Why Do Marijuana Need To Stay Illegal

Marijuana is a magical plant that has been used and accepted in every culture it had been introduced in up until it was made illegal in the United States. In fact, after declared illegal, the use of it greatly increased and has been rising ever since. It's legalization is sweeping the world, and now in California marijuana is a legal, regulated substance available to those over 21. I've heard some false information going around and I'd like to clear the air about it. These are the raw facts with absolutely no bias. Myth: Marijuana is extremely addictive. Long term marijuana users grow dependent, suffer from withdrawal, and often need professional drug treatment to break their marijuana habits. Fact: There is no physical addiction to marijuana.

     Marijuana does have some negative effects, but compared to other drugs marijuana is harmless. Other drugs are highly addictive were marijuana is not. Alcohol is one of the most leading causes of car crashes. Marijuana is nowhere near being a leading cause of death. Other drugs can lead to cancer where marijuana is used to cure it, and other drugs can lead to deaths. Other drugs impair you vision, but marijuana does not. All the other drugs except alcohol are gateway drugs, and the only way to purchase them is by smuggling them across the border. Many advocates say “we should begin to reflect that reality in our state and federal legislation, and stop acting as if otherwise law-abiding marijuana smokers are part of the crime problem. They are not, and it is absurd to continue using law enforcement resources arresting them.” (Gary) Many advocates also say, “Far more harm is caused by marijuana prohibition than by marijuana itself.”(Gary)

Although it is a highly common defense that marijuana is not addictive, it in fact is. Many regular smokers find themselves ridden with very similar withdrawal symptoms of a tobacco addict (Marijuana Addiction Symptoms and Effects). Around 9% of people who use find themselves dependent on marijuana (Is Marijuana Addictive?). That may not seem like much, but that is almost 1 in every 10 people hooked on a drug that is supposedly “non-addictive.” Legalizing a drug that causes disorientation, paranoia, depression, anxiety, dizziness, and a slowed reaction time is not safe, not to mention the fact that it is a gateway drug, often leading users to use even more damaging and dangerous drugs (Is Marijuana Addictive?). With the legalization of a drug like marijuana comes increased use and abuse of the drug. Marijuana is unsafe medically for the individual using and for the people around them when the user is under the influence, it will cost the government money and time and it will cost employers tons. Legalizing marijuana would be a huge mistake by our country.

Some studies also have linked pot to suicidal thoughts. The NIDA notes that marijuana use can result in a 40% increased risk of getting psychosis, and the drug also can lead to Anxiety and Depression. Marijuana can ruin your kids’ lives. There has been an 80% increase in Weed use among teens since 2008. Do you want your teens to be making great grades for their education? You should need to know that studies have proved that teens who smoked pot regularly lost as much as eight points in their intelligence quotient test and they didn’t recover their intellectual ability when they became adults. Even though there are more articles about marijuana being good for you and the economy, I still believe that all these negative effects it has on you and the public are very bad, therefor it should remain illegal. Marijuana is used for medicine also, it is legal in 15 states for medical use only and in Colorado it is totally legal for everyone over 21 years old.

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

Addiction is a terrible thing but if that is the reasoning for making a substance illegal than every single activity or substance that makes a person feel good should be illegal. It is possible to become addicted to any and everything: Food, video games, television even glue can turn into an addiction if it makes a person’s brain happy. It is said that natural pleasures in our lives are necessary for survival, the limbic system creates an appetite that drives you to seek out those things (“how does someone” 1). Weed has been proven time and time again to be less harmful to someone’s body than alcohol. It is less addictive; there has never been a recorded death due to the drug’s use, while people die from alcohol every day, Pot is not liked to cancer or the deterioration of brain cells and alcohol does both. So if people are so set on keeping “bud” illegal there needs to be reevaluation of whether or not Alcohol should be in the same

claim is based on a study of the rehus monkey by Dr. Robert Heath in the late

The fact that cannabis is still illegal in forty-eight states is insane. Cigarettes, alcohol, and fast food kill hundreds of people every year and those are legal? I mean one- third of all AIDS cases in the US have been caused by syringe sharing (counterpunch). Study after study has shown that Marijuana is way less harmful than tobacco and alcohol (factslides). Cannabis has not even been directly linked to a death due to overdose, car accident, or cancer ever (Huffington). These are many reasons why many people support marijuana legalization and one of those reasons is because of the medical benefits. A drug that does not have severe side effects or could possibly kill you. Drugs like Cocaine, Heroine, Alcohol, Cigarettes. Those are the real drugs. Not Marijuana.

While such popular and potent drugs (alcohol and nicotine) are legally available to the public, there is fallacious logic in outlawing a drug less exponentially less dangerous and far less addictive than these two easily accessible drugs. Alcohol and nicotine are infinitely more harmful to the human body than marijuana, cannabis simply not toxic enough to kill (In Pot). Marijuana is demonized by the government and much of the media as a dangerous drug, while the deaths of roughly 50,000 people in The United States per year can be contributed to alcohol and 440,000 to tobacco. All the while, marijuana has never directly caused the death of anybody in the entire history of mankind (Jillette). While some would expect marijuana to be at least as carcinogenic as tobacco, recent medical journals have found no link between smoking marijuana and lung cancer (Boyles). One example given in one study was that two-pack-a-day cigarette smokers saw a 20-fold increase in cancer risk when compared to non-smokers, while no elevation in risk was observed in even the heaviest (22,000+ joints smoked in lifetime) smokers of marijuana (Boyles). Any consistent person that believes marijuana should stay illegal should also believe alcohol and cigarettes should be made illegal, by the same reasoning.

