Marijuana, a plant that humans have used for thousands of years, grows ever closer to decriminalization and legalization around the country. Now that states like Washington and Colorado have legalized the recreational use of Marijuana, the opposition proclaims that usage of this plant will lead to harder drugs. This claim simply isn’t true and studies done by numerous organizations discredit the gateway drug theorem. Marijuana affects psychomotor skills because of the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana; however, there has been no evidence to say that this plant will cause more accidents. Also, another theory about an individual failing in the cycle of abuse associated with marijuana has no validity …show more content…
Driving under the influence of marijuana would not increase accidents or fatalities since the user compensates for their state of mental being. By knowing that user is impaired, Dr. Andrew Sewell, author of “The Effect of Cannabis Compared with Alcohol on Driving” explains that pot smokers have “ an increased awareness that they are impaired, marijuana smokers tend to compensate effectively while driving by utilizing a variety of behavioral strategies.” Ganja Tokers take preemptive measures to ensure that while driving, accidents are avoided. Most marijuana-intoxicated drivers show only modest impairments of actual road tests.(Robbe) Also, long time pot users who drive under the influence of a daily basis, show almost no functional impairment, only when marijuana is combined with alcohol.(Sutton) However, if the amount of THC in the blood increases, the greater the driving impairment, but a frequent user of marijuana show less impairment because of the tolerance build up to the same amount of an infrequent user. The more frequent a person smokes, the chances of fatal accidents drops. Marijuana’s classification as a Schedule I drug by the justice department means that it has “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule I drugs are the most dangerous drugs of all drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or
Marijuana can have very damaging affects on a person?s brain. It can impair a person?s short-term memory, decision-making and signal detection (Cannabinoids). ?In one study conducted in Memphis, TN, researchers found that, of 150 reckless drivers who were tested for drugs at the arrest scene, 33 percent tested positive for marijuana? (Marijuana). After having used marijuana a
THC disrupts the nerve cells in the part of the brain where memories are formed. This makes it hard for the user to recall recent events (such as what happened a few minutes ago), and so it is hard to learn while high. A working short-term memory is required for learning and performing tasks that call for more than one or two steps. Some studies show that when people have smoked large amounts of marijuana for many years, the drug takes its toll on mental functions. Among a group of long-time heavy marijuana users in Costa Rica, researchers found that the people had great trouble when asked to recall a short list of words (a standard test of memory). People in that study group also found it very hard to focus their attention on the tests
Marijuana is a misunderstood drug. Many assume that the usage of marijuana, or cannabis, is dangerous, but it can be the exact opposite. So why is the legalization of marijuana in the United States such a problem for many people today? Considered to be a gateway drug and the reason for the downfall of our youth nowadays, marijuana has developed a negative reputation. Lester Grinspoon, a professor at Harvard University, states, “Few drugs in the United States have produced as much affective heat as marijuana, particularly during the last decade. The controversy essentially revolves around the question of how dangerous or safe the drug is." However, many people are persistent users and believe that this drug is no more harmful than
Alcohol impairs judgment and vision, and causes speeding and reckless driving. On the other hand, there has been debate over the effect of marijuana on driving. One study by a computer software company reported that people who smoked a small amount of marijuana drove faster and with fewer collisions in a driving computer game. Another study said that marijuana causes abnormally slow driving, proneness to distraction, and increases the time it takes to react, therefore greatly impairs your ability to drive.
People might think smoking marijuana is cool. They might try it without knowing what it is or what affects is has on you. Once someone smokes it for the first time, they might keep doing it again and again and they could get hooked on it for life. People who use marijuana usually never use any other type of illegal drugs, but more than seven thousand five hundred people get arrested for using marijuana every year. There is a wide variety of marijuana, but they are all based off of two marijuana plants, Indica and Sativa. Marijuana is very popular in America, and all over the world. Marijuana affects the body, it can be used as medicine, and marijuana can be addictive.
