Why Marijuana Should Be Legal

Why Marijuana Should Be Legal
COM/220
June 16th 2010
William Blick

Why Marijuana Should Be Legal In the United States laws are in place to protect the citizens from the government, other citizens, and our own selves. The federal and state government put laws into place to prevent citizens from ingesting harmful contents, such as controlled substances. Every year over four hundred thousand people die from tobacco, another eighty-five thousand from alcohol, and another three hundred sixty-five thousand people die every year from a poor diet. Tobacco, alcohol, and unhealthy eating habits are very legal even though these combined behaviors account for close to a half million deaths in the United States every year. Even though marijuana is used by millions of people every year, there are no accounted deaths for this illegal drug. Is it right for the government to decide what is harmful and what is not and has the government made the right choices regarding what is and not harmful?

(Annual Causes of Death in the United States, 2008)

There is a considerable amount of documentation on marijuana which includes five thousand years of individual experience. Marijuana is now used on a daily basis by an enormous amount of people throughout the entire world. Estimates suggest that twenty to fifty million citizens of the United States of America regularly, even though illegally, smoke marijuana without the need of medical direction. Yet, in spite of this extensive record of use and the astonishingly high numbers of smokers, there is no credible medical information to advocate that using marijuana has or will cause any deaths (Annual Causes of Death in the United States, 2008). Prohibition causes two different effects: it will cause supplier costs to go up, interrupt the market functions, and will cause all advertisement to disappear on the product. Prohibition will also cause anyone associated with the product to be arrested and/or fined and will cause them to lose their entire product. On the other hand prohibition will not stop the use of the product as proven throughout history; however people will always find the means to get what they want. While a product is illegal the ability to tax the product is gone and the ability to control and regulate the product also disappears. The twenty to fifty million Americans that consume marijuana on a daily basis is completely tax free. If prohibition on marijuana disappeared then the government would benefit greatly (Annual Causes of Death in the United States, 2008). Of all of the dangerous drugs consumed, many people believe marijuana is the worst. This statement or opinion is very far from the truth; the most addictive drug produced is very legal and is known as nicotine. Of all the drugs available, legal and illegal, nicotine is more addictive that heroin, cocaine or marijuana. Most people who smoke marijuana smoke it only occasionally. A small minority of Americans - less than 1 percent - smoke marijuana on a daily basis. An even smaller minority develop a dependence on marijuana. Some people who smoke marijuana heavily and frequently stop without difficulty. Others seek help from drug treatment professionals. Marijuana does not cause physical dependence. If people experience withdrawal symptoms at all, they are remarkably mild. (Drug Policy Alliance, 2010)

Marijuana is even less addictive than caffeine and has a lower intoxication level than alcohol (Annual Causes of Death in the United States, 2008).

(Annual Causes of Death in the United States, 2008)

Here are some of the top reasons marijuana should be legal, marijuana is not any more dangerous than alcohol or tobacco when used in moderation. By making this drug illegal, it infringes on our personal freedom. When and if marijuana becomes legal, the price would drop and related criminal acts would decrease. There are many medical benefits of marijuana such as being used as a pain reducer. Marijuana would be a huge source of additional tax revenue. Cops and the courts would be freed up for other harsher crimes. Drug dealers would go out of business and lose all of the power they have. Once marijuana is legal, it could and would be regulated by the FDA (Lowry, 2004).
Now here are some of the top reasons people believe marijuana should stay illegal. Many people say that marijuana is used as a gateway drug to harsher drugs. D.U.I. will become more common if marijuana becomes legal. Many religions believe that marijuana is immoral. If marijuana becomes legal, the use by children will increase. Second hand smoke from the drug will increase which will cause “contact highs” (Messerli, 2010).
Marijuana, in general, is not more dangerous than alcohol or tobacco when used in moderation. As you will see, by reading all of the research from the studies of the dangers of marijuana, the evidence is questionable and conflicting. Many doctors will concur that it is not harmful when used in moderation. It is only when you abuse the drug that problems will start to occur. But is not the abuse of any substance a problem? There is no convincing scientific evidence that marijuana causes psychological damage or mental illness in either teenagers or adults. Some marijuana users experience psychological distress following marijuana ingestion, which may include feelings of panic, anxiety, and paranoia. Such experiences can be frightening, but the effects are temporary. With very large doses, marijuana can cause temporary toxic psychosis. This occurs rarely and almost always when marijuana is eaten rather than smoked. Marijuana does not cause profound changes in people's behavior. (Drug Policy Alliance, 2010)

