Persuasive Essay On Legalizing Marijuana

The tug-of-war between good and bad rages on in the marijuana debate.

Is it possible that our forefathers didn’t know marijuana could be smoked? Historically cannabis was seen as one of the most versatile plants. It was used for paper documents, sail making, rope, fibers for clothing, and even Ford motor company began testing it as an alternate fuel source. It was a valuable agricultural commodity even though it was labour intensive to refine. Once cotton became a better resource with less labour intensity, cannabis fell out of favour as a cash crop. This had much to do with the timing of bad media and fear that was generated at the start of the 1900's. At one time, farmers in Virginia state were required by law to grow it because it was such a critical crop. It is a fast growing plant, sometimes growing 2 inches per day and can grow in a variety of regions. It was used in Russia, Asia, South America, Europe, India, the Middle East; almost the entire world, as a medicinal source for a myriad of ailments. It was a drug before humans had drug addictions and could be found in

history all over the world for thousands of years without documentation of death, madness or crime associated with it.
The US and Canada had basically the same issues at the beginning of the 19th century with regards to the general thought process of marijuana use. The Chinese immigration to Canada happened at approximately the same time as the migrant Mexicans drifted north to the US, both groups of men came to North America to work and lead better lives. The Chinese and Mexican immigrants were looked down upon by the white Canadian and American populations. Organized labour unions began to see the" hongs" and the "coolies" as a threat, and as the labour market was flooded, wages decreased. This resulted in general fear, and racism began pulsing through the workforce. With the different ethnicities came opium and marijuana use. Although cannabis had been used medicinally by people, including Queen Victoria, for hundreds of years, laws prohibiting the use and detrimental statements were made about the ravages of marijuana without any scientific evidence. Anti drug laws were put into place to harass and deport the minorities. Mexicans were looked down upon by the whites and therefore so was marijuana smoking. The Chinese were disassociated from whites and not allowed into saloons and so took up opium dens.“Mexican high on marijuana kills family of three,” and “SHAME HORROR DESPAIR WEED WITH ROOTS IN HELL” were some of the front cover headlines that were run in all the major news papers and magazines in the early 1900’s. Also, in 1922 pioneering feminist, Emily Murphy, published The Black Candle, which claimed marijuana turns its users into homicidal maniacs. Harry J. Anslinger was the first commissioner of the U.S. Treasury Department, Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1930. He carried this title until the 1960’s. Anslinger was determined to make marijuana known as “a drug that causes insanity, criminality and death - the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind.” Anslinger convinced the government and the media to turn against pot and he was responsible for the marijuana tax, which imposed taxes on any cannabis product. Because of this any products made from cannabis fibers were heavily taxed and therefor production using this versatile fiber decreased. In the 1950’s you could be sentenced 2-10 years of prison for a first time offence of having any amount of pot. In the 1960’s president Kennedy released a report that stated pot did not induce violence, also that marijuana was not a gateway drug. The following president, Nixon, made sure pot stayed as illegal as possible. Conversely, in 1977 Pierre Trudeau told a group of students that “If you have a joint and you’re smoking it for your private pleasure, you shouldn’t be hassled.” Anslingers' religious vehemence against marijuana for 30 years was the nail in the coffin for any change of marijuana acceptance.

“And we free up the justice system and police resources from criminalizing something that honestly is maybe not good for you but shouldn’t be a focus of interfering with adults’ freedom to make their own choices.”
-Justin Trudeau, leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, 2013-present

There are over 25 million people who smoke pot annually, used either recreationally or for medicinal purposes. These 25 million people have exercised free will when choosing to use marijuana, and most of these people have easy access to the substance because it can be easily grown all over the world. Marijuana has been used for over 10,000 years, dating back to the Egyptians in 3150 BC, who used marijuana as a medical treatment for hemorrhoids and eye sores. Even with proof of its entire historic use people in today's society are still very hesitant to accept this drug. The war on pot costs the US government roughly 42 million dollars year and is a huge expense to the justice system. Whereas if marijuana was legalized it would be making the government money in tax dollars. Moreover, the legalization of marijuana would reduce the flow of money from the criminal gangs and increase the money to the economy. As a matter of fact, there would be a reduction in gang violence if marijuana were to be legalized. This is because the government would be in control of regulating and distributing the drug. Because of government control there would be less illegal dealing, which leads to turf wars, gangs and violence. Making pot illegal makes it more valuable than if it was legalized. Cannabis is a top cash crop in the United States which could be easily redistributed into the economy, and out of the pockets of drug dealers and gangs.

“In the U.S., "African-Americans continue to be arrested at nearly three and one half times the rate of whites" on marijuana charges.”
-NAACP

The criminalization of pot has lead to racism and discrimination.

Law enforcement has failed at regulating pot without discriminating against a race. This discrimination is partially due to the history of the drug coming into America. Because marijuana smoking was introduced to the American population by immigrants, Hispanic people, along with black people, are stereotyped as marijuana users and drug dealers. If pot were to be decriminalized and legalized this uncalled for stereotyping based on race wouldn’t happen as often. Additionally, we would have far fewer people going through the justice system. This not only would reduce our court costs, but first time pot offenders, who have no criminal history, would be kept away from all the negative influences jails have to offer. We would be putting a halt to the formation of new offenders by not having them in the jail system to begin

with.

