The Controversy: The Legalization Of Marijuana

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The subject matter of the legalization of marijuana incites great controversy. Throughout America, and other countries in the world, the legal, moral, and scientific efficacy of this plant based drug is being questioned. In more recent decades, states all across America have pursued the retraction of laws previously allocated on the use of marijuana both medicinally and recreational. This trend has erupted from the aspiration to remove outdated laws against marijuanas use to better reflect laws already in place on other legal substances such as alcohol. Moreover, recent scientific studies have brought to light the medicinal benefits of this drug; which to many Americans greatly outweighs the side effects. This ideology is likely attributed …show more content…

An academic article explains that, “It is an ancient plant in terms of use, having been known in central Asia and China as early as 3000 BCE and in India and the Middle East shortly thereafter”(“Drug Use”). The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) derived from the marijuana plant is responsible for its hallucinogenic effect. The strains and potency of the cannabis plant vary widely. In addition, research has shown that cannabis “has been regarded as having medicinal value, and it was used as a folk medicine prior to the 1900’s”(“Drug Use”). Marijuana has varying affects on the body which include: “analgesic, topical anesthetic, antispasmodic, antidepressant, appetite suppressant, appetite stimulant, anti-asthmatic, and antibiotic”(“Drug Use”). Consequently, these medicinal values were not taken into consideration when enacting government laws that ban recreational and even medicinal marijuana …show more content…

Although truthfully this can also be argued about other currently legal substances such as alcohol; which also has the same effects on the human body. The Encyclopedia explains that, “The effects [of alcohol] on major organ systems are cumulative and include a wide range of digestive-system disorders…cardiovascular problems… blackouts and memory loss may occur, and the central and peripheral nervous systems can be permanently damaged”(“Alcoholism”). In addition, it is written

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