Should Marijuana Be Legalized Essay

He smokes Marijuana. Not because he uses it for medical reasons but because he enjoys using it. Suddenly one of his loved ones passes away. He has had them by his side his whole life, and unlike him, his loved one never smoked marijuana. What happened to this person he kept so close to his heart? Could he have been the reason they're gone? People who are using recreational marijuana are not just damaging themselves but damaging others around them. Now that the states legalized recreational marijuana everybody is paying the consequences. Recreational marijuana should be made illegal in all states.

The debate over whether marijuana should be legalized nation-wide has been an ongoing one for years now. Marijuana should’ve been legalized years ago and continues to create more controversial problems within our nation. Before diving into the debate and choosing sides, one needs to understand what marijuana is and the effects that it has first, especially with it being so popular in the United States. Marijuana is a psychoactive drug created from the plant called cannabis (Happy Place). Drugs are primarily classified on whether they are stimulants or if they are depressants. Depressants are a type of drug that hinders ones psychological vitals, the major drug being alcohol. A stimulant is a substance that for a certain amount of time

Cannabis is widely known for its advantages on the improvement that it has on various diseases. It has been proven that marijuana can help/treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), arthritis, cancer, epilepsy, chronic pain, and depression, just to name a few. According to an article on CNN, patients with PTSD stated that there are way too many medications that they are obligated to take to help with their disorder and with this marijuana plant they have made much progress and seem to be more commencing on day-to-day life. Arthritis is when your joints begin to get inflamed and causes restraint which may make daily life more difficult, therefore many people use marijuana to reduce swelling of the joints and also reduce the over usage of opioids that can potentially be life threatening. Studies also show that cannabis has made a tremendous difference on cancer patients. Cancer can cause nausea, vomiting, fatigue and lack of hunger, THC (which causes the “high” feeling that everyone raves about) and CBD (interacts with the human body without giving you the “high”) are two components of pot which can be used to relieve the effects that cancer can have on a person. Along with many women in my family, my mother and aunt have used pot to help with their nausea, headaches, and their lack of hunger and has proven to them that it can help ease their pain after numerous chemotherapy treatments. There are many researches that have been made to assess the positive effect on pot and cancer. In 2007 there was a study done by the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco which stated that the use of CBD in marijuana can even help prevent cancer from spreading. Another disease that is widely known around the world is depression; marijuana has been used as a

In this country, there are parents of sick children driving across state lines, breaking state and federal law by transporting medical marijuana. The drug is legal in several states for personal use, and 23 states for medical use. This does not change the fact that it is still a federally illegal drug under the Federal controlled substances act. There are stiffer penalties for being caught with even a small amount of marijuana, than those given to murderers and rapists. The federal government has the right to come into your home and arrest you for an ounce of marijuana, even for medical use. A first offence possession charge, for any amount of the drug is a $1,000 fine and 1 year in prison. Cultivation of the plant, even for personal use will give you 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. It has been viewed by some to be a wonder drug. And yet it remains misunderstood and vilified.

Medical marijuana has been a touchy subject the last few years. From being legalized in multiple states to being enforced more heavily by the DEA. It has been under scrutiny because of the people that use and sell it. The uses of marijuana not only medically but economically are quite vast and could benefit us greatly. This essay will put forth the reasons why it can stimulate our economy and society while disproving the arguments of why it is bad.

In order to start a discussion about whether marijuana should be legal, we must first begin with the history of marijuana. How long has marijuana been around? The earliest recorded use of marijuana is from the island of Taiwan off the coast of mainland china over 10,000 years ago in the Stone Age (Marijuana, 2014). They wove their clothes and made their shoes from hemp. The first paper was made from a combination of crushed hemp fibers and mulberry tree bark. This fact would later lead to the illegalization of marijuana, for reasons to be explained later. Around the first century B.C.E., marijuana is mentioned in the Materia Medica, a kind of herbal medical manual. In Japan, hemp fiber was highly regarded among the Japanese and used for Japanese clothes, bedding, mats and nets. Hemp fiber is mentioned many times in Japanese legends, and also in ceremonial purification rites. The ancient world abounds with tales of the use of cannabis by numerous cultures in many countries, among the ancient Rome. The Romans had their own version of the Materia Medica for the Western world. Again mentioned among its pages is cannabis. The use of cannabis, also known as hemp, spread throughout the Middle East and also spread to the New World. In 1619 farmers in Jamestown Virginia colony were required to grow hemp. In 1840 medicines with cannabis were available in United States pharmacies. Even George Washington grew hemp (42, 2014).

To begin with, a cannabis law was passed by the Virginia gathering in the pivotal year of its establishing indeed, 1619. It constrained each agriculturist to develop pot since hemp was viewed as deliberately imperative. Nobody has ever kicked the bucket of a marijuana overdose. You may think having a lot of THC in your framework will kill you, yet you are incorrect. As far back as marijuana has been known to humankind, not one single record of death from overdose has been registered. Then again, in 2010, 38,329 individuals died from medication overdoses. 60% of those were identified with doctor-prescribed medications. In that same year, 25,692 people passed on from liquor-related causes. Around 40% of Americans as of now have confessed to utilizing weed (Sznitman). Most surveys on Americans and their marijuana use float around the 40% stamp for having attempted pot in any event once. This is contrasted with the 16% of Americans who have tried cocaine, which is clearly a substantially lower rate. Weed is turning out to be increasingly pervasive consistently in spite of being less addictive than espresso. There 's a reason people are feeling more secure and more reliable attempting the medication, which leads us to our next point. Marijuana is much more secure as of now than legitimized drugs (Jacques).

