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Controversial issues pertaining to legalization of marijuana
Debate over marijuana legalization
Debate over marijuana legalization
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The United States make up laws to keep people safe from dangerous things. For example, they believe Marijuana is dangerous, so it is illegal in most of the states in the U.S. Marijuana is a plant that most people smoke and use for many reasons. The United States should realize that Cannabis, or Marijuana is NOT dangerous and it should be legalized.
Marijuana is a very popular drug in the United States and it is also a very safe drug. There has not been a single death from the use or overdose of Marijuana. People might think that a large amount of THC in your system can kill you, but they are wrong. In 2010, 38,329 people died from drug overdose, and none of those were from smoking cannabis. Also in 2010, 25,692 people died from alcohol related causes. Cigarettes also have a huge risk when you smoke them. There are more than 480,000 deaths annually from smoking cigarettes. Alcohol, prescription drugs and cigarettes are legal and marijuana isn't. These legal drugs kill thousands of people and marijuana has never killed a single person. However, it is still illegal. Makes sense right?
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People think Marijuana is bad for you and that it is addicting but it actually is not. Marijuana leads to dependence in about 9% of users. Cocaine hooks about 20% and heroin gets about 25% of the users addicted. Above two of the worst drugs, Cocaine and Heroin, Tobacco is the worst. Tobacco makes around 30% of users addicted. Many people also say Marijuana is a gateway drug. This is not true either. One of the biggest arguments is that smoking Marijuana will lead to doing other drugs. As Scientific American points out, the studies that show people who use marijuana first before trying other drugs is just a coincidence. Nearly half the country has tried this drug and it has done no
For many years now marijuana has built up its reputations as the gateway drug which destroys youths lives. Not saying this is false “...the majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, "harder" substances” (Is Marijuana a gateway drug?). But what does it do to the body. “How marijuana affects health is determined by how it's consumed. Marijuana is most commonly smoked, such as from pipes, bongs, paper-wrapped joints, blunts and other items including devices that heat or vaporize marijuana...” (Marijuana and Lung Health). Any kind of smoke in general is dangerous to humans so it does not matter if it is firewood smoke or tobacco smoke it is not healthy for the lungs. It is already know that smoke from tobacco is harmful and kills 480,000 people annually. “There are approximately 600 ingredients in cigarettes. When burned, they create more than 7,000 chemicals. At least 69 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer, and many are poisonous” (What is a Cigarette).While marijuana does have some of the same chemicals in tobacco it does not have as much. So why is something that is recorded to kill 480,000 people annually legal but something that is not as harmful illegal.
Of course, there are many people opposed to legalizing marijuana, despite the benefits. Some doctors are against legalizing marijuana because they think that it will cause “emotionally crippled adults”, and they think that people can become addicted to it. Doctor Howard Samuels believes that marijuana is a psychoactive drug which will create problems for adults in the future. I disagree with this. It doesn’t do anything harmful to your brain, so I don’t see how it would cause problems for adults in the future that use marijuana. You can’t become addicted to it, like you can with cigarettes and alcohol. Marijuana doesn’t have nicotine in it, which causes the addiction to cigarettes. Doctors prescribe morphine to patients, and that is very addictive...
Why isn 't marijuana legal in the United States? Marijuana could serve many purposes to the human body and the community. In 1937, the government issued the Marijuana Tax Act. This act immediately criminalized marijuana. This means you can not have possession of the drug for medical purposes or not. This act is still in effect today, but it should be repealed .
America is in a war. A drug war with marijuana.Marijuana is a hallucinogen grown naturally as the cannabis plant. Smoking pot clearly has far fewer dangerous and hazardous effects on society than legal drugs such as alcohol, yet it is federally illegal. It is established scientific fact that marijuana is not toxic to humans; marijuana overdoses are nearly impossible, and marijuana is not nearly as addictive as alcohol or tobacco. But, the marijuana prohibition continues to be thriving. Marijuana prohibition causes more problems than it solves. This nation spends too much money where it could be making more money. If America were to legalize marijuana, it would cause a healthier economy, improve health care, and it would be safer than legal drugs like alcohol and cigarettes. The prohibition ruins thousands more lives than it supposedly tries to save and it should stop.
The legalization of marijuana is, and has been a heavily disputed issue for decades. On one hand, marijuana could lead to a medical breakthrough, or at least provide relief to cancer and AIDS patients. On the other hand, legalizing a drug could expose it to too broad an audience. As a drug, marijuana has never proven to be anywhere near as harmful as cigarettes or alcohol. Each year in the United States, 400,000 people die from tobacco, 50,000 from alcohol, and from marijuana, zero. Regardless of what side one may take to this argument, there are some causes to this marijuana debate that everyone should know. Marijuana was not always illegal, and the reasons behind the history of narcotic regulation are interesting when viewed from today's perspective. The history of marijuana prohibition is a story of racism, political repression, and poorly represents the qualities this country claims to embody.
