Should Marijuana Be Legalized

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Should Marijuana be Legalized? Should marijuana be legalized? This is a question that, in recent years, has seen headlines of various news sources. It has become a big deal as a few states in the US have legalized it for recreational use and even more have legalized marijuana for medical use. There are many opinions on the legalization of marijuana. There are those who believe that marijuana should be legal for recreational use. Some believe that marijuana should only be legalized for medical use, and some who believe that marijuana should not be legal at all. There are multiple reasons on each stance that support that way of thinking. All these viewpoints, and reasons that support each view, will be looked at and discussed throughout this …show more content…

One of the various reasons why marijuana should not be legalized is the potential threat of driving while under the influence of marijuana. Under the effects of marijuana, the user can be prone to having weaker body movement, difficulty with problem solving and thinking in general (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2016). Should marijuana be legalized, it would become more widely available and more widely used by people; with that comes more opportunities for citizens to drive while under the influence of marijuana. A study on citizens in the Colorado and Washington states found that 43.6% of marijuana users have driven while feeling the effects of marijuana at least once (Davis et al, 2016). Furthermore, in Colorado, a state that has legalized recreational marijuana, 21.02% of all fatal traffic related deaths involved drivers that were under the influence of marijuana in 2015 …show more content…

Over the past few decades “90% of all cannabis research focused on the negative outcome of cannabis use” (Holt, 2016, para. 5). This was to support the 1937 Marihuana tax act (Holt, 2016), to show that using marijuana is bad for you and therefore even more reason why it should not be legal. There is not much known on the positive effects of marijuana usage because of this, There are many people that think marijuana is not addictive, although that is not entirely true as 30% of marijuana users may develop some degree of addiction; and minors that use marijuana before they are 18 are more likely to have addiction problems later on in their life (NIDA, 2016). Marijuana is usually known for causing mood changes when used and even giving altered senses (NIDA, 2016). This is why people use the drug, to get that feeling. There are many symptoms that come with the drug upon use; with heavier use, impaired body movement is a possible side effect (NIDA, 2016). To most, this is most likely an undesirable or unwanted effect of the drug; however, someone that has a disease such as cerebral palsy or huntington's disease may find this drug useful. Cerebral palsy is a disorder in which the patient experiences uncontrollable muscle behavior; such as lack of controlling muscle movement, stiffening of muscles, and even seizures (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2016).

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