The Pros And Cons Of Legalizing Marijuana

The question of whether or not marijuana should be legalized for recreational and medicinal use has been a three decade long conversation. There are many pros and cons to legalizing marijuana. There are many different ideas about the effects of marijuana, but as with any drug answers are going to vary depending on the person you survey. Age, health, and mental stability are all factors to consider how a drug can positively or negatively affect you, and marijuana is no different. To be legal or not to be legal is the million dollar question up for debate.

The uses of marijuana amongst teenagers has increased over the years making it the most accessible drug in America as well as one the most beneficial due to its medical uses. According to the article of Marijuana Use Among Youths Is a Serious Problem, written by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) (2004), stated that the uses of marijuana has impacted the youth in many ways due to the unknown factors of marijuana such as admittance to treatment facilities, and being admitted into emergency rooms. The CASA took the con side of the argument dealing with the issues of marijuana use with teenagers. The second article Marijuana Should Be

There have been many arguments that have been raised against marijuana whether it has to do with recreational marijuana, medical marijuana and in any other ways. Most arguments against marijuana are centered on the use of the drug for pleasure and imagination. Is it morally permissible to use marijuana, does it cause violence, is it a gateway drug, is it addictive, should using marijuana be regulated by law and what regulations should there be, should it be fully legalized and regulated, should it be decriminalized are questions that are usually asked when it comes to recreational marijuana. Providing answers and solutions to this dilemma is not as easy as pointing the wrongness of crimes such as rape or murder. Therefore, the debate on marijuana cannot be held on similar platforms as those crimes and it needs a philosophic analysis to identity the moral rightness, wrongness or the neutrality of the use of recreational marijuana. In this paper, I will argue that there is pros and cons to recreational marijuana and why there are pros and cons to it.

Also, marijuana can be seen as being addictive in nature. “Approximately 9% of individuals that use marijuana become addicted” (Marijuana Statistics). Marijuana contains many chemicals, such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which can cause many positive and negative effects to the human body and brain. A major attribute for medical marijuana is the economic advantages that are produced from the distribution of the drug. Also, the legalization of medical marijuana can portray positive and negative outcomes for law enforcement. Therefore, medical marijuana has many positive effects, such as treatment for diseases, and negative effects, such as immune system suppression. Throughout this research paper, medical marijuana will be thoroughly explained to exemplify the advantages and disadvantages of legalizing the

Recreational marijuana legalization in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska have, technically, broken federal law. As long as the federal government does not do anything about the state’s blatant disregard for higher law they can do what they want. I think that because state and federal law contradict at the moment there should be clarification. States should only be able to pass a law such as this if it is also legal on a federal level, but if there are no repercussions for violating federal law where does it end? Recreational marijuana is a state issue, in my opinion. If it is to be legalized in America at a federal level then each state should be allowed to choose their side. At this point, federal government is showing its cracks. 4 of our states are currently not obeying the Constitution; federal law trumps state law. Our government needs to pull itself together and start paying attention to what the states are doing.

Before 1937, marijuana was freely bought, sold, grown, and smoked in the United States. Since that time, all of these activities have been illegal, but many groups and individuals have fought to decriminalize marijuana. The congressional decision to classify marijuana as a Schedule I drug in 1970 has made the legalization campaign more difficult, since it officially established marijuana as a dangerous, addictive drug with no medicinal benefits.

Legalizing marijuana has always been an interesting topic for many people to dispute about. Some people say it is good, while others say it is bad. No matter what topic you speak about, it has its pros and cons. For example, marijuana can be used in great ways if legalized. Through money given from dispensaries to the crime rate lowered because of the ability to acquire marijuana in legal ways. Some bad examples are that it can be a gateway drug and can cause one to want a “better high” to people thinking it affects people's lives. Legalizing marijuana (medical and recreational) will help the United States with money, crime, and other numerous ways.

Why Medical Cannabis is still federally banned? Well Marijuana has been illegal since the 1950’s, due to the enactment of federal laws like the “Narcotics management Act of 1956” that set necessary sentences that relate to drug-related offenses, as well as marijuana. A Montana grower is now in prison. “Chris Willams a Medical Marijuana grower in Montana now faces the rest of his life in prison because a Medical Marijuana law was canceled.”This law didn't include the medical use of Marijuana. I believe Medical Marijuana ought to be legal below tax and distributed to only patients with treatable diseases.

When it comes to dealing with marijuana and deciding between legalization, decriminalization, or leaving it how it is now the best option would be legalization. Decriminalization of marijuana would still not make it legal, but it would lessen the criminal penalty. Therefore, some states treat possessing a small amount of marijuana like a minor traffic violation. Whereas legalization would make marijuana legal like states such as Colorado and Washington have already done. But why is this the better option?

I have always been against the use of all illegal drugs including marijuana, but while researching this topic, I have learned a lot about some of the positives of legalizing marijuana use. Considering it is classified as an illegal controlled substance, I have always been under the assumption that marijuana was bad for people, no matter what my friends may have said about how good it was. I was peer pressured into trying it when I was fourteen. I knew right away that it was not for me. It made me pass out and sick to my stomach when I woke up. That reiterated my assumption that it was bad for people. I did not understand how people could like it. I figured other people must not have had the same reaction as I did after smoking it.

The topic of marijuana use in today’s society is currently a hot topic in both politics as well is in social settings. There are many positives and negatives towards whether or not marijuana should be legalized, as well as medical and recreational pros and cons. This paper will cover the pros and cons of all topics and my personal viewpoint on the topic.

There have been four states along with the District of Columbia that have allowed marijuana for recreational usage since 2012. Colorado is the Christopher Columbus of this social experiment and has spurred numerous opinions, both good and bad. Recreational marijuana has had many benefits for Colorado such as economic growth, improved safety through regulations, and overall social unification. Make sure your thesis makes a claim that is arguable.

Marijuana use in the United States has been increasing throughout the United States, along with the number of marijuana related arrests. In 2011, law enforcement agencies made 574,641 arrests for small quantities of the drug intended for personal use, the “marijuana arrests were about 13.6 percent more than the 505,681 arrests made for all violent crimes, including murder, rape and serious assaults” (Williams, 2016). Illegal and legal marijuana use is associated with high rates of property and violent crime rates, but in recent studies evidence was found to support the opposite. Shepard & Blackley (2016) found that legalized medical marijuana does not have a negative effect on violent and property crime. Morris et al. (2014) found that medical marijuana laws are not predictive of higher violent and property crimes, but may be related to reductions in violent and property crimes. Maier et al. (2017) found that states with decriminalized and legalized marijuana laws compared to states without did not differ in rates of property, violent, or drug abuse crimes. To better understand this social issue, one must look at it from the view of each of the sociological theories; Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism. These theories help sociologist explain and understand the different aspects of social interactions and issues.

Cannabis is becoming increasingly widespread and increasingly common in modern-day society for both recreational use and for medication. The article by Craig Reinarman, ‘Criminalisation, legalisation and the mixed blessing of medicalisation in the USA’ generates many controversial issues of cannabis.

Should Marijuana be Legalized? Over half of Americans answer ‘’Yes.’’ Marijuana is greatly frowned upon, not just in America, but all across the globe. But these laws against Marijuana are up for debate in several countries. Especially in the United States. There are sixteen states in this country that allow medical usage of Marijuana.