Facts About Marijuana

894 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Legalizing Marijuana Argumentative Essay

Facts About Marijuana Weed, pot, reefer, grass, dope, hash, herb, Mary Jane, ganja, skunk, boom, kif, gangster; these are all common names for the drug marijuana. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States, which makes it a problem. Certain officials believe that legalizing this potentially harmful drug will solve the problems that are associated with it. But that is not true. In fact, legalizing marijuana would only make the situation much worse. Although many people argue both sides, it seems to come down to the question of "what will the people actually use this substance for?" Some say medical purposes, others say just for a quick high, but, no matter what way you look at it, marijuana is dangerous and it is not something Americans should have freely being distributed on their streets. Arguments have been made that if marijuana is legalized then the gang wars and drug money killings that go on will stop, along with the black market and criminal activities that are related to drug sales and use. In actuality, most cases of drug related violence and crime are "committed not only because people want to buy drugs, but more often because people use drugs" (Claim I 1). Drugs alter a person's behaviors, which initiates criminal activity. Police officers can attest to the fact that the use of drugs is often associated with violent crime behavior, not necessarily selling or buying them. In the long run, legalization will lead to increased availability, which will lead to increased use. I Increased drug use will make the statistics regarding drug related crimes increase; even if the drugs were bought legally. The Black market wouldn't go away either. If the United States legalizes marijuana, they are, going... ... middle of paper ... ... Legalizing it would only lead to greater health problems in today's population. Also, legalization of marijuana, like the legalization of cigarettes and alcohol, only tells the people that it is okay for them to do it. Thousands of medical studies have shown that it does not do any good for anyone's body and it should stay illegal to prevent it from doing mass destruction on the population. The world has enough problems that it is facing; let's not make marijuana another one. Bibliography: Works Cited Claim I. 15 April 2001 http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/legaliz/claim01.htm. Claim III. 15 April 2001 http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/legaliz/claim03.htm. Claim V. 15 April 2001 http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/legaliz/claim05.htm. Lapey M.D., Janet D. "Marijuana is NOT medicine". 15 April 2001 http://www.fmr.no/eng/ecad-medicine.html.

Show More
Related

  • The Pros And Cons Of Marijuana

    1175 Words  | 3 Pages

    The word Marijuana also known as cannabis, pot, weed, herb and green stuff has been universally criticized since the beginning of the century. According to (Fitzgerald, K. T., Bronstein, A. C., & Newquist, K. L. 2013) “the term "marijuana” typically refers to tobacco-like preparations of the leaves and flowers” (Fitzgerald et al., (2013). (McGuinness, Teena M, PhD,P.M.H.-N.P., B.C. (2009) stated that “Cannabis cigarettes are also called joints, nails, and reefers; pipes for smoking are also known as bongs and bowls” (McGuinness et al., 2009) The truth is that the legalization of Marijuana has positive effects on both society and the wellbeing of individuals and should be legalized. The government can monitor and tax Marijuana thus helping the economy. Secondly Marijuana can be used as medical therapy; thirdly there would be less youth and adults in jails and prisons. Conversely the use of Marijuana can be proven highly addictive among individuals in our society; Marijuana is more harmful that cigarettes and Marijuana is known as the (Gate Way) drug to harsher drugs. The benefits of legalization Marijuana outweigh the cons.

