Marijuana Opposition Arguments Go Up in Smoke: A Persuasive Speech Presented in COMM 1100 section 024D
Camil Grabowski
University of Connecticut
Legalization of Marijuana in the United States
Introduction
I. Back when Barrack Obama ran for president in 2008 he was asked about drugs and he admitted to using marijuana. He said, “When I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point.” The man who ran our country for the last 8 years used this illegal drug when he was younger.
II. The purpose of this speech is to persuade everyone to support the legalization of recreational marijuana.
III. In 1970, congress made a decision to classify marijuana as a Schedule I substance considering it equally as dangerous as heroin and
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ecstasy. According to a Gallup poll 44% of Americans have tried marijuana in 2015. Many of our presidents have tried marijuana. So why does it still remain illegal? IV. Marijuana should be legalized for recreational use because prohibition doesn’t work, its safer than alcohol and cigarettes, and it has many medical benefits. Transition: To begin, I will describe in more detail why prohibition of marijuana doesn’t work Body I.
Prohibition doesn’t work
a. Some people think that keeping marijuana illegal helps protect people from using the drug.
b. By keeping marijuana illegal in our country it just causes more problems because it is unregulated and it is wasting the governments money.
c. The prohibition has not stopped people from using marijuana and the numbers of users is increasing
i. “Over 100 million Americans nationally have used marijuana despite prohibition, and one in ten – according to current government survey data – use it regularly” (Armentano).
ii. According to a Gallup poll 44% of Americans have tried marijuana in 2015 (Ferner).
d. The cost of keeping marijuana illegal and under control is extremely expensive; the government spends billions of dollars annually to enforce the law but can’t keep up with the black market.
i. “Marijuana prohibition now costs state and federal government as much as $20 billion a year, an economist told The Huffington Post” (Sledge).
e. Marijuana is sold on the black market so anyone could buy it because it is unregulated.
i. Kids say its easier to buy marijuana than it is to buy alcohol or cigarettes.
ii. Drug dealers don’t care who they sell to as long as they have the
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money. f. Legalizing marijuana would better our country because we would be able to regulate who is able to buy it and it would save billions of dollars Transition: Now that I’ve described why prohibition doesn’t work, lets turn to my second main point, why marijuana is safer than alcohol and cigarettes. II. Marijuana is safer than alcohol and cigarettes a. Many people think that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that it’s a gate way drug b. There is no reason for marijuana to be considered a dangerous drug or a gateway drug because it has never killed anyone and there is no evidence that marijuana is a gateway drug c. You can’t overdose on marijuana i. The estimated lethal dose of marijuana is so high that it is physically impossible to achieve (Armentano). d. Cigarettes and Alcohol kill more than marijuana i. “Around 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning. Similarly, more than 400,000 deaths each year are attributed to tobacco smoking” (Armentano). ii. Comparing this statistic to the annual deaths caused by smoking marijuana which is zero (Armentano). e. Marijuana is not a gateway drug i. There is no evidence that marijuana makes someone want to try other drugs ii. marijuana is illegal and people have to buy from a dealer that may try selling other drugs Transition: We’ve learned why marijuana is safer than cigarettes and alcohol. Now lets consider the medical benefits of marijuana. III. Marijuana has many medical benefits a. Many people say that marijuana should not be used for medical treatment and that there are other pharmaceutical drugs that can do the job. b. By keeping marijuana illegal people are missing out on a drug that outperforms pharmaceutical drugs. c. For many serious medical conditions marijuana is the best option without the side effects painkillers have i. “Other studies have concluded that the active components in cannabis produce palliative effects in cancer patients by preventing nausea, vomiting and pain and by stimulating appetite” (What the Science Says). ii. For people suffering from cancer marijuana not only helps with chemotherapy symptoms but it has been shown that the main chemicals in marijuana help reduce the number of cancer cells (What the Science Says). iii. “Opiate painkillers are notorious for causing severe nausea, disorientation and drowsiness, while prolonged use can increase tolerance and, in some cases, result in severe dependence or addiction” (What the Science Says). iv. Marijuana is a better alternative for easing the pain without the side effects and addictiveness painkillers bring. d. Marijuana should be the future of our medicine because it is better and safer than medication that is currently being used. Transition: In summary, I’ve covered key points about why marijuana should become legalized Conclusion I. As my speech comes down to an end I would like to remind everyone my key points II. Marijuana should become legalized because a. Probation of marijuana only hurts us b. Marijuana is safer than cigarettes and alcohol c. Marijuana has many medical benefits III. We have a great opportunity to legalize marijuana, and with your help, we can make it happen by signing this petition. IV. The marijuana debate has been going on for some time now but it is now clear that it just makes sense to legalize marijuana. References Armentano, P.