The number one reason marijuana is illegal today is because of economics. Pharmaceutical companies make billions of dollars every year by treating medical conditions that could be treated naturally. People today have medicine cabinets that are completely full with medication that treats problems from headaches to anxiety and depression. The problem with this is that some medications do not react well with one another. You can have fatal results with mixing medication which is why you are told to consult your doctor before use. Some products even state the possible side effects which seem so horrible that you wouldn't want to risk it. The problem is mostly due to how huge these pharmaceutical companies have become, they can't come to terms that marijuana could eliminate the need for a large amount of medication being used today.
Cannabis, more commonly known as marijuana, is a plant that people have been using recreationally for years. In fact, people have consumed marijuana since ancient times. Until 1906, the year the United States Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act. The debate on whether or not marijuana should be legalized in the United States has really blown up within the last decade. And finally, in 2012, Colorado became the first state to officially legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational uses. The prohibition of marijuana has gone on for far too long, and it is time for America to change its views.
What exactly is marijuana? Marijuana, also known as pot or hemp, is a naturally grown substance that contains THC. THC changes how the brain works and gives the user a high that relieves many different pains and even helps erase bad memories. The hemp plant can be found in just about any place, but has to be kept in heat. Marijuana is from a naturally grown plant so why not be able to use it legally? Well, there are many reasons against the legalization of marijuana and there are also many very good reasons to legalize it for medical and recreational use. So to the government and everyone against legalizing marijuana, too bad! It’s natural and people are going to smoke no matter what the laws are, so why not just make it legal? Making the use of marijuana legal everywhere will more than likely help stop the chaos between the smokers and nonsmokers and reduce the outrageously high total of 858, 408 who are arrested annually for marijuana possession and use.
People think that marijuana is the most harmless drug because one never hears of people dying from it or getting deathly ill. This is false because marijuana does things to the body that can not be seen from the outside. The majority of the damage is in the brain and lungs, which can get extremely dangerous. All the bad side effects from this drug will really harm people’s bodies and ruin their futures and lives. Marijuana has many side effects that harm the body.
Cannabis is a natural plant that has been made illegal by the United States, and has been a controversial topic ever since the 1920’s. Marijuana is a substance that has been used hundreds of years ago as an herbal medicine and also can be used for textile products from hemp, which is from the Cannabis Sativa plant. Because of marijuana being categorized as a schedule one substance, it has no medical value and cannot be researched in the United States. Marijuana is said to be a gateway drug and is very unhealthy for adolescents with premature brains. The marijuana prohibition should finally come to a close because there are many benefits from cannabis and it is less harmful than both alcohol and tobacco.
In the perspective of America's war on drugs, marijuana is one of the biggest enemies. And since alcohol and tobacco, two life threatening substances, are legal it is a relevant question to ask why marijuana is illegal. The taxpayers of America can partly answer this question when they fill out their tax forms and when they hear the hash rhetoric used against marijuana by the government. The fact that marijuana is illegal is sufficiently caused by the amount of money, jobs, and pride invested in the drug war. In other words, the government cannot turn back now.
Marijuana continues to be one of the most used illegal drugs in the United States. Marijuana has been used for many years and at one time was legal to consume. Throughout the years, marijuana has been used for treatment of different medical conditions and has been used recreationally by people of all ages. While the use of medicinal marijuana has proven to be effective in treating medically ill patients, society continues to question its recreational use and the long term effects it will have on its users. Some feel that legalizing marijuana will only open up avenues for the use of more potent drugs, causing an increase in criminal activity. However, a number of people question why it is considered illegal being it is a naturally growing
People have been fighting for the legalization of marijuana for a long time. Many people use this drug and find absolutely nothing wrong with it. Others find it disgusting and are opposed to the legalization of it. The earliest use of marijuana was documented in 7000 B.C. The ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and many others used it for medical purposes. Marijuana was first used in the United States during the 1800’s and was banned in 1937 without any reason given by the government except that “it was for our own good” (Block, “Why Marijuana Became Illegal”). Marijuana should be legal everywhere in the world because, although it is highly addictive, marijuana is not as harmful as tobacco and alcohol, having a regulated market for it would reduce the sale and use of it amongst people under the age of eighteen, and the government can save and make money off of it.
Widespread, legal drugs currently being used should be compared to use of cannabis. According to the C.D.C., cigarette smoking is related to 480,000 deaths in the United States yearly. Alcohol, another substance widely used among Americans, is responsible for 88,000 deaths. The amount of deaths due to the top legal substances in the United States should justify their being illegal, but that is not the case. For deaths due directly to cannabis, there are none.
In today’s society drug use continues to be a huge issue. Laws that prevent the use of certain substances have been put in place to try to minimize these issues, however, just because laws are in place doesn’t mean that everyone is going to abide by these laws. Because of this, the uses of illegal drugs are still prominent. But why should the government be allowed to determine what people can put into their body? Shouldn’t it be up to the individual to decide what substances they consume regardless of the effect it could have on them? To better understand and answer questions such as these, a person should first know and understand more about marijuana.