Persuasive Essay On Legalizing Marijuana

Is legalizing marijuana a good step to take ? There has been many questions as to what will happen to the community. Will the community grow from this new law? Or will this end in a horrible problem? Although marijuana is a drug, it does not cause harm to your body like alcohol does. Legalizing marijuana in the states of the U.S should be done because it can be used for medical reason, it is not harmful to the body, and police want strong relationships with their community.

Smoking of marijuana can cause the person to become addicted to cocaine, heroin, and other drugs. Heavy or daily use effects the parts that control memory, attention, and learning (Facts for Teens, 13). When teens are 12 and 13 they are more exposed to drugs and most likely don’t listen to their parents (Age in Stem., 1). Some other psychological side effects would be paranoia, anxiety, fatigue, Euphoria, and mood swings (Fact Sheet, 1). Studies have shown that when a person uses marijuana it causes the heart to beat faster and work harder (Fact Sheet, 2). When people have smoked large measures of marijuana for years, the drugs takes its charge on mental functions (Facts for Teens, 13).

It is true, of course, that marijuana kills brain cells and tissue. Smoking or consuming marijuana in any way can be very harmful to the brain (Katel). Though there is no convincing scientific evidence that marijuana causes psychological damage or mental illness in either teenagers or adults, marijuana users will experience loss of brain cells, which can be dangerous but does not cause permanent mental illnesses. The human brain is required to live, breathe, and carry out any action throughout life. Consuming massive amounts of marijuana will destroy brain cells, which are vital to trigger thoughts, movements, interactions, and memory. The tissue within our brains eventually corrode due to marijuana usage. Like all tissues and organs in the human body, brain tissue serve many different functions, and when the functions are limited, the tissue deteriorate (Borden). Daily use of marijuana could make the smoker experience psychological distress following marijuana intake, which may include feelings of panic, anxiety, paranoia, and loss of memory.

Marijuana creates many short-term and long-term effects on the body and brain. Some short-term effects include: impaired memory, altered senses, changes in mood, and difficulty with problem solving. Some long-term effects include: breathing problems, reduce memory, and decrease IQ. A study from New Zealand conducted in part by researchers at Duke University showed that people who started smoking marijuana heavily in their teens and had an ongoing marijuana use disorder lost an average of 8 IQ points between ages 13 and 38. The lost mental abilities didn't fully return in those who quit marijuana as adults (National). This study can be seen as reliable evidence because it was conducted by researched from Duke University, which is a private research

Marijuana is a mixture of the dried parts of the cannabis sativa hemp plant. Excessive marijuana use can lead to an addiction. The main chemical in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which moves quickly through the bloodstream and to the brain, causing mild hallucinogenic effects. THC binds with cannabdnob receptors and activates neurons, which causes adverse effects on the mind and body. THC can mimic or block actions of neurotransmitters and interfere with normal functions. Marijuana use can lead to disturbed thoughts and can worsen psychotic symptoms. The short-term effects of marijuana include impaired coordination; skewed sensory and time perception; difficulty with thinking; shortened attention span and distractibility; impaired learning and memory. Long term users of marijuana often experience lowered motivation and some can experience anxiety, panic attacks, respiratory illness, and increased heart rate and risk of heart attack.

Have you ever wondered when and why marijuana was made illegal? The herbal plant, commonly used in medicines, was not considered a drug in the early 1900s. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 banned the use and sales of marijuana. This act was put in place due to careless slander. Marijuana, in America should be legalized because it is safer than alcohol and tobacco, marijuana funds gangs and cartels, and marijuana can replace toxic, addictive pharmaceuticals.

This effect can last up to several hours after the drug has been smoked (National Institute on Drug Abuse ). The brain is another thing affected by smoking marijuana, leading to loss of memory in the brain. The nervous system also is affected when using this drug (National Institute on Drug Abuse). Loss of memory and the effects it has on the nervous system alone should raise concern for the American people. Continuing on with heath issues associated with the use of marijuana, it is proven to impair the immune system and can also promote tumor growth (Taylor). The immune system is essential to keep healthy because this is what fights off other illnesses within the body. Increased risk of lung cancer, and cognitive difficulties all can be associated with the use of marijuana (Wilbur). Research has proven smoking marijuana affects health several ways; even though most have been discussed take a look at the following chart, it will help visualize some health issues that are associated with smoking marijuana.

