Exploring the Pros and Cons of Marijuana Legalization

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Recommended: Positive impacts of marijuana legalization

On College of Cannabis, a website offering facts about marijuana, an article, titled “Top 26 Most Interesting Facts About Marijuana,” stated, “Each day in the United States, around 6,000 new people try weed for the very first time.” Weed, commonly used around the world today, is scientifically called cannabis, but has many different names to it. While individuals usually do not use the scientific term “cannabis,” the most popular names of the drug include marijuana, weed, loud, and many more. In the last couple of decades, the legalization of marijuana has been a heavily debated topic in the United States. On both sides, there are those who support and those who are against legalizing marijuana, and this issue has been disputed for various reasons. Although marijuana has been scientifically proven to benefit a person's health, there are also downfalls to the use of it as well. As drug users heavily abuse marijuana, they tend to face adversity, but a lot of other negative effects of this drug are far worse than adversity and can cause extreme downfalls within users.
Few may argue that marijuana is beneficial and has harmless effects on the body and mind to where it is acceptable for use in medical purposes, such as Cohen, who states, “Currently, those diagnosed with HIV or AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, or severe muscle spasms are eligible to receive prescriptions for medical marijuana” (Cohen). According to author Amber Moore, it has been stated that the chemicals known as Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol(CBD) produce psychoactive effects by combining with special receptors which supposedly are also involved in pain sensations (Medical Daily). Unlike the chemical THC, CBD does not contribute to the “high” feeling, but rather ...

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Cohen, Matt. "Advocates Want To Expand List Of Qualifying Conditions for Medical
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Kreshaw, Sarah. "Marijuana Is A Gateway." New York Times. N.p., 22 June 2013. Web. 30 Oct.
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