Legalizing Marijuana Benefits

2020 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Proposal for legalizing marijuana

I cringe upon hearing how some parents, teachers and co-workers "laugh-off" the devastating effects of excessive and addictive marijuana use. It is a dangerous misconception that marijuana is not addictive. One of the primary reasons for so few marijuana addicts ever receiving treatment for their addiction is because the magnitude of the damage it causes and the drug itself is undermined and misjudged. *Here, I will briefly outline some of its major harmful effects: Mental Short term memory loss, is one of the very early effects of marijuana use. As using continues, this progresses to extreme long-term memory loss where abusers of this drug forget extended periods of time within their lives.Mental fatigue occurs amongst users as a …show more content…

There are pros and cons to the issue. People have proposed many advantages and disadvantages to having marijuana legalized, however a lot of thought would need to be given to how this is actually done. There are issues such as legal limit, taxes, strength, and agricultural issues. Legalizing marijuana could also end, or significantly reduce, the drug trade as far as "pot" is concerned. Marijuana aka Pot, is a substance that could be rolled into a cigarette or smoked through a pipe. It is already being used for medical purposes. Proponents of smoking marijuana state that it "mellows people out", and can be relaxing. Some people state it can make a person "paranoid". It could also affect judgment. If marijuana is legal, at what point is a person under the influence? When can it be used safely? The following essay will discuss the pros and cons of legalized marijuana. There are several advantages to legalizing marijuana. Most importantly, regulations would make marijuana a certain strength and the product safer. Secondly, it would make sense to purchase it like tobacco in a safe, tax paying store as opposed to "on the street." The United States could also grow the crops and and keep the money in the US. Finally, the taxes generated would help improve the depressed economy. Many say marijuana should not be bought in the store like milk. It is a mind altering drug and is not safe. People …show more content…

The utter failure of the war on drugs by our government has brought the spotlight onto the most abused illegal substance in the United States. With the Marijuana Policy Project reporting over 872,000 arrests for use and/or possession of this naturally grown plant within the previous year, concerns have been raised as to the improvement of the current federal policies on cannabis. Currently, cannabis is placed on the highest tier of illegal substances ranked by the Drug Enforcement Agency (Schedule I drugs); heroin, LSD, and MDMA (Ecstasy) are a few other well known illegal drugs placed in this same category, while cocaine and methamphetamines are ranked as Schedule 2 drugs. DrugWarFacts.org states that tobacco and alcohol related deaths resulted in the combined total of over 500,000 Americans in 2000. That same year-and also in every other year-there were 0 confirmed deaths from marijuana consumption. The paradoxical status of marijuana in our federal system is based more on fear than on actual facts since there are very few studies refuting the medicinal benefits of marijuana on the body. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, appearing on Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN, stated that cannabis could be used for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy to stimulate a patient's appetite, to treat "neuropathic pain" resulting from a trauma or injury or to help treat patients

Show More
Related

  • Legalize Marijuana in South Carolina

    559 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Against Legalization of Marijuana in Canada

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marijuana is a drug that is harmful to a person¡¯s health. It has been found to have adverse impacts on one¡¯s mental processes such as memory, attention, judgement, and problem- solving (Butcher, Mineka, Hooley, 2004, p.415). Also, marijuana can interfere with a person¡¯s ability to think rationally and logically. Thus, the lapse in judgement caused by the drug use can lead to risky sexual behaviours and this may result in increasing sexually transmitted disease such as AIDS. Moreover, the long-term use of marijuana may cause chronic breathing problems and cancer ...

    Read More

  • Marijuana Should Be Legal

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marijuana is a relatively harmless drug that governments around the world have made illegal. If legalized, marijuana can be beneficial to society in a number of ways: whether it be for medical, economic, or public safety reasons. Marijuana has been proven to treat several life debilitating, and even life threatening diseases. Although it is not a cure, marijuana can ease the pain and suffering of a dying person. Another benefit of legalization is the financial gains that governments will accomplish through the taxation of marijuana. This is a realistic claim if marijuana sales are compared to that of cigarettes; governments make billions each year from cigarette taxes (Caputo and Ostrom 484). Every year law enforcement spends countless man-hours trying to apprehend marijuana dealers and growers. This time would be better utilized in dealing with more serious crimes. This essay will display some main reasons why marijuana is a substance with beneficial uses and applications. First, marijuana can be used as a treatment for the effects of diseases such as AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, and other terminal diseases. A study carried out in California clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of marijuana as a treatment for cancer: “Over 74 percent of the cancer patients treated in the program have reported that marijuana is more effective in relieving their nausea and vomiting than any other drug they have tried.”(Zeese 1990). Chemotherapy for cancer patients often produces nausea and vomiting. Marijuana has been proven to relieve these symptoms and there have been no known side effects recorded (Ad Hoc Group of Experts part 4).

