The Benefits Of Legalization Of Marijuana Are Endless Essay example

Most college students cease to believe that smoking marijuana is just as harmful as tobacco or other illicit drugs. In actuality, marijuana has a high level of carcinogens, as well as carbon monoxide, which makes the heart work harder to deliver oxygen to deprived tissues. The same health issues that arise from smoking tobacco such as, emphysema, bronchitis, and other respiratory problems can also be brought on by smoking marijuana.

Many advocates say “ Marijuana is a common drug used by many people.”(Sandra) A lot of people think marijuana has numerous amounts of negative effects on the body. Marijuana helps the body in many different ways. It relaxes and relives stress from many people. It has been proven that marijuana does not kill brain cells, like most people seem to think it does. Marijuana also helps the creativity of people. It gives people new

According to an article by Charles Oliver, The Harrison school district in Colorado has barred a student from attending classes if he takes medicine to control his seizures, states that “The boy was prescribed a lozenge containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. The school said he couldn’t bring the pills to school because it would violate its zero tolerance policy on drugs” (Oliver). Without the pills containing THC, the young boy could have a seizure. If medicinal marijuana was legal, this wouldn’t have been an issue, and that is why marijuana should be legalized in the United States. It will not only benefit those who need it for medical issues, but the taxation will also benefit our economy.

The statement “marijuana is a lot safer than alcohol” cannot go unchallenged and should be debated. One important subject is the risk that marijuana use (especially in young adults) can lead to some kinds of mental illness. “Studies support findings that risk of schizophrenia doubles in young abusers” (U.S. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 2009). According to Joseph Califano Jr., CASA founder and chairman of Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) “If we were to make marijuana legal and taxed it, for approximately every dollar of tax revenue, there could be as much as seven dollars incurred in medical costs”.

In order to gain an understanding of marijuana's so called "harmful" negative effects; it should be compared to other drugs that are presently legalized in this country. In the pharmaceutical world, over-the-counter drugs are being prescribed for everything these days. Ritalin and Adderall are readily available for college students in the university health centers across the country. Kids are staying up all night studying, complaining that they can not pay attention, and are immediately referred to the prescription drugs which in many cases they do not even need. Along with the prescription drug problem in our nation, we have a serious issue concerning alcohol and tobacco. Alcoholism is killing people daily with liver malfunctions

Studies have proven that marijuana is no more harmful to a person’s health than alcohol or tobacco. Every year, tobacco kills roughly 390,000 people, alcohol contributes to 80,000 deaths in America and marijuana contributed to 0; no deaths from marijuana have ever been recorded in US history (Abovetheinfluence.org). When smoking tobacco, the user inhales tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, and 200 other known poisons into the lungs (Abovetheinfluence.org). All forms of tobacco, including cigars, pipe tobacco, snuff, and chewing tobacco, contain the addictive drug nicotine, and can also cause cancer. Alcohol alters a person's perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing. Alcohol plays a role in at least 50 percent of traffic deaths, about half of murders, and about 25 percent of suicides (Abovetheinfluence.org). Marijuana side effects include delusions, impaired memory, hallucinations and disorientation, which are no different from the side effects of alcohol alone.

Marijuana has been deeply studied in the past few decades and has shown scientist many things that weren’t evident before. Marijuana has been linked to many health issues good and bad. It has shown to reduce stress and anxiety, help with headaches, lower blood pressure and one of the most evident and positive health affects is that it has been shown in many studies to stop and even kill cancer cells in the body. There are however negative effects that have been looked into and studied by scientist. These include, blocking memory formation, psychosis, and an increased risk of depression while using marijuana regularly. Not everything revolving around marijuana is a “health issue” though, the biggest reason that people use marijuana today is because it simply makes people feel good. That is a positive effect.

