Legalization of Marijuana

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Our society has encountered a problem that has long been disputed. Is it universal health reform or the debt ceiling? The answer would be neither of those but instead the use of the seemingly harmless drug; marijuana. With the use of marijuana becoming so popular in recent times, people are questioning whether or not as to if there are any medicinal benefits from smoking the plant. Should we legalize marijuana? What effect will that have on our society? Should we legalize marijuana for the medicinal benefits but abstain from recreational use? If we were to legalize marijuana, it would be safer (in moderation) than alcohol and tobacco, it could prove to be medicinally useful, and it has potential to become a gateway drug to other experimental substances.
Is marijuana safe? Marijuana does not have all of the harmful chemicals that cigarettes have nor does it yield the effects of alcohol on the mind. In fact, NORML.org stated that “cannabis remained in the United States pharmacopoeia until 1941, removed only after Congress passed the Marihuana Tax Act which severely hampered physicians from prescribing it.” According to Paul Armentano of the Huffington Post, “A February 2011 World Health Organization report concluded that alcohol consumption is responsible for a staggering four percent of all deaths worldwide, more than AIDS, tuberculosis or violence. No similar statistics were compiled by the agency for cannabis.” Marijuana is responsible for virtually no deaths while consuming alcohol kills roughly 2.5 million people each year and according to the CDC, “Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, and lung diseases (including emphysema, bronchitis, and chronic airway obstruction).” and “For every person who dies from a smoking-re...

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...e used for something else other than getting high, such as aiding in the fight against cancer? Though marijuana has great potential to be medicinally beneficial to one’s health, it also has the potential to drive one down a dark road of harder drug use.

Works Cited
"About Marijuana." NORML.org. NORML, 2013. Web. 17 Oct 2013.
Armentano, Paul. "Alcohol or Cannabis? No Question Which Substance Poses a
Greater Risk to Health."HuffingtonPost.com. Huffington Post, 23 Aug 2013. Web.
Gupta, Sanjay, dir. WEED. CNN, 2013. Film. 17 Oct 2013.
Messerli, Joe. "Balanced Politics." BalancedPolitics.org. N.p.. Web. 10 Oct 2013.
"ON THE ROAD TO DRUG ABUSE." drugfreeworld.org. Foundation for a Drug-Free World, n.d.
Web.
"Project CBD." ProjectCBD.org. Project CBD, n.d. Web. 27 Oct 2013.
"Smoking and Tobacco Use: Fast Facts." cdc.gov. Center of Disease Control and Prevention . Web.

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