    Read More

  • Legalizing Marijuana On The Federal Level

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    Legalizing marijuana on a federal level can prove to be very beneficial to America in various ways, especially if it is taxed and regulated the same as alcohol or tobacco products. Of course opposes of marijuana legalization proclaim that there are no benefits and that legalization would only add to drug abuse in America especially with adolescents. However, tobacco and alcohol are used far more among teens; marijuana use among teenagers has decreased to 7.2% in 2007 as opposed to 8.2% in 2002, yet all three are illegal for teens (Johnson). Not to mention that marijuana use has proved to be less harmful than drugs that are legal such as alcohol, tobacco, prescription painkillers, and a new popular drug known as synthetic marijuana or K2. Synthetic marijuana is a non-cannabis product that contains chemicals and dried plant material and produces psychoactive effects similar to marijuana, but it is more dangerous (Wanlund, 865-88). Unlike marijuana, synthetic marijuana is cheaper and readily available; it can cause death, seizures, psychotic episodes, heart attack and strokes (865-88). In fact, within the first six months of 2015, synthetic marijuana claimed the lives of 15 people, yet it is still sold at local stores (865-88). By legalizing and regulating marijuana, the U.S can increase the safety of its citizens using the drug, restrict minors’ access to the drug and decrease its death count of citizens using similar or far worse drugs. Street dealers do not check ID’s or provide childproof packaging and carefully label products. “When we take cannabis out of the underground market and put it behind a legal, regulated counter, we create a safer more responsible system” (865-88). Furthermore, cannabis is not addictive. “A small min...

    Read More

  • Deliberation and Legalization of Marijuana

    1217 Words  | 3 Pages

    Some of the main reason why marijuana should not be legalized is because of the mental and health problems. Dr. Robert DuPont, who is a national leader in marijuana prohibition, drug policy and treatment, said “It's interesting, because at the time I knew marijuana was not good. And I always spoke about the health hazards of marijuana. I never said it was benign in the sense that it was safe. But I would balance that health message with a message that says we don't want to use the criminal law to try to solve a public health problem”(drug war). Another reason of why we should not legalize it is because of the addiction that comes from smoking the drug. Therefore, marijuana should never ...

    Read More

  • The War on Marijuana Costs

    1233 Words  | 3 Pages

    Marijuana is a drug that can be consumed by either smoking or eating; this drug is typically used for medicinal or recreational use, however, in the United States it is the most popular illegal drug used on a daily basis by many users. Under federal law marijuana is classified as a schedule one controlled substance, also in this category includes heroin, LSD, and PCP. Marijuana has many street names such as Pot, herb, weed, Mary Jane, grass, and reefer just to name a few. Marijuana is considered a gateway drug and may lead to potential use of other hardcore illicit drugs. American’s spend roughly 100 billion dollars worth of marijuana a year, which is about thirty-two million pounds of weed, annually. Regardless if marijuana is legal or illegal people are going to continue using it. Legalizing marijuana brings much controversy; there isn’t much research available on marijuana to prove whether it would be beneficial to legalize. However, the government makes it very difficult for researchers to investigate the affects marijuana would have on our society, because it is prohibited. If American’s were educated on the use of weed, they would understand it isn’t any more dangerous than consuming alcohol. Marijuana prohibition creates an illegal economy, allows easy access to youth, and is costly to tax payers.

    Read More

  • Pros and Cons of Marijuana

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    The legalization of marijuana has been a highly debated topic for many of years. Since the first president to the most recent, our nation’s leaders have consumed the plant known as weed. With such influential figures openly using this drug why is it so frowned upon? Marijuana is considered a gateway drug, a menace to society, and mentally harmful to its consumers. For some people weed brings a sense of anxiety, dizziness, or unsettling feeling. Like alcohol, tobacco or any other drug, those chemicals may not respond well with their body. For other people marijuana brings joy, a sense of relief, and takes the edge off of every day stress. For those who are associated with cannabis, purposes usually range from a relaxant, or cash crop, to more permissible uses such as medicine, and ingredient to make so many other materials. We now need to look at what would change if marijuana were legal. Benefits to the economy and agriculture, health issues, and crime rates are three areas worth looking at. Deliberating on the pros and cons of this plant we can get a better understanding for marijuana. From there it will be easier to make a clear consensus on what is best for the nation.

