Preview

Benefits Of Legalizing Marijuana

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
578 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Benefits Of Legalizing Marijuana
Should Marijuana be Legalized? Do you believe the negative effects of marijuana are more damaging than alcohol and tobacco? Personally, I really don’t think the effects are any worse, and seeing as though alcohol and tobacco are legal; so should marijuana. Presently, it is illegal to consume, grow, and/or sell any amount of marijuana in the United States of America for any reason; with the exception of fourteen states, which uses it strictly for medicinal purposes. Yes, I said medicinal purpose. Crazy how an herb that is capable of helping to cure you can be illegal while another that kills over 3 million a year can be legal (Charltan, 2004). Marijuana is a hallucinogen that has been around for many years, initially used for recreational …show more content…
Although there is an age limit to consume both, 21 and 18 respectively, the use is not prohibited. When it comes down to lasting effects on the body and organ damage; tobacco does way more damage than marijuana. Tobacco causes emphysema, cavities, gum disease, and it is responsible for 9 out of 10 lung cancer deaths (“Cigarette Smoking, 2009”). People are warned of the negative effects of tobacco on a daily basis, but yet they smoke packs of cigarettes continuously, and you may wonder why this is so. I concluded that the reason why they smoke cigarettes is because they’re legal, point blank. If marijuana was legal I guarantee no one would ever smoke a cigarette again, and as a result, there would be less cases of lung cancer, emphysema, and oral cancer …show more content…
Just how tobacco; such a harmful herb, with barely any health benefits can be legal and available to everyone. The lasting effects are so harsh; I cannot understand how people do not see my point of view. While tobacco causes cancer, marijuana helps cure it. For one to say that legalizing marijuana is a ridiculous idea, it would be like saying using a band-aid on a cut is pointless. It should be legalized and officially recognized as a medicine. All states, not only fourteen, should sign off on this topic. Marijuana is treatment for many diseases and it is what a band-aid is to a cut. Many people need it and are afraid to obtain it because of possible repercussions. That should no longer be an issue in this

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    There are negative effects of marijuana which is why it was considered an illegal drug in the first place. “Long-term use has been associated with increased cardiovascular events, addiction, mental health disorders, and respiratory disorders similar to those associated with tobacco smoking (Marcoux, 2013).” Tobacco use has been legal for anyone over the age of 18 however today there are less and less users because of the side effects of pollution and…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marijuana has been illegal since 1937. The Marijuana Tax Act, enforced because people believe men of color would solicit sex from white women while under the influence of marijuana. According to multiple tests and the statistics more people have died from cigarettes and alcohol. Marijuana should be legal due to the shear fact that it is safer than alcohol and cigarettes. Marijuana to this day, after 79 years, in some places is still illegal and believed to be more dangerous than cigarettes. This myth is 100% false. About 6 million people die every year from smoking cigarettes including second hand smoke. Statistics show that by 2030 the annual death rate will be 8 million. compare this to virtually nobody dying from a direct cause of Marijuana smoking the numbers are gradually in favor of Marijuana being safer. In fact it takes a consumption of 15 pounds of Marijuana in 15 minutes to “overdose”, which still may not even be fatal. In the film Super High Me,…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The drug generally isn't more harmful than alcohol or tobacco if used in moderation. Most doctors would agree that it's not very harmful if used in moderation. It's only when you abuse the drug that problems start to occur. But isn't abuse of almost any bad substance a problem? If you abuse alcohol, caffeine, cigarettes, or even pizza, health problems are sure to follow. Would you want the government limiting how much coffee you can drink or how much cheesecake you take in? Most doctors believe that marijuana is no more addictive that alcohol or tobacco.…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The average number of deaths a year from cigarettes is 430,000, alcohol is 110,640, and pain relievers kill over 32,000 per year (Common Sense for Drug Policy, n.d). Now let’s talk about marijuana. How many deaths has marijuana ever caused? That number is zero. This is according to the Huffington Post. A lot of you believe marijuana’s uses can be beneficial. But some of you are completely against it. Marijuana has been tested and proven to provide a very positive impact on the American society for many reasons. Some of these reasons are for America’s economy, health and even crime. I believe marijuana should be legal in the United States because of these reasons…

    • 873 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ethics Final Copy

    • 953 Words
    • 3 Pages

    And marijuana is nowhere near as bad for you as cigarettes and alcohol, both of which are legal. Overdosing on alcohol can kill you, as can the drug’s withdrawal symptoms (it’s a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t sort of thing). The Center for Disease Control attributes around 37,000 deaths every year to alcohol (not including accidental…

