report in 1999 which stated that “nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety can all be mitigated by marijuana (Medical). In an article Drug Legalization, Advocates of medical marijuana say that in many cases it is the only treatment that has been shown to work. “It is a very effective medication for people who have failed to get good results from standard medications,” says Ethan Russo, a neurologist who has studied medical marijuana, “and that is why so many people are devoted to risking their lives and career to get this drug”(Drug). There are many reports that Marijuana can help with conditions traditional medicines do not seem to help with. Marijuana has also been a huge help to patients with Cancer, HIV/AIDS, Glaucoma, and Insomnia. With a lot of prescription medicines being expensive, Marijuana would be a cheaper alternative to buy if people chose to do so.

Another important detail to remember is that marijuana is not proven to lead to the consumption of other drugs. “...the vast majority of people who use

Cannabis has provided millions worldwide with relief from chronic pain caused by a myriad of pain-producing illnesses. Cannabis has significantly improved the quality of life of people with cancer, AIDS, arthritis, and the list goes on. The medical marijuana movement is not concerned with decriminalizing or legalizing cannabis for recreational use. It is concerned with helping people with serious illnesses and disabilities to get on with their lives. (Bearman, 2011)

Marijuana can attenuate the symptoms of a wide range of devitalizing medical conditions that include

Unbelievably, they also concluded that the many observational studies (reports by doctors in favor of CBD use) do not rule out other causes as to why patients got better and that self-reported findings of cannabis users could not be trusted. Yet these same people (likely all 1960s-era former hippies) did trust the casual observations that several serious and non-serious “adverse events” were associated with

marijuana, that can help in such cases, but many patients complain that it is a

If medical marijuana can relieve up to 250 medical conditions, then it can be the reason for a lower human death rate

Marijuana is a very controversial and obtrusive issue in our society today. Although politicians and people have made malicious remarks about it in the past, and even still in the present, the historical truth and beneficial facts of marijuana are finally resurfacing. Unfortunately, our society has become a very critical crowd towards the legalization of marijuana due to the stereotypical view of the kind of people who are considered “pot smokers.” This contorted perception of a lazy and unmotivated America is the logic behind keeping marijuana illegal and therefore unattainable to our citizens. The legalization of marijuana would be tremendously beneficial to all types of cancer patients because it helps with pain management, its cost efficient, and there have been numerous successful case studies.

The following is a proposal for a public policy that would legalize marijuana and have the drug be treated as alcohol. This is necessary because the current policy is detrimental to society and the legalization of marijuana would be beneficial. The prohibition of the drug is unfounded because tobacco and alcohol, legalized substances, are more dangerous than marijuana. Also, the legislation regarding the drug was created on racist sentiments, reducing the law’s credibility. The current policy also creates a dangerous black market and renders our prison system ineffective. The legalization of cannabis would bring undeniable medical and economic benefits to society and the government. Varying degrees of marijuana legalization have