Should Marijuana Be Legal?

Marijuana control has been intertwined in Canada’s social, legal, and political system for over half a decade, with the issue really gaining traction in the 1960’s as policing began more heavily enforcing the law on marijuana (Fischer, Ialomiteanu, Russell, Rehm, & Mann, 2016). Currently, approximately 10-12% of Canadian adults partake in the use of marijuana, with the percentage increasing for adolescents, of whom 25-30% report use (Fischer et al., 2016; Health Canada 2014; Ialomiteanu et al. 2014).

Marijuana has been a hot topic of conversation over the last few years, as some states in America have legalized it medically and recreationally. By discussing the legal aspect of marijuana, the economic benefits, medical usage and how marijuana affects the family, we can see the positive and negative impact that marijuana has on sociology.

Distributive justice in this scenario even though the goods (marijuana) is made available parents need to talk to his or her children about “do not use drugs, these conversations about drugs are even more important to have now, says Dr. Leslie Walker” (Parasher. 2012).

I am very concerned about the legalization of marijuana, since I am a parent of six children, whose ages range from nine to twenty-two. I have made it a point to educate my children on how smoking marijuana can affect their brain development. Just recently my youngest son, has told me that he has learned that middle school and high school kids have been eating marijuana in different forms of baked foods, such as brownies, chocolate truffles and rice crispies. The kids are over eating the marijuana treats because they don’t think it’s getting them “high”. The children are not realizing that it takes time for the body to absorb the THC. They then end up in the hospital for feeling ill because they have eating too much of the drug. The National Families in Action Campaign, reported that pot-related emergency admissions have tripled and expulsion rate has gone up 40% since the legalization of medical marijuana due to pot related incidents (5). Parents will need to be more aware of the potential risks and signs of THC posing due to the high levels of THC found in the marijuana that

Many physicians across North America hesitate to prescribe medical marijuana to their adult patients out of fear, why would they even start considering prescribing it to children . This fear mainly originates from the fact that as medical students in medical school, doctors learn absolutely nothing about prescribing it, therefor, cannot knowledgeably advise patients on dosage and side effects of this medication. This is quite sad considering how much benefits can come from medical marijuana, especially in paediatric care, as it useful, safe and in some cases lifesaving. The stereotype associated with "weed" forces doctors to second guess the benefits that may come from it. The fact that it is considered a Schedule 1 drug in United States

The flame ignites, the smoke builds, the mind relaxes. It’s a process that at one point, could have

We expect that kids will practice risky behaviors, but it’s our job to protect them if we can. There’s not a way to predict which children will have a tragic outcome from beginning to use marijuana and other drugs.

The topic of marijuana, both medicinal and recreational use, has been one of controversy over the past few decades. As with any drug, the abuse or overuse of marijuana can lead to adverse health effects. These effects are especially prominent and the most influential among adolescents, which substances in general pose the most risk too. Although the developmental influence of marijuana is detrimental to this population, it is not intended for adolescent use as is the case with alcohol. According to The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) published in 2016, rates of use among adolescents has

It seems every decade marijuana studies show that it has no side effects on users, in turn it become more available like when some states in America had legalized it. Dr Kevin M. Gray believes that the only side effect of smoking weed is the physical addictions it causes, he believes that over 51% of all teens have used weed at least once and the biggest problem we are facing with this rapidly growing drug use is only addiction. Dr Marshall M. Gay believes that the health effects of weed isn’t that much as smoking cigarettes and doesn’t see it a threat to people’s health. “More than half (51%) of adolescents reported that marijuana is fairly or very easy to obtain.2 this ease of availability may have contributed to a recently reported "reverse gateway" from cigarettes use to marijuana”. The more ignored belief is that marijuana can lead to a variety of developmental, mental and physical side effects. The effects of smoking weed can extend to those of smoking cigarettes “studies show regular marijuana use can lead to many of the same

Although marijuana legalization isn't all sunshine and rainbows, dispensaries are starting to sell other forms of consumption that could easily be confused for the non-cannabis-infused version of them, these being drinks, edibles and oils, this means a child could mistakenly take one. On the health side of the coin, there's the fact that there's damage to mental health, impairing memory and judgement, and lung damage, because of the inhaled smoke.

Cannabis also commonly known as marijuana is a product that comes from the cannabis plant. Marijuana is mostly used as a psychoactive drug and as medicine although the cannabis plant does have many other uses. Marijuana although legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia for medical purposes and 2 states for medical and recreational purposes is still federally illegal and is considered by the United States a scheduled 1 drug. This means that according to the United States, via the Controlled Substances Act, marijuana has been found to fit the following three categories; The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse, the drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and

With the legal age to use marijuana being 21 now, we see a push to lower it because it is “just a plant” and a “harmless high” with many people saying “there are worse things I could be doing.” We know there are accurate studies showing what can happen to a juvenile brain when exposed to marijuana, and we need to be able to teach youth about the risks. We should also focus on parents using marijuana legally and how that can impact the juvenile. Juveniles are more likely to do something if it is available and their parents are doing it. The best example of this is with alcohol because if it is available, a child can take it. With marijuana, it can be in many forms, you can smoke it or eat it as candy or in something like brownies or cookies. This can be dangerous because if a child sees a brownie on the counter, they may or may not know what is in it, and take

5. Prohibition is based on lies and disinformation. Justification of marijuana's illegality increasingly requires distortions and selective uses of the scientific record, causing harm to the credibility of teachers, law enforcement officials, and scientists throughout the country. The dangers of marijuana use have been exaggerated for almost a century and the modern scientific record does not support the reefer madness predictions of the past and present. Many claims of marijuana's danger are based on old 20th century prejudices that originated in a time when science was uncertain how marijuana produced its characteristic effects. Since the cannabinoid receptor system was discovered in the late 1980s these hysterical concerns about marijuana's dangerousness have not been confirmed with modern research. Everyone agrees that marijuana, or any other drug use such as alcohol or tobacco use, is not for children. Nonetheless, adults have demonstrated over the last several decades that marijuana can be used moderately without harmful impacts to the individual or society.

Child pot use can be reduced; the children have the third-lowest rate of tobacco smokers among 29 nations. It seems that more Canadians have tried pot more then they smoked regular cigarettes or drank alcohol. The young adults have declined significantly since the last who survey in 2002. Also, parents worry more about the underage children getting their hands-on Marijuana and other harsh drugs, those are the biggest concerns that people seem to have. The new legislation also prohibits marketing to appeal to the youth and prohibits sales through self-service display or vending machines; the legislation does not prevent provinces from allowing sales at the same place as alcohol, and prohibits the tourist from bringing pot past the border, but

Since the start of the 1900s, parents throughout the United States have actively come together in a joined effort of productive ways to manage the health, care, and education of their children. In the area of substance abuse prevention, however, the “Parent Movement” first began in the late 1970s. At this time, parents began forming parental action groups, in acknowledgement of the rapid accelerated boost in the use of drugs amidst adolescent individuals. Many drugs, marijuana especially, was once limited to the counter-culture of the 1960s; it was becoming more acceptable socially to the larger population, resulting in a widespread use (National Families In Action).