Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

Since the first efforts to legalize marijuana in the 1960s, Americans have become progressively more accepting of requests to liberalize laws restricting possession and use of marijuana, but the shift has not been a straight line. After 11 states decriminalized marijuana possession in the 1970s, recoil led by suburban parents led too much harsher implementation of drug laws. But since California legalized medical marijuana in 1996, outlooks toward the drug have relaxed significantly.("A Brief History of Public Opinion on Marijuana Legalization.")

Medical Marijuana is a growing legalization movement in the United States. Currently, 23 states have legalized marijuana use for either medical or recreational purposes. Many say that the drug has many health benefits and should be made legal. Marijuana, however, is still a harmful drug and proponents of the drug deemphasize its adverse history and tend to focus on its benefits. Research has shown that not only is marijuana ineffective, but detrimental to an individual’s health. The legalization of marijuana for medical use may inadvertently cause unintended consequences that outweigh its medicinal benefits.

Decriminalization provides a solution the problems related to drugs. Decriminalization is not making drugs legal, it is treating the drug addicts as a patient instead of making them feel like they are criminals and putting them into a jail although selling drugs is still illegal. Drugs must be decriminalized because decriminalization has proven that the death rates and crime rates have decreased and the use of drugs have decreased in decriminalized countries such as Portugal, Uruguay and drugs have decriminalized in some of the states in Unites States of America.

At the beginning of the year when marijuana was legalized in the state of Colorado there were a lot of concerns and complaints, most of them had to do with the children being able to access marijuana easier or being more likely to be exposed to it. For many anti-marijuana activists though there was the fear that legalizing this drug would increase the number of marijuana users, and would potentially increase crime rates; concern was raised that the number of pot users would possibly increase from the legalization, and would then lead to an unwelcome acceptance of drug using behaviors as well as drug users within the community. I have found evidence that this fear is

Should marijuana be legalized? In the eyes of some American 's, marijuana is one of the biggest enemies in today’s society. Since alcohol and tobacco, both a life threatening substances are legal, it is only right to question, why marijuana is illegal. When speaking of the legalization of marijuana, it is important to identify which facts pertaining to marijuana use are stereotypes, truths, and egregious slander. Many people that have never been exposed to the plant have preconceived notions of marijuana being closely related to delinquency while others, both knowledgeable and naive of the plant, strive to expose the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana. Marijuana should be legalized on the grounds that the reputation it has

Over the past twenty years we have made a tremendous amount of changes in terms of what should be considered legal and illegal substances. For example, we can focus in on one specific drug that has become popular in controversial debates recently, marijuana. Until this point, marijuana was considered illegal. Recently, a handful of states have made the decision to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. To date there has been 23 states that have legalized the use of marijuana in some form. In November of 2012 Colorado and Washington states legalized the use of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes. In a survey conducted in 2013, a Gallup pole showed that

The argument of legalizing medicinal marijuana and marijuana used for recreational purposes has been around for quite some time now. Recreational use is when one smokes cannabis just for fun and with the intention of altering the state of consciousness while medicinal marijuana is used for treating certain maladies and alleviating their symptoms. Though marijuana use is not as harmless as many people seem to believe. Like any other drugs, marijuana can affect the body and mind and may have a majority of side affects. It has an addictive nature and is also known as the gateway drug. It can even affect those around you in more ways than one. For instance if something were to happen to you or if for whatever reason you lash out at them. The

Legalizing marijuana is the most argumentative issue in United States. It has been discussed for many years. There are many debatable questions that need the final answers such as: Should Marijuana be legalize and taxed? Should medicinal marijuana in all states? Should the issue be addressed at the national or at the state level? Everything has its own pros and cons, so does legalizing marijuana. It can reduce the pain in medical purposes, prevent consumers from consuming marijuana illegally, and develop the United States economic. Marijuana should be legalized in just limited departments, and it should be taxed with high rate because marijuana can seriously bad effect to human’s health when using without controlling, and moreover, the

What could the United States do with 7.7 billion dollars? What could the state of Kentucky do with 5.3 billion dollars? How could the country even get this much extra money? By legalizing marijuana in the United States we could generate such revenue. There are several benefits to legalizing marijuana, which include stimulating the economy in the United States, helping patients in pain, and eliminating illegal drug use one the streets.