    Read More

  • Legalizing Marijuana

    2448 Words  | 5 Pages

    What exactly is marijuana? Marijuana, also known as pot or hemp, is a naturally grown substance that contains THC. THC changes how the brain works and gives the user a high that relieves many different pains and even helps erase bad memories. The hemp plant can be found in just about any place, but has to be kept in heat. Marijuana is from a naturally grown plant so why not be able to use it legally? Well, there are many reasons against the legalization of marijuana and there are also many very good reasons to legalize it for medical and recreational use. So to the government and everyone against legalizing marijuana, too bad! It’s natural and people are going to smoke no matter what the laws are, so why not just make it legal? Making the use of marijuana legal everywhere will more than likely help stop the chaos between the smokers and nonsmokers and reduce the outrageously high total of 858, 408 who are arrested annually for marijuana possession and use.

    Read More

  • Should Marijuana Be Legalized in the United States?

    1560 Words  | 4 Pages

    First, the most important aspect of any drug is health. Marijuana, contrary to common beliefs, does not pose a serious health risk. It is accepted that while under its influence, people can experience hallucinations, impaired judgment, mood swings, and memory problems (“Marijuana”). Many people use marijuana because they enjoy its hallucinations and the feeling of happiness that accompanies them. Others with serious diseases such as cancer, AIDS, and multiple sclerosis, benefit from the pain and nausea relief, appetite stimulation, and reduced muscle spasms (“Marijuana”). Opponents of marijuana legalization argue that marijuana causes brain damage, lung diseas...

    Read More

  • Release the green and save the economy

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    Weed, pot, dope, Mary Jane, joint, grass, chronic. These words all have one thing in common; they refer to a drug known by all, marijuana. The debate on whether or not marijuana should be legalized is a very heated topic in the United States. It is on the news, political debates, and part of the day-to-day conversations to many. People should know the facts for both sides of this issue before choosing whether it should remain illegal or become a legal substance. Legalizing marijuana could boost the economy by opening job markets, increase tax revenue for the government, plus, it would put the American tax-payers money to better use.

    Read More

  • How To Write A Satire Essay About Legalizing Marijuana

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    Legalizing marijuana is an foolproof plan to improve societies in the U.S. With the U.S. starting to legalize marijuana people will turn into pure savages. This is the gateway drug to becoming a federal criminal and is not what is best for our country or planet. The way this drug is made is absurd. Why would growing a plant be a legal way to make a drug? People's view of marijuana is way too lax and our citizens need to be informed of the negative effects.

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Marijuana

    2019 Words  | 5 Pages

    For thousands of years human beings have attempted to find ways to get passed the struggles of their lives. With the pain of the world stopping people from enjoying simple pleasures, sometimes there is a need for help. Marijuana brings millions of people relief from the pain they feel on a day-to-day basis. This completely natural plant which helped so many people has puzzled the leaders of our nation for a long time. The THC in marijuana causes its users to experience a mild-huluciginic or high. The effect that marijuana has on a person has prevented the product from being legalized. Many other details about the plant, like the speculation of it being a gateway drug, have put another blockage on its legalization. Even though there are speculations about the plant, the benefit that it brings to the table most definitely out way its disadvantages. Marijuana can also alleviate several symptoms associated with cancer and Aids treatments and disorders. While Marijuana is effective as a medicine, it is also extremely lucrative. The economic benefits that Marijuana brings to the table are endless. Upon marijuana’s legalization, the economy would experience an immediate influx. Legalization of Marijuana would also drastically reduce crime in our cities and form a more productive society through its positive uses. The benefits that marijuana brings medically and economically are considerable enough to legalize its use medically or recreational.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Marijuana

    2271 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...llegalized for a long time without any evidence of success. The drug has become purer, more available, and cheap in the recent past. Demand and supply for marijuana has increased despite the harsh policies and the war on drugs. Legalizing marijuana will reduce the boom in the black market and reduce crime, corruption, and violence associated with drug cartels. Millions of dollars used for incarceration will be redirected to rehabilitation, which will reduce dependence, especially among younger users. Legalization will allow users of marijuana to buy from legal and safe sources. The war on drugs has been ineffective in reducing drug use despite spending a lot of money on incarcerations. Mass incarceration in the drug war has had negative effects on the society because most imprisoned individuals are non-violent offenders who pose no legitimate threat to the community.

