Controversial Topics: Legalizing Marijuana

19 Feb. 2014. why-marijuana-should-be-legalized.htm>. Created: 03/25/14 02:16 PM

The commercials go on for a good thirty-seconds listing all of them, diarrhea, increased heart rate, temporary blindness, just to name a few. Oh and if you have thoughts of suicide, call your doctor. Smoking marijuana has actually even helped with depression. USC and SUNY Albany did a study on addictive behaviors on 4,440 people in 2005 and found that people who smoked marijuana daily or occasionally had lower levels of depression symptoms than those who never smoked marijuana (Smith,Dave). Some will still argue that smoking marijuana is bad for your lung... ... middle of paper ...

Almost every American has heard of marijuana and its many nicknames such as weed, MJ, Mary Jane, cannabis, etc. “Nearly 100 million Americans use marijuana.” (“About Marijuana”) NORML, an organization that advocates changing marijuana laws, states, “Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in America behind alcohol and tobacco.” (“About Marijuana.”) If this many people are using it, why has it not been legalized? Some would say it should remain illegal because it hurts people and is harmful to society. To a point, it can be hurtful to people and harmful to society by creating overeaters and mellowed out, couch-bums; however, marijuana itself has never been shown to kill anyone. It is just like alcohol and tobacco.

"21 Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC - Medical Marijuana - ProCon.org. "ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2014.

THC and marijuana promotes to relieve pain, control nausea and vomiting, and stimulate appetite in people with cancer and AIDS. Marijuana antiquated in America over the past 70+ years. Despite it includes many practical uses, medicinal and industrial, our Federal government insists on maintaining the status quo that the growth, possession and use of marijuana includes criminal despite the evidence that the legalization of marijuana retains positive influence on America. Marijuana antiquated as a harmful plant that can endanger lives and lasts as nothing more than an extra problem today’s society deals with. However, based on its economic value and medical benefits, the cannabis positives verify to outweigh its negatives with numerous other positives.

Kayla Morgan states that “It’s nearly impossible to overdose on marijuana, to do so; 1,500 pounds of marijuana would have to be smoked, or otherwise ingested in some form, in under 15 minutes,” (100) whereas users who drink alcohol run the risk of overdosing if they simply exceed their limit by a small amount, alcohol intoxication and overdose is very common. As such, with alcohol being dangerous and legal, tobacco products cause cancers of many kinds and kill many each year from those complications. Supporters of marijuana legalization do not sugar coat the fact that “it is a drug with mind-alter... ... middle of paper ... ...York Times 18 May 2013: A. 7. SIRS Researcher.

There are also medical benefits to marijuana. Cancer patients benefit from it so do people with depression. There is an ingredient call THC in marijuana that helps with nausea and vomiting. Marijuana stimulates your appetite, which helps people suffering with HIV and AIDS. It is also know to help people with anxiety and people suffering with glaucoma find it helps with the... ... middle of paper ... ...surveys show more than 14 million smoked marijuana regularly even though it is against the law and 25 million smoked in the past year.

06 Dec. 2013. "Pro's of Marijuana Legalization." MarijuanaToday.com. N.p., Aug. 1010. Web.

The movie was based on the theory that smoking reefer, as marijuana is commonly referred to as, caused people to be “out of there mind” (White). The recreational use of marijuana was believed to have been introduced by immigrants from Mexico. Today, marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in America. Surveys prove that marijuana has been used by almost 100 million Americans, with 25 million saying they have smoked marijuana this past year, and more than 14 million saying they smoke marijuana regularly despite the illegal laws against its use (norml.org). No matter how hard the government works in reality the marijuana plant is relatively unregulated.

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 Oct. 2013. Web. 09 Dec. 2013. "Legalizing Marijuana." CQ Researcher.