"Marijuana is less addictive than both alcohol and tobacco."
-Earl Blumenauer, U.S. Representative for Oregon’s 3rd congressional district, 1996-present.

Marijuana is seen as a gateway drug that leads its users to try, and become addicted to harder drugs. This is a complete myth that cannot be confirmed nor denied. Although a myth, pot supporters think the only way people could justify marijuana being a gateway drug is not because of the addictiveness of marijuana, but rather dealers trying to push harder drugs into the hands of their clients. However, if marijuana were to be legalized this client-dealer relationship would never be formed in the first place. As a result of legalizing marijuana, we would be reducing the amount of harder drugs used by pot smokers. Health issues that are a result of smoking pot are next to nothing. Marijuana is not a lethal drug and is considered to be less addictive and safer than drugs like caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco, as well as prescribed drugs such as Xanax, Valium, Adderall, and Oxycontin. The only addictive ingredient in pot, if it is not laced which would never happen if it were government regulated, is THC which is found to be less toxic than nicotine. Finally, if cannabis were to be legalized all of its wonderful by-products would become more accepted. Hemp paper is an amazing alternative to regular paper. Hemp is a fast growing plant that has endless uses for its fibers. In fact, hemp is a very valuable agricultural commodity, and can be used as a bio fuel source.

“In annual surveys of Rhode Island communities that receive Drug Free community grants, many report that more than 50 percent of youth surveyed do not think daily marijuana use poses any serious risk of harm.”
-Nancy Devaney, Chairwomen of Ocean State Prevention Allience

The legalization process of any drug, in this case marijuana, generates a massive amount of exposure for the drug. Because of this exposure many negative consequences can, and will emerge. Such consequences include the promise that the drug is safe and will be regulated; showing the youth that because the government says it's okay then there will be no consequences that follow the use of marijuana. It’s also difficult to hear both sides of the story, teenagers, and people in general, who are interested in using pot may only think about the positive effects and give no consideration to negative effects that may arise.

”Today’s marijuana is 300 percent to 800 percent more potent than the pot of yesteryear."
-Heidi Heilman, journalist for the Providence Journal

Its wishful thinking to believe that marijuana is a good drug with no consequences. There are many safety issues involved with the use of marijuana, especially in its modern far more potent form. When intoxicated your memory and leaning abilities decrease, your motor control skills also decrease dramatically. Considering this, how are we supposed to regulate driving under the influence of marijuana, we have yet to produce an efficient accurate way of determining the THC content in the human body without performing a blood test. Furthermore, the legalization of marijuana in other countries, such as Amsterdam, has gone completely south. Children, younger and younger are being exposed to pot because there is no law against smoking it in public. Not to mention local safe places, such as coffee houses, are the new centre for crime and bootlegging.

“[Florida’s] proposed amendment for medical marijuana would allow "people who alleged minor ailments such as muscle spasms, neck pain, back pain and even menstrual cramps (to qualify) for government-sanctioned pot-smoking."
-Sheriff Grady Judd, Sheriff at Polk County 1972-present

A recent survey, conducted by the Centre for Disease Control, shows that more than half of all high school students in the USA have tried marijuana at least once throughout their high school career. This is a disturbing status considering Northwestern University found that pot users have an abnormal brain structure and poor memory. Going to school high will affect learning and the younger students start consuming marijuana the more it decreases cognitive capacity which affects IQ. We always hear the comparison of smoking pot vs. smoking cigarettes. Nicotine does not affect cognitive capacity, where as marijuana attacks cognitive skills and can have long lasting damage. Marijuana is not only terrible for cognitive health it can lead to mental disabilities, such as schizophrenia, and can have negative effects on overall physical health. Granted, marijuana has less consequential effects than drugs like methamphetamine, but it is still a very unsafe drug that can lead to birth defects such as mental abnormalities. Additionally, marijuana has no legitimate medical applications and the use of medical marijuana is not necessary when there are different, more efficient safer drugs that can be used instead. By purposefully introducing people to pot for medical reasons there is an increased chance of addiction, which could lead a person to try harder drugs. Although not proven to be a gateway drug, we see an increased amount of people moving from marijuana to drugs like magic mushrooms, MDMA and LSD, all dangerous drugs that could be rejected by the body and lead to death. Addiction, especially among women, is very common. Even though addiction is extremely common, it is rejected as a “real addiction” by the public. Because of this we have fewer resources to help people kick their marijuana habits. Addictions are developed when the users have a high tolerance. Studies at Washington State University show that women build up a tolerance to TCH faster than men do. Because of this we see more women becoming addicted to marijuana because they’re unable to reach a high they used to experience. Marijuana is just like any other drug we see that gets abused, the only difference is that because it’s mostly organic we don’t consider it to be as dangerous.

Marijuana has been around for 10’s of thousands of years and used to be seen as one of the most versatile fibers. It was a drug before humans had drug addictions, and can be found throughout history all over the world. Racism, media and the government have been some of the major reasons why it started to become feared and thought of as a drug that causes insanity. While marijuana may have less mental, physical, and cognitive consequences than most other street drugs, it is still a drug that should be controlled and regulated. However the extent of control, regulation, and punishment may need to be rethought and revamped. Both negative and positive aspects should be taken into consideration while redesigning the laws that surround it. We need to understand that the by-products of marijuana are not a drug, and can be used to better our planet. Finally, the negative racial stigma that has followed marijuana around for the last century should be discarded and forgotten.