Marijuana should be legalized and while many people still think of marijuana as a dangerous drug some states are starting to legalize it. This is the case for the states of Colorado and Washington. It is a drug that has been around for a very long time and many people, including several US presidents, have tried it at one point or another in their lives (Johnny Green, 2013). With all the different arguments for and against its legalization the advantages for legalizing it are numerous. Marijuana should be legalized not only for medical purposes but also in doing so the government stands to gain a lot. In the words of Bob Marley “legalize it”!
First of all, from a medical perspective, marijuana use has never been proven to be harmful but in treating certain diseases it can actually be helpful. To this date, the use of marijuana has not been a direct cause of death for anyone but according to Xia Zhang, from the University of Saskatchewan who states in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, “in 2005 new research suggests that marijuana could possible stimulate brain cell growth”. Alcohol and prescription drug use have been known to cause death, unlike marijuana use, so we can say that it is much less dangerous (Renee Jacques & Todd Van Luling, 2014). Despite the fact that marijuana is the most commonly abused illegal drug in the world, its addiction is still a dilemma. Alcohol and prescription drugs, which are legal, have been known to lead to addiction.
Second of all from a political perspective, legalizing marijuana could be beneficial for the state. If policemen didn’t have to spend a lot of their time chasing recreational marijuana users they could use it to catch more dangerous criminals. The usnews states that “there are 800,0...
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Swift, A. (2013, October 22). For First Time, Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana. Retrieved from GALLUP: http://www.gallup.com/poll/165539/first-time-americans-favor-legalizing-marijuana.aspx
The Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp. (n.d.). Retrieved from crrh: http://crrh.org/paper/
The Truth About The Monkey Study That Says Marijuana Kills Brain Cells. (2012, September 13). Retrieved from Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0-Em0XvvTw
The World's Most Marijuana-Friendly Countries . (2013, November 11). Retrieved from huffingtonpost: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/27/marijuana-world-map-_n_3805800.html
Where Is Marijuana Legal? (n.d.). Retrieved from newhealthguide: http://www.newhealthguide.org/Where-Is-Marijuana-Legal.html
Why We Should Not Legalize Marijuana. (2010, April 20). Retrieved from cnbc: http://www.cnbc.com/id/36267223
Marijuana or cannabis, according to the Federal Government is considered dangerous and addictive and is, therefore, placed on the controlled substance list as a schedule 1 drug, making its use and possession illegal, as well it is considered one of the worst drugs. Other more harmful drugs such as cocaine are considered schedule II drugs, so according to the U.S Government cocaine is considered less hazardous than marijuana. There have been many studies conducted by scientist proving the benefits of medical marijuana in relieving chronic pain, nausea and a full array of other ailments. The benefits of legalizing marijuana far outweigh the bad. By allowing people to possess and use marijuana for medicinal purposes, we are improving society as a whole and increasing the happiness or utility of individuals who are living with debilitating conditions in turn this would create a happier society all around.
Marijuana is a drug that is harmful to a person¡¯s health. It has been found to have adverse impacts on one¡¯s mental processes such as memory, attention, judgement, and problem- solving (Butcher, Mineka, Hooley, 2004, p.415). Also, marijuana can interfere with a person¡¯s ability to think rationally and logically. Thus, the lapse in judgement caused by the drug use can lead to risky sexual behaviours and this may result in increasing sexually transmitted disease such as AIDS. Moreover, the long-term use of marijuana may cause chronic breathing problems and cancer ...
The strongest point of Bierson’s article was the physical harms of marijuana. He debates that the monkey’s test results clearly show evidence of brain damage. However, he forgets to mention that the monkeys were given very large amounts of doses. The sizes of these doses were e...