    Read More

  • Legalize it

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is a major debate in today’s world about the legalization of cannabis, especially, in the United States. States such as California and Illinois have already moved forward in their open-minded thinking about the drug and are allowing people to use marijuana as an alternative to other prescribed drugs in treating the effects of certain ailments. The idea of legalizing marijuana is a touchy subject for many people; on the one hand its properties are beneficial to many people who suffer from many different illnesses, on the other hand, it is an illegal substance that has many addictive qualities. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency’s website, “Marijuana is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning that it has a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in the treatment, in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision” (DEA, 2011).... ...

    Read More

  • Proposal of Marijuana Legalization

    1514 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many could argue that marijuana is destructive physically as well as mentally. “The National Institute on Drug Abuse says marijuana can cause heart irregularities, lung problems, and addiction” (Welch). “One joint can be just as damaging to [the lungs] as smoking at least two and a half cigarettes” (Ruff). According to Dr. Tom Wright, director of a substance abuse treatment center for adolescents in Rockford, “teens may be especially sensitive to marijuana’s effects because their brains are still being formed” (MJ Rebuttal). However, the marijuana legalization proposition would have tight restrictions and regulations by the states that would eliminate some of those issues, such as age. These facts are not consistent; the evidence is not backed from reliable sources. One institute is referred to, but more experts are needed to verify the information.

    Read More

  • Benefits of Medical Marijuana

    1884 Words  | 4 Pages

    In an the article titled medical use of marijuana the topic is that of people who uses marijuana for medical reasons verses those who uses it just because. There are indications that marijuana is sometimes used to alleviate pain from cancer, to reduce nausea from chemotherapy, and to mitigate the wasting syndrome of AIDS. Studies have suggested that the medical use of marijuana is common among people with HIV/AIDS (CAMJ). There was a survey that involved telephone interviews with Ontario male adults eighteen years and older and completed with 2508 people. In the weighted sample 49 respondents reported using marijuana for a medical reason in the year preceding the survey, a total of 173 respondents reported using marijuana, but not for medical reasons. The remaining 2305 respondents in the weighted sample reported no use of marijuana in the preceding year (CAMJ). In this article it was also stated that compared with nonusers, those who use marijuana for any reason tend to be younger, more likely to have alcohol problems and more likely to have used cocaine in their lifetime. Those who use marijuana for medical reasons were similar to other users but more likely to use cocaine. About 2 percent of the population can claim the right to use marijuana for medical reasons, considering their needs, confronts the growth of a system to make sure they have entry to quality-controlled marijuana for medical use and could increase arguments for decriminalization of marijuana for personal use. The use of marijuana for any reason was linked with a male, comparative youth, smoking cigarettes, a lot of drinking, and the use of cocaine (CAMJ). Additional research has to be performed to decide whether uses with alcohol, drugs and other lifestyle choices influence the want for marijuana use and viewpoint in its medical benefits.

    Read More

  • Marijuana Should Not Be Legalized

    2079 Words  | 5 Pages

    My best friend used to smoke marijuana on a regular basis. Over time, he developed many obvious bad habits and changed his life style tremendously. He started getting lazy with schoolwork, and did not show much interest in anything at all. His parents noticed all these side effects that had been occurring but were unaware that their son smoked marijuana. After the grades fell so much, they decided to take him to get checked out because they were afraid he had developed some sort of ADD. They come to find out that because of him smoking so much marijuana it had led to brain problems, memory problems and affected his thinking skills. He was unable to stay concentrated on something and constantly was out of breath when any physical activity took place. My friend finally quit smoking marijuana because he saw what it was doing to his life. Many teens try marijuana not knowing all the side effects that come with this drug. This drug has many misconceptions from when it is really legal to what marijuana will actually do to your body. 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.

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Marijuana

    2019 Words  | 5 Pages

    For thousands of years human beings have attempted to find ways to get passed the struggles of their lives. With the pain of the world stopping people from enjoying simple pleasures, sometimes there is a need for help. Marijuana brings millions of people relief from the pain they feel on a day-to-day basis. This completely natural plant which helped so many people has puzzled the leaders of our nation for a long time. The THC in marijuana causes its users to experience a mild-huluciginic or high. The effect that marijuana has on a person has prevented the product from being legalized. Many other details about the plant, like the speculation of it being a gateway drug, have put another blockage on its legalization. Even though there are speculations about the plant, the benefit that it brings to the table most definitely out way its disadvantages. Marijuana can also alleviate several symptoms associated with cancer and Aids treatments and disorders. While Marijuana is effective as a medicine, it is also extremely lucrative. The economic benefits that Marijuana brings to the table are endless. Upon marijuana’s legalization, the economy would experience an immediate influx. Legalization of Marijuana would also drastically reduce crime in our cities and form a more productive society through its positive uses. The benefits that marijuana brings medically and economically are considerable enough to legalize its use medically or recreational.

