Some people think that legalizing marijuana is the only choice left. (Legalizing Marijuana) Others who disagree say that making marijuana legal will create more drug addicts and drug related crimes. (Zive, 2010) The people that want to make marijuana legal say that there is no good reason for it not to be legal. (Why Marijuana Shouls be Legal) We should have the right to make choices for ourselves as long as we are not harming others with our choice. The use of marijuana is far less harmful than other
Marijuana; Not Just a Counter Culture For many people the choice to use drugs is an easy one; no, but for other people when it is a life or death situation, or their depression is great enough, they will do and try anything to help gain relief from pain. With the legalization of Marijuana, medical patients would have the ability to seek other ways of treatment via medicine. Also with the legalization of Marijuana the gateway theory would be proven false. Along with these two solid reasons why Marijuana should be legalized, the federal government would also reap astonishing amounts of revenue that could be used to pay off debts and pay into social security. Marijuana has been used for thousands of years, not always for the “high effect,” but
It is then left up to the patient to find a medical marijuana clinic and obtain a legal medical marijuana card. Marijuana has a plethora of benefits not only to our society but more for medical purposes. In an article written by John Burnett, he discusses possible outcomes if marijuana was legalized. He states that legalizing marijuana would drop crime and addiction rates. People who are addicted to narcotics due to chronic pain, would more than likely stop using if they could legally obtain marijuana.
Although marijuana can lead to a relaxed and euphoric feeling it will not cause you to make decisions you would not normally do. When it comes to smoking the cannabis some say it is just as bad for your lungs as smoking, but a quote taken from an article on CBSNews.com written by Ryan Jaslow states, “The study, published in the Jan. 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, found occasional pot smokers - who used a median of roughly two to three joints per month - had normal lung function compared to tobacco smokers in the study.”(CBSNews.com). What this is saying is that smoking marijuana, although not great for your lungs, has less of a negative impact. Two states have already jumped on the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana. Colorado and Washington voted on a bill to legalize the drug for everyone for any reason and the people of these states were heard when the bills
A Kaiser Permanente Center survey found that people who smoke marijuana-only on a daily basis have a 19% higher rate of respiratory complaints than non-smokers. Fortunately, the hazards of marijuana smoking can be reduced by various strategies such as: use of higher potency cannabis, which can be smoked in smaller quantities, use of water pipes and other smoke reduction technologies or ingesting pot orally instead of smoking it. Unlike tobacco, marijuana does not appear to cause emphysema. Tobacco tends to penetrate to the smaller, secondary passageways of the lungs, while marijuana tends to concentrate on the larger, central passageways. The only evidence that suggests any type of brain changes is that persistent deficits in short-term memory have been noted in heavy marijuana
Although alcohol is legal, it does not mean that it is better for you. There are arguments going both ways where people suggest that marijuana should be legal because alcohol is more deadly, while there are alcoholics that would say smoking weed is bad for you. Both substances are bad for your health and should not be used heavily by anyone. Marijuana has an immediate effect on the user, which last for about two hours after smoking. A person drinking alcohol may start to feel the effects after just one drink, and recover depending on how much the person drank, body weight, and how much they may have had to eat before drinking.
Dylan Kelley Rough Draft 11-15-10 Yes We Cannabis Should marijuana be legalized in the United States? Should people be punished for smoking a harmless natural plant? The legalization of marijuana is a topic that most Americans have a powerful say in. Some believe it should remain illegal because they believe it’s a “gateway” drug or because it causes violence. Others, like me, think that the government shouldn’t have the power to outlaw if it’s not harming or endangering others.
Recent polls taken by the Pew Research Center and General Social Surveys show that the main reason for support of marijuana is that the American public fails to see marijuana has a major moral issue (Galston, Dionne 1). Compared to gay marriage or abortion, many more Americans are indifferent when it comes to others using marijuana. Those against legalization who consider marijuana to be a gateway drug and a vice argue that legalization will lead an overall increase in consumption of the drug. They argue that legalization will decrease productivity in the workplace, influence children negatively, and increase drug induced automobile crashes. However, the pro-legalization Americans respond in saying increased marijuana use has no lasting health effects, legalization will allow for better regulation of distribution, and marijuana legalization will reduce alcohol consumption in America.
Mohamed Alamoudi Why We Should Legalize Marijuana Many people believe that legalizing marijuana is only an issue of importance to “stoners” and other stigmatized groups in society; they couldn’t be more wrong. Marijuana is much less unhealthy than prohibition propaganda would lead you to believe. Furthermore, the government wastes vast resources on prosecuting and incarcerating nonviolent marijuana users. For these reasons, the United States should legalize and tax marijuana. The examples of the Netherlands and Portugal show that decriminalizing marijuana does not lead to “pot epidemics”.
Moreover the occasional use of marijuana by the average user will not suffer any lasting physical or mental harm. Not to say marijuana is completely harmless. Like any substance that is abuse for long periods of time (years) can have a negative effect on good health. Conversely, as with other recreational (cocaine) drugs, there will be some individual who will suffer some adverse consequences such as psychotic thought or tendencies from immediate use (Iversen PHD., 2005). Certainly there are many people and groups that oppose the legalization of marijuana and many of them have valid points of view.