    Read More

  • Recreational Marijuana Speech

    247 Words  | 1 Pages

    Even in its illegal status, it has caused the formation of criminal syndicates whose primary profit comes from the distribution of drugs, mostly marijuana. Although some people might suggest that legalizing marijuana will calm the crime rates and decrease them rapidly due to the fact that the there will be nothing illegal about smoking pot the

    Read More

  • Drugs Should Not Be Legalized Essay

    1593 Words  | 4 Pages

    Leading to an increase in drug experimentation by the youth and an increase in crack houses, where most laced drugs are produced. There is a reason why these drugs are illegal and it 's because of their harmful effects and the damage they cause the human body. Drug users, are often recognized as people who commit crimes, murder, rape, and other violence including burglary. With drug laws, it creates a fear in people of getting in trouble with the law and is a major reason to not use drugs. The legalization of drugs would not lower crimes rates as there would be more and more addicts as well as large black markets for drugs. Although these drug users commit crimes to obtain these drugs, it is obvious to see they would still be committing these crimes to obtain the drug even if it is legalized. Either way, a crime is still being committed they just have an easier way to steal the drug from someone. Which means the crime rates would start to rise, leading to the population of prisoners increasing, which also leads to the government spending more money on organizing jail facilities to hold these prisoners. One state in particular where marijuana is now legal, has started to come to the realization that maybe it wasn’t a good idea to leaglize this drug. Kevin A. Sabet, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Florida and President of SAM points out that,

    Read More

  • Positive Effects on Legalizing Marijuana

    1020 Words  | 3 Pages

    First of all, marijuana can have many positive effects on crime. Legalizing marijuana can actually decrease crime rates in the U.S. This past year, it was counted that 6.9 million people are inside the American’s jails and prisons. 60,000 of these individuals were there for marijuana according to one study. With the legalization of marijuana, it would cut the amount of tax we pay for these jails and prisons, costing us a total of 1.2 billion. Last year a total of 7 to 10 billion dollars was used towards arresting and processing against marijuana. The big picture here is that 90% of those arrests were just for possession. It is crazy that as a country we spend most of our time trying to stop the biggest drug in America when it is just wasting our money. There are less arrests on violent crimes than marijuana charges combined. These “violent crimes” consist of assault, rape, robbery, and murder. How awful is it that we waste our time on this drug when there are so many other bigger problems we could be solving or people to be saved. Cocaine and heroin arrests have actually decreased by 1/3 from 1991 to 2000. While marijuana has more than 700,000 people are ar...

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Legalizing Marijuana

    1500 Words  | 3 Pages

    With America’s war on drugs being highly focused on the increased use of marijuana, there is not much time for officers to focus on crimes of greater importance. Crimes related to illegal marijuana use are becoming more problematic due to drug deals that go bad, occasionally ending with murder. It has been estimated that one marijuana-related arrest is made every 42 seconds. With marijuana being illegal, keeping crime related activities under control cost the United States approximately twenty billion dollars per year (Sledge). According to Brian Bremner and Vincent Del Giudice, “A 2010 study by the libertarian Cato Institute, forecasted that states could save $17.4 billion annually from reduced drug enforcement costs and increased tax revenue, assuming marijuana production and sales were legal nationwide” (11). Several law enforcement hours are exhausted with pursing, questioning, and arresting citizens that are in possession of or consuming marijuana. There would be a decrease in the number of misdemeanor possession cases that are pending hearing. These cases would be dismissed, decreasing costs affiliated with each case. There are excessive numbers of people who remain incarcerated for nonviolent crimes related to illegal marijuana use. Legalizing marijuana would allow these people to be released, opening jail space for the true criminals. Legalizing marijuana would free up law enforcement officers from focusing on illegal marijuana use and allow focus to be put on more serious

    Read More

More about Facts About Marijuana

Open Document