The Legalization and Physical Affects of Marijuana

The legalization of marijuana has been an ongoing battle for many years. Marijuana is an addictive drug that is made of the leaves for the plant Cannabis. Common ways to induce the drug are by smoking the plant from either a water pipe or a joint which is much like a cigarette. It can also be brewed as tea or mixed into food. Supporter of making marijuana legal often argue that it isn’t nearly as harmful as alcohol or nicotine. However, when taking a closer look at marijuana and thinking about the future, marijuana legalization is not the best idea.

After all the time and effort law enforcement put into keeping drugs at bay, activists selfishly expect them just to give all that up and make marijuana easy to access. Most activists already use pot, they just don’t want to get into trouble for it but they don’t think about the consequences that come with it.

First off marijuana is a gateway drug. Studies show that marijuana use often leads to the use of harder drugs. Marijuana contains the chemical THC, which causes smokers to develop a tolerance to its effects and crave a better high. Some weed is even laced with cocaine, PCP, and can contained chemical like formaldehyde. Also, when using marijuana, users will most likely become acquainted with harder drug users and be influenced by their choices.

When high on marijuana some of the physical effects include faster heartbeat, bloodshot eyes and a dry mouth and throat and mental effects are impairment of short-term memory, altered sense of time, reduced concentration and reaction time. The problem with this is that if marijuana were to be legalized it would be like doubling the amount of drunk drivers. Much like alcohol weed reduces reaction time and disables...

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... to keep it’s nations citizens safe. If marijuana becomes legal the drug will become cheaper, easier to access, and ‘ok’ and the ‘mature’ thing to do in the minds of children. Creating more users in the long run. Most likely the drug will also be treated just like tobacco cigarettes. First the cigarettes were just tobacco, then tobacco companies added chemical and flavors to make cigarettes more addictive. The same will go for marijuana making it an even greater health risk. Though legalizing marijuana may help the economy by taxing the drug, will the government honestly stoop that low just to make money? Legalizing addictive drugs will never make the United States a better country to live in. Activists say that illegal drugs takes away American’s right to freedom, but what’s the point of making it ok to freely use narcotics if users a prisoner to the drugs?