(2015, August 28). NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws. Retrieved April 8, 2016, from http://norml.org/component/zoo/category/recent-research-on-medical-marijuana
DEA / Drug Scheduling. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2016, from http://www.dea.gov/druginfo/ds.shtml
Ferner, M. (2105, July 23). More Americans Than Ever Say They’ve Tried Marijuana, Gallup Poll Finds. Retrieved April 8, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marijuana-poll_us_55b010c6e4b07af29d577562
Harrell, D. (2008, February 12). Obama's Drug Use Debated. Retrieved April 8, 2016, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obamas-drug-use-debated/
Hill, B. (n.d.). Pennsylvania state senate: Legalize marijuana for medical/recreational use. Retrieved April 8, 2016, from https://www.change.org/p/pennsylvania-state-senate-legalize-marijuana-for-medical-recreational-use
Sledge, M. (2013, April 20). Marijuana Prohibition Now Costs The Government $20 Billion A Year: Economist. Retrieved April 8, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/20/marijuana-prohibition-costs_n_3123397.html
What the Science Says. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2016, from
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/medical_cannabis_research_what_does_the_evidence_say
The cost of marijuana prohibition is gigantic. Including policing, court appearances, and incarceration, the bill on taxpayers is endless and a large amount of this money is for cases of simple marijuana possession. Daniel Egan and Jeffrey A. Miron estimate that, “[L]egalizing marijuana would save...$8 billion per year in prohibition enforcement costs”(Budgetary,17). This is a huge amount of money that could make its way elsewhere into the infrastructure like drug awareness and prevention. Not to mention the priceless amount of time given back to the police forces to peruse more harmful crimes. In their report the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs finds “[A]pproximately 50,000 drug-related charges in 1999.... Overall, 54%... were for possession [of cannabis]”(Cannabis,130). As far as budget costs for any part of the judicial system go, a 54% reduction in anything would go along way. The legalisat...
The purpose of the speech is to inform the audience about the pro’s and con’s of marijuana as well as the medical uses of marijuana .
Marijuana used to be legal in the mid-1930s, “until the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed by Congress” (Drug Legalization) . Congress passed this to make it illegal to have sold marijuana to anyone without having tax on the product (Drug Legalization). From that point on, marijuana was made illegal because of the few tax stamps that were being sold. During the 1970’s and the 1984’s, Congress was revoking laws that involved drug offenses (Drug Legalization). At the same time, the federal government was toughening the drug sales and possession laws (Drug Legalization). This has been going on for the past 80 years (Drug Legalization). Doctors then started to recognize the medical uses of marijuana (Rich). That made marijuana become deliberately sold in pharmacies (Rich). “The origins of marijuana prohibition in the United States stem from fears of a criminal element sneaking into the country, in t...
Through recent years, society has been faced with the controversial and obtrusive issue of whether or not to legalize marijuana. In the past, and even still in the present, marijuana has often been regarded as an illicit and malicious drug. However, research shows that marijuana is not nearly as bad as society deems it to be. Rather it can be used to greatly benefit humanity. Cannabis’ (marijuana) range of beneficial uses include: helping former veterans cope with life after war, alleviate symptoms for people who suffer with Parkinson 's and epilepsy, and replace prescription drugs. This disputation regarding marijuana can be solved by simply legalizing it for recreational purposes, and implementing laws and regulations similar to that of alcohol.