Also, Dr. Pierre-Bernard Roques, from France, concluded that marijuana does not have any neurotoxicity effects, unlike alcohol and cocaine. Even though there are literal benefits of this "drug" - when used responsibly - there are still millions of people who find possession of marijuana highly illegal. Under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, Federal law in the United States preempts confliction state and local laws. However, there are some states and local governments which have established laws that are attempting to decriminalize marijuana. And one of the most fascinating findings about this, is that within those jurisdictions the number of "simple possession" has reduced. One will quickly find that the law is very shaky when it comes to possession of marijuana -- there are constantly conflicting rules and regulations. Such as in the 2006 election, amendment 44 of Colorado suggested making it legal to possess less than one ounce of marijuana. However, this amendment failed and the election was 40-60, however, the interesting point is, it is still just a misdemeanor to possess up to one half pound, and is punished mainly by fines unless a sale is established. Basically, what this is saying is that Colorado will not legalize one ounce of marijuana, but they will allow you to carry a half-pound bag of marijuana, and classify that as only a misdemeanor and the punishment is a fine.

Thousands of people die every year from tobacco and smoking related illnesses, and hundreds of innocent people die every year in auto accidents caused by drunk drivers. It 's even possible to die from alcohol poisoning, but marijuana has never been directly attributed to any deaths. Despite all this, public opinion on marijuana is still based on myth and prejudice even though it remains relatively harmless. The harmful effects of marijuana have been exaggerated.

Marijuana is illegal in most cities in our country because of the effect it has on the human body. When marijuana is inhaled, THC is released into our bloodstream, brain, and organs. THC levels affect parts in the brain that focus on pleasure, memory, thinking, and coordination. Due to this, marijuana can cause long term damage to one’s brain. Or at least that’s what they want us to believe. There are no real cases where someone has suffered severe

According to a report put out by the British Police Foundation in March 2000, cannabis has been shown to produce less harmful effects than its other legal counterparts such as alcohol and tobacco. This kind of information calls into sharper focus the question on the minds of many as to why such a plant that is not only less harmful than legal drugs but has significant health benefits has remained illegal.

Every year, 400,000 Americans die of complications caused by tobacco products. Smoking kills more Americans each year than alcohol, crack, heroin, murder, suicide, car accidents, fires, and AIDS all put together. Every week, eight children under the age of eighteen die from alcohol related crashes. Alcohol abuse contributes to almost 50% of all traffic accidents, suicides, and homicides. However, despite the proven dangers of these "socially acceptable" drugs, they are still legal. Marijuana, a much less acceptable drug, is not legal however, despite the fact that research has yet to pin any specific dangers to this drug.

Marijuana is a hallucinogen that acts to enhance perception of sights, sounds, and smells, and may produce a sensation of time slowing down. Marijuana over activates parts of the brain that contain the highest number of these receptors, this causes the "high" that users feel, because of the THC quickly passing through the bloody stream and to the brain (“Marijuana". drugabuse.gov). The drug speaks to them . Although we see more negative effects rather than good, we need to put aside those facts and dig deeper in understanding the potentials for this drug because perhaps further understanding could save lives. We should know more about what a drug could do to help us, rather than trying to tell everyone and focusing on the “negative” side effects. Marijuana has all the same long term side effects as cigarettes and yet they aren't placed together in the schedule system rather nicotine isn't even

I constantly hear that weed does not harm you, this is false. “Marijuana contains more than four hundred known chemicals, including the same cancer-causing substances found in tobacco smoke”. (Alcohol vs. Marijuana, 2013). Let that sink in for a second, it has four hundred known chemicals in it that does not sound healthy for you. I also found out that “ It has been found that consuming one joint gives as much exposure to cancer-producing chemicals as smoking five cigarettes”. (What is Marijuana, 2013). One joint is the equivalent as smoking five cigarettes, but weed is harmless, I think not. Marijuana also affects your mind to where you cannot remember things. Marijuana smokers do not have the same ability to remember and organize information compared to people who do not smoke.

There are several myths presented to make marijuana seem harmful to one’s health, but many of them have been proven scientifically wrong. Three myths commonly presented and associated with smoking marijuana are: marijuana causes mental permanent mental illness, smoking marijuana is more harmful to the lungs than smoking tobacco, and also marijuana is a gateway drug. Through my research I have found that the commonly believed myths and misconceptions of marijuana intoxication are only social fears of those whom have not done any research on the effects of the drug.