Since the 1970’s marijuana has been considered a schedule 1 drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Schedule 1 drugs are drugs that serve no medical purposes at all, has high potential for abuse and has lack of accepted safety use. Among marijuana, other schedule 1 drugs include heroin, LSD, ecstasy, and etc. Marijuana should not be in listed among these drugs for many reasons. Marijuana is much safer than the drugs list and does not have a high abuse rate like the other drugs. It also have many medical properties to contradict one of the schedule 1 safety guidelines.
Background: The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 established the federal prohibition of marijuana. Dr. William C. Woodward of the American Medical Association testified against the Act, arguing that it would ultimately prevent any medicinal use of marijuana. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 established five categories, or "schedules," into which all illicit and
For the last century there has been an abundance of false information being spread about the drug marijuana. Even in commercials on television, misleading facts about the drug have been presented to the audience. Some misconceptions about the drug include its potential to cause addiction, the damaging of brain cells, genetic damage, violent behavior, and damage to the immune system. These misconceptions, which have plagued a large percentage of the population into thinking that marijuana is a bad drug, have caused many set backs in the process of gradual legalization. (http://legalizationofmarijuana.com/ )
The medical marijuana debate is an interesting one because there’s such a wide diversity of opinions and views that oppose each other. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug. They consider these drugs to have no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse and to be some of the most dangerous drugs, because they’re highly addictive and may cause severe psychological or physical dependence. Other Schedule 1 drugs include heroin, LSD, ecstasy and meth. Many who are against marijuana believe the drug is dangerous, harmful and feel it should remain illegal.
There has never been a death from marijuana overdose. “A person would have to smoke 20,000 to 40,000 times the amount of THC in a joint to overdose” (Wing). Marijuana was classified as an illegal drug in 1970, because it can be abused very easily (“infoplease”). Marijuana was then grown indoors. Marijuana is illegally used by many people daily. Marijuana should be legalized because it is naturally grown and can be used to help cancer patients, relieve stress, and be used daily.
Marijuana or Cannabis is one of the bused drugs in America and the rest of the world. Interesting accumulating evidence show that the significant negative impact of this drug outweighs the positive effects. However, the medical benefits of the drug seem on the process of chemical compounds as compared to the drug itself. Medical debates show that chemical compound in marijuana are the problem as compared to the plant. The said chemical compound affects the mental and physical health of the persons abusing this drug. There have been traditional efforts to control the use of marijuana through legislation laws, (Crick, Haase, & Bewley-Taylor, 2013). However, in the recent past the efforts and the laws are being lifted to relax the implementation of the same legislations and the population is responding fast in accepting the legalization of the use of marijuana. The aim of this paper is to discuss how lifting on the laws of the said drug indicate adverse tolerance of Cannabis among populations. The paper will also discuss impact of legalization marijuana on the safety, security and overall quality of human life. Also, the paper will analyses the effect of relaxation of the laws controlling this drug to other hard core drugs such as cocaine, heroin and meth-amphetamines among others.
Have you ever thought about drugs like marijuana and the history or impact it can cause on your life? Many people do not think about these things when it comes to taking drugs. They just like to take drugs for fun and usually don’t care what happens. Well many people don’t know a lot about marijuana. There are a lot of things you should know before taking any type of drug like marijuana.
Living in the 21st Century, a majority of the laws and regulations that guide our daily lives have already been legitimized and written decades ago. Although a large portion of these laws still exist today, there is always need to revise and rewrite laws. In this article I will talk about the myths and beliefs of marijuana and compare them to reliable sources to form an opinion on whether or not marijuana is a relatively safe drug for medical and recreational use along with the physical and social effects to the user and their environment. Regard, this paper will not focus on any other associated topics such as the price of prisons, annual marijuana dispensary revenue, drug trafficking or law policy’s. However many of the used articles compare and contrast the use of alcohol to cannabis.
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.
less dangerous than tobacco and people smoke less of it at a time. Or you can