When you abuse alcohol, caffeine, Ephedra, cigarettes, or even pizza, health issues will follow. Would you want the government limiting how much coffee you can drink or how much pizza you can consume? Many doctors believe that marijuana is no more addictive than alcohol or tobacco (Messerli, 2010).
Legalization of marijuana would mean a cheaper cost; therefore, similar crimes such as theft, would be dramatically reduced. All illegal drug costs are higher because the construction, shipping, and the sales of the drugs hold heavy risks. When individuals build up drug habits or addictions, they will always find a way to maintain them no matter the cost to support their cravings. Unless a person is well-off, they will often resort to theft and other crimes to create the money needed to get the drugs. Legalization will reduce the dangers and lower the prices, in which case there will not be the need of other crimes to get the money for their habits (Messerli, 2010).
By limiting the use of marijuana it interferes on our freedoms. Even though a drug may be harmful and dangerous, is it not our right to decide if it really harms us? Millions of people choose to use tobacco and alcohol every day. Marijuana is thought of as a “victimless crime”, because only the user is being harmed. How can we control morality, if there is a disagreement on what is moral and immoral (Messerli, 2010)?
Another good reason for marijuana to be legalized is because of street justice. Now when a drug deal goes bad, who can you call? You are not able to call the police because what you are doing is already illegal, so you must take matters into you own hands and get justice on your own. If marijuana is legal then there would be no need for street justice (Messerli, 2010).
Once marijuana is legalized the once terrified drug dealers will lose all their power, money and influence. There would still be drug dealers on the street, but a large number of them would disappear. Also with marijuana legalized the FDA would be able to regulate and control this drug. If and when there are any bad effects of this drug is caused by the poorly prepared and uncontrolled growing of this drug (Messerli, 2010).
Another down side to this drug being illegal is it causes a large number of young people to get caught up in the court system for selling and usage. Teenagers out there are looking for the easy life and the way to earning an easy dollar, the selling of marijuana makes this possible. When caught for selling or using this drug, teenagers will be put into jail with harsher and more dangerous criminals. This will cause the teen to become tougher and meaner and to be able to survive in jail. Once released from prison the teen will bring what he learned in jail to the outside world. Also once released the teen will have a harder time finding a job with a criminal record. Once this drug is legalized and sold in stores worldwide; teenagers will have to find another way to accomplish this task (Messerli, 2010).
The use of medical marijuana has been around since 1986, however it was not smoked, the main ingredient of marijuana, THC, was introduced into a pill form. The THC pill was called Marinol, however the pill form has different effects as to smoking marijuana, and the pill was not as effective. After extensive studies smoking marijuana has been found very useful in the treatment of arthritis. Aspirin which is normally used to help ease the pain of arthritis is responsible for a thousand deaths every year in the United States. Other medical treatments for arthritis such as non-steroidal drugs causes close to eight thousand deaths every year and will send 70,000 people to the hospital. Even the extended use of Tylenol is known to be a general cause of end-stage renal disease. Marijuana smoked numerous times a day is often as efficient as non-steroidal drugs in arthritis treatment and without any reports of deaths or deadly side effects. The probable harmful effects of chronic marijuana use have been studied by federal government funded studies. In 1988, scientists found receptors for THC in the parts of the brain controlling: recollection, disposition, visual dispensation, thoughtfulness, the ability to strain out extraneous stimuli. Currently marijuana has the status of a Schedule 1 drug which means it is considered to be potentially addictive with no current medical use. It has been proposed that marijuana be changed to a Schedule 2 drug which means it would be considered potentially addictive with some accepted medical use. In 1986, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) held extensive hearings about the proposed change. The DEA's own administrative-law judge concluded "it would be unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance in light of the evidence". The DEA however overruled the judge's order to transfer marijuana to Schedule 2, and in 1992 issued a final rejection of all requests for reclassification (Eustice, 2010).
For a long time the outcome of marijuana on the respiratory system of long-term marijuana users was put to study. It was exposed that smoking this drug is even more damaging to the lungs than tobacco smoking. Marijuana smoke has up to 70 percent more known carcinogens than tobacco smoke. Marijuana smokers were found to have more microscopic damage to the lung's defense against inhaled contaminants and microbes, and also more precancerous cellular changes. Even with this study, however there have still been no recorded deaths due to this drug (Eustice, 2010).
For the past 25 years, medical marijuana encounter has been fought politely by patients with cancer and glaucoma. The war has accelerated lately and has become more verbal. In 1976, a well known lawsuit and weeks of tests at UCLA, this person was suffering with glaucoma, became the first person to receive marijuana from the United States government. As years progressed by, more and more tests and studies were done showing that there was most definitely a medical benefit to smoking marijuana. By 1991, the federal government, while still denying its benefit, was shipping marijuana to 12 people suffering from cancer nausea, glaucoma, chronic pain, and muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis. AIDS patients were encouraged to apply to use the drug as a pain reliever (Eustice, 2010).
Though the United States passes and enforces laws to protect and place the best interest of the people first, the number of deaths shows otherwise. If the government wanted to truly change the number of deaths each year, then laws would be made to make tobacco and fatty foods illegal. While marijuana accounts for no known deaths in the United States, this drug appears to be a better choice for everyday use instead of tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy foods. Even the benefits of medical marijuana use are enormous, when thousands of people die every year from over the counter pain relievers. One day the government will realize that the benefits outweigh the all of the negative effects, and the legalization will begin.

References
Annual Causes of Death in the United States. (2008). Common Sense for Drug Policy. Retrieved June 16, 2010 from http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/30#marijuana
Drug Policy Alliance. (2010). Myths and Facts About Marijuana. Retrieved June 16, 2010from http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/
Eustice, C.R. (2010). Medicinal Marijuana: A Continuing Controversy. About.com Guide. Retrieved June 29, 2010 from http://arthritis.about.com/cs/medmarijuana/a/marijuanadebate_2.htm
Lowry, Rich. "Marijuana Should Be Legalized." Opposing Viewpoints: The War on Drugs. Ed. Tamara L. Roleff. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Apollo Library. 30 June 2010 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010172264&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=apollo&version=1.0>.
Messerli, J. (2010). Should Marijuana be Legalized under any Circumstances? Retrieved June 16, 2010 from http://www.balancedpolitics.org/marijuana_legalization.htm