Cigarettes and alcohol are much more dangerous to humans than marijuana, yet they are legal to purchase and consume (at a certain age). “The effects are generally less severe than those of tobacco and alcohol, which together cause more than 560,000 American deaths annually. Unlike booze, marijuana isn't a neurotoxin, and unlike cigarettes, it has an uncertain connection to lung cancer.” (Barcott, Bruce, and Michael Scherer. "The Great Pot Experiment. (Cover Story)." Time 185.19 (2015): 38-45. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.). This shows that substances that are already legal and available to Americans are much more dangerous than marijuana. This shows that there is no reason for the government to be concerned about it in a health risk point of a view. Marijuana has no reported deaths from overdosing on the drug, because you need to smoke 1,500 pounds in 15 minutes to do that, which is a physically impossible task. Top scientists know that there are no reported deaths from marijuana alone, unlike other substances, but due to their extensive research they were able to find it is technically possible to overdose, but highly unlikely. This shows that the health risks of consuming marijuana are little to non-existent when compared to other legal substances, therefore it should be legal in the United States of America. The fact that marijuana is less harmful than other legal substances proves that is should be

In the United State marijuana is the leading cause of substance dependence. 1 out of every 10 users becomes very dependent on the drug. The rate of dependence on marijuana is at the same rate as alcohols rate. Half of the daily user who use marijuana are or will become dependent and two thirds of people that suffer with substance disorder is because of marijuana. Addiction risk is also present when using the substance. Even though not scientifically proven marijuana is addicting. Teens from 9 to 16 percent risk for addiction doubles because of the age they started at. Those who use the drug daily have a high a chance of addiction risk that increases from 25 to 50 percent. Annually, 100,000 Americans turn to rehabilitation for help in prevailing over bad cannabis customs . Countries who experience relaxed marijuana like the Netherlands and Britain show why weed should not be legalized. These countries are seeing heavy users and are also seeing withdrawal symptoms from those that are trying to quit the drug. Addiction can lead to many different things. Many of these things are not healthy for you. Once addicted those who try to quit experience withdrawal symptoms, irritability, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety and craving. Because of all harm that can come through dependence and addiction from the drug legalizing marijuana would not be a wise

Scientists are still divided about addiction. Some believe that marijuana is not as addictive, while others claim that two out of every twenty marijuana users develop a dependence of some type to it or a more serious and dangerous illegal drug. Marijuana alters your perception and can lead to multiple problems such as impaired driving, falling, and other numerous injuries. Marijuana also produces what is called a high, which can lead to paranoia, enhanced or intense feelings or emotions that someone is already having. The side effect of marijuana like having the “munchies” can lead to obesity in the long run if marijuana is used long term. There also the downside that more people will have marijuana in their homes around small children, who may be able to get their hands on it, if not stored away properly. Since marijuana is a plant grown from seeds, it would be easy for someone to start growing marijuana and selling it for their own profit to anyone including kids. Some doctors may prescribe marijuana when it may not be medically necessary. Many poor people in need of money who are have prescribed marijuana for medical use may sell it or the seeds for cash, making it easier for drug dealers and kids to get their hands on it. Many others find it offensive to their religion. Marijuana has always been considered a gateway drug that leads to other drugs that are classified as being more hardcore like cocaine.

Marijuana has become a more and more acceptable drug over the past few years despite its many side effects, not only on the user, but also on society as a whole. Due to these side effects on society and the marijuana user, it would be in the best interest of everyone that marijuana remains an illegal substance. On one side of the issue you have marijuana users saying that it is their choice on whether or not they should be allowed to smoke marijuana. The question we have to ask ourselves is, are individual freedoms so important that we are willing to allow these individual freedoms to continue without consequence, even if their actions are harmful. The purpose of this essay will be to put

Some medical reasons that marijuana shouldn’t be decriminalized are that it has long and short terms effects. Examples of the short term outcomes include memory loss, difficulty with thinking, loss of motor skills and increased heart rate. According to the National Institutes of Health show that someone smoking about five joints per week is taking in as many cancer causing chemicals as someone smoking a pack of cigarettes every day. There is no science proof that smoked marijuana can be used for medication. Since cannabis plants are polluted with a range of fungal spores, smoking marijuana may increase the risk of infectious organisms. Taradiff, J. "Marijuana and the War on Drugs. “Marijuana. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Thomas Gale, 2008. 157. Print.

Marijuana has a long standing history of being one of the most controversial substances in America. While the history or the Cannabis plant indicates not only acceptance as a useful plant, but even advocated as a source of revenue and medicinal usage, much of the United States government propaganda over the last 100+ years has led Americans to accept very slighted and often false information about the plant and its uses. Based on the origin of the illegalization of marijuana and the inconsistent findings of its effects in comparison to other substances, both legal and illegal, marijuana should be decriminalized and treated as a recreational substance just as alcohol and tobacco are.