Many believe that Marijuana is addictive, and for that reason, should not be legalized. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Marijuana use can lead to the development of problem use, known as marijuana use disorder, which in severe cases takes the form of addiction.” According to recent data, it is suggested that around 30 percent of marijuana users may suffer from some degree of marijuana use disorder and people who started using marijuana when they were younger than 18 are 4-7 times more likely to develop this disorder (“Addictive”). Similar to addiction, this disorder is associated with dependence to marijuana, which means that the user may feel withdrawal symptoms when not taking the drug. These symptoms can include irritability, decreased appetite, and sleep difficulties. These generally last about a week or two after giving up the drug (“Addictive”). This happens when the brain’s production of endocannabinoid neurotransmitters slows or stops because it has adapted to large amounts of marijuana (“Addictive”). Marijuana disorder becomes an addiction when the user is unable to stop using even if the effects of marijuana interfere with many aspects of their life (“Addictive”). In 2014, it was estimated that about 4.176 million people in the US, roughly 1% of the total population, abused or were dependent on marijuana, but it is hard to estimate the number of people addicted to marijuana because epidemiological studies of substance abuse use

Growing up every child was told that they had inherent rights, but they didn’t comprehend the concept completely until they grew up and were face to face with it. The Declaration of Independence clearly states that every person is endowed with unalienable rights which include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If every person is allowed these rights then it is in anyone’s right to do what they please in order to achieve happiness. Many people believe that the government is standing in the way of their pursuit of happiness. Every person has something different that gives them happiness which is partially why the government and society don’t see eye to eye. The current laws against drugs and controlled substances such as marijuana

Cannabis also known as Marijuana has become a widely known and controversial topic in the United Sates. It is currently legal for recreational use in Washington, Oregon, and Colorado. Medicinal Marijuana has also been legalized in 11 other states. Many people are against the idea of legalizing marijuana for medical use in all states for reasons such as impaired driving, addiction, and a gate way to other drugs. Others say the pros outweigh the cons in this situation . I believe that marijuana is an effective and safe alternative than most legal drugs that are currently being used in our country and should be legalized in all states for medicinal use.

Marijuana, also known as, cannabis, pot, weed, or hemp, has been a topic of intense debates for many years, but today, it is in the spotlight more than ever. The issue about the use of this drug is becoming more and more topical because people are debating whether or not to legalize it. Marijuana, is the most commonly used drug in the world. In fact, around 3.8 percent of the world’s population or 158.8 million people around the world use marijuana, according to United Nations. And the number is continuously rising. As of June 2014, 23 U.S. states and Washington D.C. have passed laws legalizing marijuana in some form with three more states considering it. As what Major Neil Franklin (Ret.), a former police officer and current head of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), said, “The legalization of marijuana is good for law enforcement, good for families, and good for our communities” (Washington Post). The benefits and reasons to legalize marijuana are many, and overbearingly outweigh the arguments against legalization.

Marijuana makes you calm. Marijuana reduces stress. Marijuana cures diseases such as cancer. Marijuana is not a drug. Marijuana is a plant; therefore it is not dangerous to one’s health and overall being. Many have heard it all before, the hundreds of reasons as to why marijuana is deemed as a “safe” drug and why it should be legalized, yet people have not quite heard the hundreds of reasons as to why it should stay illegal. In today’s society, there is a huge controversy on the topic of marijuana legalization. Marijuana, or Cannabis, is a greenish-gray mixture of dry, shredded leaves of Cannabis Sativa, a hemp plant. It has many different uses, including smoking for a high effect, brewing into tea, mixing it into foods, and for medicinal purposes. Although marijuana is currently illegal in Canada, at one point it was not. It was not until 1923 that cannabis was added to the schedule of the Opium and Narcotic Act (Dyck, 2014). Also, it was not until recently that the Canadian Medical Marijuana Access Regulations allowed legal access to cannabis for individuals with severe illnesses; only authorized personnel can grow pot or obtain it from authorized producers or Health Canada (Dyck, 2014). In 2014, Canada banned Canadians with a permit for medicinal marijuana use to grow their own supply, the only way they would be able to receive it was by going to an authorized provider (Dyck, 2014). However, many people do not feel as though marijuana should be illegal, as it has upsides,

Marijuana, or cannabis, is a prepared marijuana plant that is intended to play a role in medicine as well as being a psychoactive drug (Kilmer 45). The psychoactive element found in cannabis is known as the tetrahydrocannabinol abbreviated as THC. THC is one of the 483 compounds of the plant that have been identified. Mainly, cannabis is consumed because of its psychoactive and physiological effects that is has on the consumer. Today, marijuana is used for its medicinal values as well as a recreational drug. Other uses might include religious and spiritual rites performed by people (Kaplan 722). Marijuana has been surrounded by legal issues. This paper seeks to delineate the reasons for and against legalization of