Richard & Saitz. (2003 Feb, 18). "Is marijuana a gateway drug?" Journal Watch, 2003 (218),
Schwartz, Richard H. "Marijuana: A Decade And A Half Later, Still A Crude Drug With Underappreciated Toxicity." Pediatrics 109.2 (2002): 284. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
Marijuana while illegal on a federal level has been legalized in 18 states and the District of Columbia for medical use and also for personal use for anyone over 21 in Washington and Colorado. 48% of Americans admit to using marijuana according to a 2013 survey conducted by Scientific America. With the change in public opinion concerning marijuana the need to understand the effect and consequences associated with its use are vitally important. What are the effects on the brain and the rest of the body? Does it matter when you start using marijuana? Also what is the effect marijuana use has on a person’s life, to include school, work, family and friends.
Marijuana is the cause of much commotion and debate, as the question of legalization becomes more of an issue. Drugs are a major influential force in countries all over the world today. Legalization is an option that has not had a chance, but really should be given one. Although many people feel that legalizing marijuana would increase the amount of drug use, legalization would benefit for the following reasons: 1)reduction of money spent on law enforcement 2)increase in the countries revenue 3)lessen crime 4)useful in treating certain medical conditions. Many feel today we are losing the war on drugs.
The public has been highly respondent to the idea of legalizing marijuana. Many states are making decisions independently from the federal government. “A growing share of the American public supports liberalizing marijuana laws. For years surveys by CNN and other news organizations have found that most Americans agree pot smokers should not go to jail. In polls taken this year by Zogby, CBS News, and Rasmussen Repor...
...industrial purposes, but due to greed, misinformation, scare propaganda and moral objections, society turned its back on this wonderful plant. Through advocacy and the spread of factual information, prohibition is slowly failing and the populous is beginning to realize the dangers and harms of marijuana are not as severe as one though. With this information we can change society for the better, gain revenue from taxation, release non-violent offenders, and alleviate the constant fear instilled by authoritative figures. Personally, based on the researched information, I feel legalization would be beneficial for society and alleviate law enforcement to focus on other crimes, such as, murders, rapes, robberies, and other violent offences. The times are changing, and as time goes on more and more citizens of the United States favor the legalization of marijuana.
Marijuana poses fewer health-risks than many substances that are currently deemed legal by the government. It is often argued that marijuana is addictive, and that it is harmful to one’s health. It is true that smoking marijuana is not completely harmless, as the repetitive inhalation of any form of smoke will have adverse effects on one’s health. That being said, these effects are very miniscule when marijuana is smoked in moderation. Marijuana has not been scientifically proven to have any lethal or even life-altering side-effects. In regards to addiction, marijuana contains no physically addictive properties. One may become psychologically addicted to the euphoria obtained after smoking marijuana; however, anything that brings enjoyment has the possibility of becoming psychologically addictive. One would assume that something deemed legal by the government would be safer than something that is considered illegal, ironically this is not the case. Cigarettes are considered legal even though they pose a huge threat to on...
Legalization of marijuana has become an increasingly popular topic for debate in society with “sentiment in favor of legalization [increasing] by 20 [percentage] points in just over a decade,” bringing support for legalization to 52% (Dionne and Galston). The most common arguments for reforming current legislation are the following: enforcement wastes public resources, taxation can provide a new source of revenue, and enforcement of current laws is discriminatory (Dionne and Galston). It is necessary to look at the impact on the primary stakeholders by analyzing the various harms and benefits through application of the ethical theories of utilitarianism and deontology, in order to determine the solution that will result in the best possible outcome.
Cox, Ted. "14 Kinds of Jobs Sustained by Marijuana." AlterNet. Alternet, 21 Sept. 2011. Web.
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 crimes.
...only could marijuana be utilized to treat a variety of illnesses, but patients would no longer have to take pharmaceuticals with side effects and they could treat their ailments in a pleasurable way. With recreational marijuana legal dispensaries would no longer have to fear raids from the DEA, which would lead to more dispensaries opening and businesses thriving. Instead of having a few dispensaries making millions there would be many dispensaries making a decent profit, so employees can make a decent salary as opposed to six figures which would certainly help lead the state into prosperous times. One might say that drugs are dangerous and they kill people every day; however this is not the case with marijuana. According to drugfacts.org in the five thousand years of marijuana’s documented use there has been zero deaths caused primarily by marijuana. (drugwarfacts)
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...