These drugs are marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methadone, crack, and so on. There are many other hard drugs. Marijuana is very popular throughout the United States and as a result, teenagers abuse this drug because they do not see marijuana as a harmful. Marijuana has its own risks and dangers but many adolescents just don't realize it. Also, it can be very addicting and most adolescents who have been exposed to marijuana at a young age have parents who also smoke it.
Many drug users are arrested for possession of Marijuana every day. It has been a problem that Marijuana is the most common drug that is used in the streets. Also numerous addicts are arrested for different drugs such as heroin or crack cocaine or many times, are under the influence of alcohol. Somehow, the issue on legalizing Marijuana is that anti Marijuana users think that if Marijuana is legalized, crime on the streets would be much higher. For instance, Pot heads (Marijuana users) get busted for minor crimes such as illegal possession of Marijuana.
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
Almost every high school student gets into a situation that they don’t want to be in. Peer pressure is an example of one of these situations. Peer pressure of doing drugs can lead to a high school athlete to get himself in a big trouble. Who is to say that he will be the next to get randomly drug tested. Since June of 1995, the US Supreme Court has been all for random drug interscholastic student athlete drug testing.
The extent of gangs/drugs A proliferation in gangs will also mean a growth in drug and violence in our community’s and threatening society in general. There are more than 731,000 active gang members in the United States, most of which are active with drug distribution. Gangs will and have shown themselves notorious and without regard to society and family. Street gangs employ violence to control drug activities and even targeting local businesses with extortion. Violence ensures that members adhere to the gang’s code of conduct.
That’s why most of the people who use to smoke in the 1960’s and 1970’s stopped with no problem and moved on with their normal lives. Over ninety percent of them don’t smoke marijuana anymore today and it is not because they got treatment, but because marijuana is not addictive and they were able to stop. For alcohol and tobacco addicts, it is much different. They need to seek help to help them stop drinking or need to take medication such as patches to help them stop smoking
They will sell to anyone, including children. Merchants who legally sell alcohol and tobacco do not sell them to children. Many high school students say that it would be easier to obtain illegal drugs than alcohol and tobacco. Another myth clung to by anti drug activists is that marijuana prohibition improves public safety. Unfortunately for them, there is no evidence that the prohibition of marijuana reduces the net social risks.
Nearly half of America’s 5.4 million full-time college students abuse narcotics or undergo alcohol binges at least once a month. This is according to a new study that portrays substance and alcohol abuse as an increasingly urgent problem on campuses across the nation. ALCOHOL REMAINS BY FAR THE FAVORED SUBSTANCE TO CONSUME ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES HOWEVER, THE ABUSE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AND MARIJUANA HAS INCREASED DRAMATICALLY SINCE THE MID-1990s. This is according to the study released by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, which called on educators to move more aggressively to counter intensifying drug and alcohol use among students. Today’s report, the centers second on the subject, involved a survey of 2,000 students and 400 administrators as well as 6 national studies.
The topic of legalizing marijuana is a very controversial issue in American politics today. Marijuana has been vilified in America for over 70 years. Despite it’s many practical uses, medicinal and industrial, our Federal government insists on maintaining the status quo that the growth, possession and use of marijuana is criminal despite the evidence that the legalization of marijuana would have a positive influence on America. The illegality of marijuana has hurt society more than it has helped, legalization would benefit America both economically and medically. Twenty years ago, only 16% of the public said the use of marijuana should be legal and 81% said it should not be legal.
This study also found that only 1.5% of their sample (6 students) agreed that the availability of alcohol was presenting a problem for them and their drinking habits (College Health Survey 96). "Raising the drinking age has had little positive impact on the university population in regard to alcohol consumption level" (College Health Survey