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Medical Marijuana

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many other uses for medical cannabis including treating symptoms of IBS, Chron’s disease and other gastrointestinal disorders, pain relief from cancer and multiple sclerosis, the prevention of Alzheimer’s and helping individuals suffering from ADD, seizures or Tourette’s. Unfortunately, the federal government fails to see the many benefits of cannabis and clear proof shown in the countless peer-reviewed studies done through the years and instead maintains its classification as one of the most dangerous drugs with no acceptable medical benefits. More and more states are taking steps to regain their rightful authority from an over-reaching federal government, and taking the necessary steps to offer relief to many patients suffering from a wide array of maladies.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Ideal Culture And Real Culture

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marijuana is a cannabis plant that provides cerebral hallucinogens and body relaxation when the smoke from the plant is inhaled. Currently, marijuana is legal in twenty-nine states across the the country for those who own a medical license for the drug. Although it is legal, the ideal culture of the U.S. will still find this substance froundupon, due to the fact of how the mainstream media perceives it as a gateway drug. On the contrary, marijuana has many health benefits that aid those who prefer a more natural medicinal drug. According to the article, The Highs and Lows of Marijuana, written by Jill Cavolet, concurs, mari­juana has been used by patients experiencing che­motherapy-induced anorexia, nausea and vomiting, pain, and forms of spasticity,” (2016, 2). By reading this, one can see that marijuana is a helpful and useful drug that many take, not to be a criminal, but to medicate in a natural state. The people utilizing this drug are not bad people, but those who struggle with an ongoing medical problem seeking for a healthy feeling

    Read More

  • The Benefits Of Marijuana Legalization

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    A recent survey conducted by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found that approximately ninety seven and a half million Americans aged twelve years and older have tried marijuana. Once stigmatized as an immoral and dangerous drug, Marijuana is now the most illegally used drug in America today (Marijuana Legalization). There has been a recorded growing amount of leniency towards marijuana usage in the past year as well as an increase in medical experiments using the drug. Currently twenty three states allow the usage of medical marijuana. Not only is marijuana being used as an alternative treatment in the medical field, the drug has become a new product on the market in states that have legalized its recreational use. Over the past few years Alaska, Oregon, the District of Columbia, Colorado and Washington State voted to allow the recreational usage of marijuana (The Bulletin). According to statistics gathered in Colorado, nearly four thousand people have been employed in jobs working with the growth and sale of marijuana. The marijuana industry is rapidly providing new opportunities in both the medical and business fields (The Bulletin).

    Read More

  • Marijuana's Disadvantages

    2048 Words  | 5 Pages

    Marijuana has been a problem since the early 1900s and continues to create problems. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics created a law which prohibited marijuana use in 1937 (Reinarman 128). Twenty years later, THC (delta-9-tetrahudrocannabinol) was discovered to be the main psychoactive component in marijuana causing its negative side effects (Reinarman 129). Almost seventy-five years later, the United States is still battling the problem of illegal marijuana use. Although scientists discovered the negative effects fifty years ago, the information has gone practically unnoticed and the amount of users continues to increase. Approximately half of the United States population has used marijuana a...

    Read More

  • Positive Effects on Legalizing Marijuana

    1020 Words  | 3 Pages

    As you know, Marijuana is the most frequently used illegal drug in the U.S causing a huge controversy in today’s society. I think that in some ways not legalizing marijuana could hurt us and our country. I know that you, as a member of the CALM, feel very strongly on your opinion of legalizing marijuana. The CALM does make very convincing arguments about crime, youth, and health with the use of marijuana. While some of these arguments can be persuasive to many, I think that my following propositions on crime, health, and medicinal marijuana also provide a swaying argument.

    Read More

  • Smoking Marijuana Benefits

    227 Words  | 1 Pages

    A few minutes of smoking your heart begins to pump faster, between twenty to fifty times faster per minute, causing the blood pressure to decline having high chance of risking a heart attack. The risks of smoking marijuana go up with heavy use. Marijuana also limits your brain's performance; it changes and losses brain cells causing the development of the brain to weaken verbal skills , communication skills,and it lowers the ability to learning because of the shortened attention span. It affects not only the brain, but smoking marijuana can also be very dangerous to developing lungs because it causes your lungs to become weak and cause respiratory distress. Regular smokers can have the same problems as tobacco smokers like daily cough, having

    Read More

  • Smoking Marijuana Benefits

    344 Words  | 1 Pages

    The benefits of smoking marijuana and the bad things of smoking marijuana .For a long time people have been with different opinons of whether it was a good thing or wether it was bad smoking marijuana .There is a lot of people that think it is good that marijuana is legalized but there is also a lot of people that think it is bad because a lot of people would be smoking it everywhere and there would also be younger people that would smoke because they would think it is good because they would see everyone else smoking that they would want to smoke too.

    Read More

More about Legalizing Marijuana Benefits

Open Document