The public has been highly respondent to the idea of legalizing marijuana. Many states are making decisions independently from the federal government. “A growing share of the American public supports liberalizing marijuana laws. For years surveys by CNN and other news organizations have found that most Americans agree pot smokers should not go to jail. In polls taken this year by Zogby, CBS News, and Rasmussen Repor...
30 Mar 2014. http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/09/04/marijuana-use-creeping-higher-drug-survey-finds>.
In the last fiscal year alone, marijuana brought 70 million dollars in tax revenue in the state of Colorado. Colorado was the first state to legalize marijuana recreationally in the fall of 2012, and since then three other states and the District of Columbia have legalized the plant. Based off of sales in states that have legalized marijuana recreationally, if all fifty states legalized marijuana, they would bring in a combined 3 billion dollars in tax revenue yearly. That much money from sales of the plant alone could help to stabilize the suffering economy. Moreover, the American Government would be able to control the plant and distribute it how ever they see fit. The economic growth marijuana legalization could bring to the United States outweighs any argument against
The public presser to allow the medical use of marijuana, marijuana Is the most commonly used illegal drug in the united states and is considered by young adults to be the illicit drug with t...
Rosenthal, Ed, and Steve Kubby (2004) "Marijuana Should Be Legalized for Medical Use." Retrieved from Opposing Viewpoints: The War on Drugs.
Legalization of Marijuana has quickly become a controversial issue in America. In the United States, legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes is spreading to the state level. For example, in November 1996, the people of California and Arizona voted to legalize marijuana for medicinal reasons. As a result of Proposition 215 in California, patients now smoke marijuana provided their physician recommends its usage. A prescription is not required, and marijuana continues to be illegal to prescribe. The Clinton administration responded that it “would not recognize these decisions, and would prosecute physicians who recommend or provide marijuana to their patients.” Although California and Arizona are the only two states to have already passed laws regulating marijuana usage, twenty-six states and the District of Columbia have laws and resolutions regarding marijuana usage. These laws and resolutions range from establishing therapeutic research programs, to allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana, to asking the federal government to lift the ban. Despite the states’ desires to have marijuana legalized for medicinal purposes, the US National Institutes of Health examined all existing clinical evidence about smoked marijuana and concluded that, “There is no scientifically sound evidence that smoked marijuana is medically superior to currently available therapies.”
Sledge, Matt. "Marijuana Prohibition Now Costs The Government $20 Billion A Year: Economist." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 20 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.
Despite the 1976 ruling by the federal government that marijuana has “no acceptable medical use”, sixteen states have passed medical marijuana laws that allow for patient use o...
Marijuana has more benefits of it being federally legalized than keeping it illegal. The amount of money that can be generated from the marijuana plant is astonishing and would really help America’s economy. Also the best way to prevent teenagers and adolescents from using drugs or alcohol is to inform them on the truth. By classifying marijuana a schedule one drug and cocaine a schedule two the United States government is promoting that cocaine is bad but not as bad when compared to marijuana.
To the AIDS or cancer patient, marijuana is the plant that fights nausea and appetite loss. To the nutritionist, its seed is second only to the soybean in nutritional value and is a source of cooking oil and vitamins. To the paper or cloth manufacturer, it is the plant that provided much of our paper and clothing for hundreds of years and produces four times more fiber per acre than trees. To the environmentalist, it is the plant that could greatly slow deforestation, restore robbed nutrients by other crops, and help prevent erosion. Preliminary findings show the drug may prove effective against glaucoma and asthma, and control such side nausea in cancer treatment. I concretely believe that marijuana should be legalized in the United States, primarily for the use of medicinal purposes. In technical or for the average American, marijuana, it is used only for recreational purposes. I think marijuana is a plant that could save many lives if it was made legal. My goal is to reverse prejudices, relieve ignorance, and inform people of the known and potential therapeutic uses of this remarkable plant.
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.