Arguments Against Decriminalizing Marijuana

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Legalizing Marijuana The legalization, or decriminalization, of Marijuana has been one of the leading controversial political issues in the past decade. Made up of dried leaves of the Cannabis Sativa plant, with THC as it’s main psychoactive ingredient, Marijuana has proven to be less harmful than tobacco and alcohol, and even non-addicting. According to the Drug Awareness Warning Network, “There has never been a death recorded from the use of marijuana by natural causes.” (DAWN) Many people ask why the government would add one more substance to the list of the harmful, legal ones already, but I’m a firm believer that if we do not use our rights they will be taken from us. So should it not be a right of the people to decide whether Marijuana…show more content…
The government’s most recent drug survey, the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, “over 800,000 adolescents ages 12-17 sold illegal drugs during the previous 12 months preceding.” (NSDUH). Marijuana has damaged and brought chaos to lives of many young Americans. Medically, it is not addictive, but some people say that they begin to form a habit, and it becomes a psychological, rather than physical, addiction. Although marijuana is less harmful than other substances that are legal, chances are that if more people smoked marijuana because it became legal, there would be an increase in health problems. A study was done by the DEA in 2004 in which 19.1 million Americans aged 12 or older used illicit drugs in the 30 days prior to the study. A whopping 14.6 million of those people had used Marijuana, making it the most commonly used in…show more content…
Both sides of this issue will not be happy. I think the decision should be up to the people. I do believe that marijuana will be legalized because of its permissibility today compared to ten years ago. To prove an increase in acceptance of Marijuana, before this year, to work for the federal government, you had to have a record free of any drug charges. Now, you have to have a record free of any drug charges, but marijuana is excluded. I am for the legalization of marijuana not only because I am for the people’s rights, but because I am for the people’s lives. I want my opinion to be as clear as the facts. The tobacco and alcohol deaths tell it all. We need a safer choice. I am for
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