Free Essays,College Free Essays,Free College Essays at Anti Essays

The debate to legalize marijuana has intensified over the years. People from both sides have very good pros and cons to why their beliefs should be true. But, there is an abundant of problems associated with the legalization of marijuana; it can open up doors to more deadly and harmful drugs, younger kids would have easier accessibility to the drug and health related issues would increase.
People for the legalizing of marijuana present a list of objections. Even if marijuana shows to be harmful, isn’t it the right of every person to decide what harms them? Their biggest support to this is that marijuana is just a recreation drug and is harmless when used in moderation. Also these people think that if marijuana is legalized it would be treated like alcohol and cigarettes making it illegal for minors to purchase. Other people believe that marijuana has medicinal purposes such as treatment for the side effects of chemotherapy and depression. Like sex, alcohol and cigarettes, marijuana is one of life’s pleasures for some people. Would you want to have someone tell you that you cannot do these things anymore?
However, these arguments are not convincing. Marijuana is a gateway drug. Its use often progresses to the use of harder and more deadly drugs such as cocaine and heroin. After using marijuana for a while a bigger high is sought after. This is particularly a problem since most people will not directly start abusing the harder, more harmful drugs. Marijuana use may simply bolster them to experiment with other drugs.
“Marijuana, a so-called ‘gateway drug’ is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States and tends to be the first illegal drug teens use.” Legalization of marijuana would increase the chances of the drug falling into these kids hands. Even unhealthy legal items such as cigarettes and alcohol are prohibited from being sold to kids. This is because kids generally don't exhibit the same reasoning,...