Marijuana is a drug that has sparked much controversy over the past decade as to whether or not it should be legalized. People once thought of marijuana as a bad, mind-altering drug which changes a person’s personality which can lead to crime and violence through selling and buying it. In the past, the majority of citizens believed that marijuana is a harmful drug that should be kept off the market and out of the hands of the public. However, a recent study conducted by Pew Research Center has concluded people’s view may be changing. For the first time since 1969, the public’s opinion has undergone a dramatic long-term shift. According to Pew’s 2015 survey, 53% of the people polled favor the legal use of marijuana, while 44% are opposed. However, in 2006, just 32% supported marijuana legalization, while nearly twice as many 60% were opposed. The group that was responsible for this change was the 18-34 year olds with 68% of them in favor of its legalization. However, across all generations, with the exception of the age group of 70-87 year-olds, support for this drug’s legalization has risen over the past decade (Pew Research Center, 2015). People believe that the legalization of marijuana will lead to a decrease in recreational use, drug addictions, and crime.

The use of marijuana for medical purposes and personal use can be recorded as far as 12,000 years ago. Marijuana is classified as a schedule 1 drug. Schedule 1 drugs are drugs are drugs that have the potential for abuse (Drug Scheduling,2016). The government contains the high-level drugs, this is the reason we have pharmacies. Pharmacies are regulated so that people can not get medicine that can be easily abused. Pharmacies require a medical prescription from a certified doctor for any drug that could be used improperly. Marijuana should be in the same category as prescription drugs because, like any medicine/drug it can be easily abused. Decriminalizing marijuana is not helping millions of people that could benefit from its medical benefits from legalizing it. Even though legalized marijuana may result in an increase in black-market drug trade, marijuana should be legalized because its sale could benefit the economy and can also be used for medical purposes.

This could get the US out of debt over the years, and it can create jobs for the community so their is less jobless americans. The sale of legal marijuana is estimated to bring in $8.7 billion in tax sales but no one knows the current market of marijuana. A man named Carl Davis told The Huffington Post "We don't know the size of the marijuana market right now, but we do know that the legalization would lead to a positive revenue impact on the income and tax side" (Fairchild). If marijuana becomes legalized it can have positive impact on the national deficit. The Legalization of marijuana can create jobs like convenience store sellers, to vending machine manufacturing, and to cannabis farmers. This is important because this can help allow the poverty rate to lower and when the finished product is done it can be sold to bring in tax

Due to the elevated desire of marijuana in the United States, “advocates think legalization reduces crime, raises tax revenue, lowers criminal justice expenditures, improves public health, bolsters traffic safety, and stimulates the economy” (Dills, et al.). Twenty-eight states have now been legalized for medicinal use of marijuana; of those twenty-eight states, six states have also legalized recreational marijuana. Marijuana is described as “The dried leaves and female flowers of the hemp plant, used in cigarette form as a narcotic or hallucinogen” (“Definition of Marijuana”). The overall effects of marijuana on the brain and body, the difference between recreational and medicinal marijuana and how marijuana has stimulated the economy and the role of government in the legalization of marijuana are all reasons why marijuana should be legalized in the United States.

Marijuana can highly boost the economy in general with billions of dollars in revenue and sales tax. It has been said that the illegal marijuana industry could be losing the United States more than $100 billion in business and over $30 billion in sales tax. According to www.debt.org; The Economics of Marijuana Legalization, in 2011 the city of Oakland, California has collected $1.4

More than half of college students throughout their academic career have either experienced or been exposed to some type of illicit drug. One of the most commonly found illicit drugs found on college campuses have been marijuana. Marijuana is used to amplify perception, affect the frame of mind, and relax. Signs of marijuana use includes red eyes, sluggishness, and awkward body movement. With the usage of marijuana in earlier years being illegal in all states in America, the last couple of years have made a few changes when it comes to marijuana and making it legal within twenty seven states for medical uses only. Among those twenty seven states seven of those states allow marijuana for recreational purposes. With the medical marijuana movement and the legalization of recreational marijuana use in seven states it has truly set the tone for more of a laid back attitude when it comes to the usage of marijuana especially within college campuses. Although, non-smoking and drug enforcement rules have been put into place on college campuses all over America, it still does not deteriorate the whole fact of marijuana being one of the most commonly used drugs among college campuses. Which leads to the questioning of, "How can marijuana usage on college campuses affect the academic life of students?" College campuses throughout America may in fact need to take more drastic measures when it comes to the usage and ease of access when it comes marijuana within college campuses.

Cannabis around the United States is starting to get a good reputation. California started the revolution back in 1996, and now the state of Arkansas in, 2016, has its own issue for natural medicine. Many civilians around the world consider cannabis as an alternative medicine to your typical pharmaceutical drugs. The experiment I choose to research asses’ weather depression and other affective outcomes are increased among cannabis users. I am passionate about studying cannabis and I believe it is not for everyone, but this plant has truly been misunderstood since The War on Drugs began. This experiment is important because to this day this topic is still relevant, and many civilians still consider cannabis as a Class A substance. Many families are being destroyed and separated, while many kids are forced to grow up without a mother or father due to harsh penalties over cannabis. This experiment examines whether cannabis causes depression or not because many still believe false fallacies about cannabis that it makes you lazy, anger, or even depressed.

Alcohol is a nervous system depressant and is the most commonly used and abused drug in the united states.