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The Pros And Cons Of Legalization Of Marijuana

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Marijuana legalization is a controversial subject with many different problems and solutions. Marijuana has benefits and disadvantages to using it (and many viewpoints on said pros and cons) so one person cannot be the only authority on the subject. Marijuana could possibly be used as a medicine, and although legalizing marijuana could have some benefits, the action could have serious repercussions. The legalization of medical marijuana could have positive benefits to the United States government. Opioids have been proven to only work less than half of the time when it comes to alleviating pain, and four times out of five they have horrible side effects. Marijuana has been proven to alleviate pain better than opioids, and its side effects …show more content…

Those taxes were just for one state, if the entire nation allowed recreational marijuana, the government could have more money to pay off the national debt. Nevertheless, that does not mean that legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes would not have some dire consequences. Legalization of recreational marijuana could lead to a growth in people ingesting too much marijuana to avoid serious medical complications. Marijuana will become cheaper if it is legalized. If marijuana is cheaper, than more people will be able to get afford it, and more abundantly: “It is estimated that for each 10 [percent] drop in price, there will be an approximately 3 [percent] increase in the total number of users and a 3–5 [percent} increase in youth initiation,” (Issues in Society: Is Marijuana Harmful?, Introduction: The World’s Illicit Drug of Choice). Studies have shown that you can ingest too much marijuana to be healthy. Furthermore, in 2013, 38 percent of Americans claimed to smoke marijuana, but after it was legalized in Colorado, it increased to 44 percent of Americans. Imagine the massive increase that would occur if the entire country decided to allow recreational marijuana. Marijuana’s side effects can be horrible, as expanded upon in the next point. Marijuana could possibly have terrible side effects. Firstly, people at Duke University conducted a study to see if marijuana could affect the IQ of people who used it. They compared the IQ’s of

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