Smoking marijuana is best described as a one-way ticket to negative side-affects. Based on Lifetime Health by Friedman, D. P., Stine, C. C., and Whaten S. “smoked marijuana are felt within minutes and may last for 2 or 3 hours”(2009). Short term effects consist of slowed thinking ability, difficulty paying attention, distorted sense of time, and many more. (Friedman, D. P., Stine, C. C., and Whaten S. (2009). Long term effects include frequent respiratory infection, impaired learning and memory, and even panic attacks (Friedman, D. P., Stine, C. C., and Whaten S. (2009). Thus, the ingestion in smoking marijuana can cause harmful outcomes, which are

Equally important is the effect that marijuana has on the justice system. Resources are being used every day that could be allocated to a number of other pressing issues that are facing communities across the country. If marijuana is legalized, the resources of agencies of law enforcement would be able to focus on much more pressing issues.  By legalizing marijuana, it will promote a reduction in street crimes and it will also take business from illegal drug dealers and direct it to the government.  This would hopefully lead to a decrease in violence related to drugs in the United States ("Legalization of Marijuana"). Decreasing petty street crime and violence would make local streets safer. That is something that would benefit civilians as

These short-term effects include hallucinations, paranoia, increased heart rate, red eyes, impaired perception and immediate happiness. When people smoke marijuana at a young age, it can negatively impact the brain structure volume and ability to perform cognitive functions which is knowledge of memory, language and decision making. Smoking marijuana can affect two parts of your brain which is the hippocampus and the frontal lobe. The hippocampus is a small organ in the brain and is involved mainly with your long-term memory. When you smoke marijuana, memory impairment occurs because THC changes how information is processed in the hippocampus. Also smoking marijuana at a young age can affect the frontal lobe because it is one of the last parts of the brain that is not done developing until the mid-20s.

Armand, Wynne."Marijuana: Health effects of recreational and medical use". Harvard. Ed. Armand, Wynne. Article. 2016. Armand is providing research information in her post about what are the effects of marijuana on the one's health and how that among the youth, those ranging from teenagers to young adults, there is staggering number of them who are damaging their developing brains. The article gives the audience the effects of long-term and

Marijuana has very short term effects, a user may view time and reality differently. They also feel a sense of relaxation and artificial sense of well-being causing them to be completely unaware of the situations that surround them. The user when under the influence may also be in less control of the ability to possess complete thoughts or ideas, which makes it much more difficult to absorb information, restricting them from learning. A heavy user will have greater losses than an occasional user, the heavy users will lose their ability to focus or shift attention with the changes in

Mary-Jane, cannabis, reefer, hash, pot, grass, tree, ganja, dope, chronic, no matter what you call it, they’re all just disguises for the wacky tobaccy. There’s been a recent rise in our country to legalize, and even promote marijuana use. Whether it be for so-called “medical purposes”, or whether it be because it’s our civil liberty, regardless, the citizens of our country are adamant about legalizing cannabis. At first glance, most people might agree. “What harm could some stoners possibly do?”, “They’re going to use it anyway; we might as well tax it.”, “If alcohol and cigarettes are legal, why shouldn’t pot be?” are common statements one may hear from those in favor of legalization. Well, I’m not so easy to convince, and you shouldn’t be either. The facts hidden behind the smoke and mirrors tell a different story, one that doesn’t disguise the ugly truth. Marijuana consumption can have harmful effects on users’ behavior, health, and psyche; it is for those reasons that as a nation we must admit marijuana is not harmless.

Over the past couple of years marijuana has become a huge problem in the United States. From kids to the Elderly; everyone has had some kind of experience with this illegal drug. It is said that it can actually be helpful in some cases. Over the years and until this day research is still being done. Some states have made is legal and some are still working on it.

For many years legislatures have been considering legalizing marijuana because of its ability to treat a variety of medical issues.