America should have learned this from the prohibition of alcohol. The government uses criminal penalties in an attempt to stop users, but over 25 million people use marijuana annually. Cannabis is the largest cash crop in the United States, currently. I believe prohibition could actually increase drug use for teenagers. Marijuana, now days, is extremely easy to get, and most drug dealers don’t have age restrictions.
They say that marijuana is not as harmful as alcohol or tobacco products so why shouldn’t it be legal? One of the biggest things on people’s minds is the money that can be made from the growing and selling of marijuana and how much the government wastes each year trying to fight a losing battle on the war against 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.
People suffering from many illnesses would be able to experience relief. Also the government would make billions in tax revenue. There have never been any deaths recorded from the use of marijuana. It is not physically addictive, like alcohol and tobacco, and most doctors will agree that marijuana is safer than those substances. On the other hand legalizing marijuana can create a lot of problems.
People find it bizarre that the tobacco age is 18, but the drinking age is 21? People care more about alcohol than they do tobacco products, but tobacco is one of the leading killers in the U.S. today. Allowing 18 year olds to start ingesting tobacco products, such as cigarettes or chewing tobacco, at the age of only 18 will give them an earlier start to becoming addicted, and in the long run, shorten their life span. Some think it is absurd letting people smoke, but they cannot go out with friends and drink. Smoking and drinking are both addictive and can have negative effects if used improperly, but smoking one cigarette is more harmful than drinking one beer.
Sophie Zinolidis QUIT SMOKING Smoking is bad and we all know it. But not many knows why it’s so dangerous. They just know it’s a fact. And even more important, there are several bad things that comes with smoking and still so many people smoke. So why is smoking bad for you?
To quote Johnny Depp, “I’m not a big pothead or anything like that… but weed is much, much less dangerous than alcohol.” The most common myth is that marijuana leads to harder drugs, which is not true and has been proven by the National Institute of Health. Marijuana is the safest of all drugs. It is far safer to smoke a joint than to have a beer. Marijuana makes most people more relaxed. It relieves the clutter and tension after a hard days work.
The government should only limit these choices if it is capable of endangering someone else. Alcohol, tobacco, and many prescribed or over the counter drugs do more than marijuana does to a person and other people around the person. Comparing marijuana and alcohol, alcohol is far more dangerous than marijuana. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, there are hundreds if not thousands of alcohol overdose each year. Using marijuana,
The marijuana prohibition was enacted in 1937, just three years after the alcohol prohibition ended. After a failed attempt with alcohol, the government must have felt they needed to try and take away another civil liberty, so they tried it on the new popular drug of the time, marijuana. During that period the people were glad to be ridden of the gang violence, notorious of the 1920’s and 1930’s, so they went along with most of what the government said and did, thus making marijuana illegal. Many people also speculate that racism was a large factor in the illegalization of marijuana, as many Mexican workers and black jazz musicians favored using it. In most states it was and still is a felony to posses any marijuana or paraphernalia.
Even Thomas Jefferson even said “Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country” (http://www.hemppresidents.com/pot-and-hemp-quotes.htm) while currently marijuana is only legal for medical use in certain states. Marijuana treats those with migraines, relieve symptoms of chronic disease, prevents seizures, etc. Also the ‘American Association of Cancer Research has proved that marijuana slows the growth of tumors. The widespread of marijuana in America its hard to estimate the amount illegally in America. The Process Starting off I simply looked up “major social issues in America” which showed a list of current events and problems.