    • 953 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Marihuana

    • 611 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Many people ask the question why tobacco and alcohol are legal and marijuana is not? People believe that smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol do not cause addiction and dependence instead of marijuana but this is a wrong thought. The fact that a person consumes 20 cigarettes a day makes them addicts because their bodies are so use to nicotine that is a pleasure and a necessity to smoke. It is clear that alcohol is bad for health when it is consumed in high quantities and it also cause addiction and dependence in the substance as well as any other drug. That is why in a certain point of view it is illogical that marijuana is not legal when the other killing products are in the market being sold daily. It is known that marijuana has secondary effects such as hallucinations, rapid heartbeat, death of brain neurons in a short-term period and that is why government believe that legalization would be a big step for the world to change in a bad way and have a high level of consumers addicted to drugs.…

    • 611 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Marijuana has been around and used for many years. Marijuana is “ a common crop George Washington raised during the 1760s on his farms in Virginia. It was…

    • 1727 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Legalization of Marijuana

    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Marijuana has a pretty broad history throughout not only the United States, but also throughout China, Mexico, Europe, and many other countries throughout the world. According to Cannabis Now magazine, it is believed that marijuana reached North America with Christopher Columbus in 1492 A.D. and initially was only used to make industrial goods and didn’t become popular for its recreational use until the early 20th century (“History Of”). From 1850 until 1942 marijuana was used and prescribed for multiple medical conditions including labor pains, nausea, and rheumatism. Marijuana is considered a mild hallucinogen with many short-term affects impacting mood, physical behavior, and neurological functioning such as euphoria, increased appetite, hallucinations, excitement, enhanced recollection, stress reduction,…

    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    What is exactly marijuana? According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2014), marijuana, which also called weed, is a dry, shredded green and brown mix of leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds form the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. In addition, the main chemical in marijuana is produced by leaves and buds primarily of the female cannabis plant, the plant is also contains more than 500 other chemicals, including over 100 compounds that are chemically related to cannabinoidsa (“Marijuana,” 2014). Marijuana has been used for medical purposes for a long period of time. This is one of the main reasons that many people think marijuana should be legalized. The idea is not entirely wrong. The article by Watisla and Palumbo (2013) supports that doctors sometimes prescribe medical marijuana to treat: muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis, nausea form cancer chemotherapy, poor appetite and weight loss caused by chronic illness, such as HIV, or nerve pain. Moreover, marijuana is able to make people…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Legalization of Marijuana

    • 3597 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Proponents for the legalization of marijuana offer several valid reasons to support their positions. The most common reason is that marijuana is proven to be no more harmful to a person’s body then legal drugs, alcohol and tobacco. They believe that the marijuana only affects the mind for a short term and the long-term effects are only minor. Lawyers Adam Ford and Andrew Walter concur, “ Arguments against legalizing marijuana can usually be applied with equal validity to legal substances such as alcohol and tobacco: alcohol and tobacco can be addictive, can lead to financial or social problems when used in excess, and can lead to serious health problems” (1). These two well recognized attorneys agree that marijuana should be treated the same as tobacco and alcohol because most of the reasons opponents give to not legalize marijuana all fall under bad aspects of those…

    • 3597 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Who wants to hear that the medicine that they may be prescribed may not work? Who wants to not legalize a cure? Marijuana is not a medicine, but a drug, that has not been legalized yet. It is a proven fact that it can help with chronic pain and several heart problems like glaucoma. Should marijuana be legalized for this purpose?…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Yet, our government has nothing to show from it, only the price of preventing it. Even though drunk drivers are killing people all over the country, alcohol has not been prohibited since 1933 (Beckett). Health-related costs for alcohol consumers are eight times greater than those for marijuana consumers, according to an assessment recently published in the British Columbia Mental Health and Addictions Journal (Beckett). Cigarettes are very addictive and have many chemicals, but completely legal. Marijuana is completely organic unlike cigarettes and is less addictive. Prohibition is outdated and needs to be ended.…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Conditions that marijuana is typically prescribed to treat are cancer, AIDS, and multiple sclerosis. Medical cannabis is a highly controversial subject because cannabis is still considered illegal under federal law. In fact, Federal law classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, which means that it has no safe medical use and a high potential for abuse. Both of these statements are completely false. Marijuana has been proven to be beneficial as a form of medical treatment. Also, marijuana is not physically addictive and therefore, has low potential for abuse. Some people can develop minor dependence issues from a psychological standpoint. When comparing marijuana's drug classification to the most popular drugs in the United States it is illogical. Alcohol and Tobacco are both far more addictive and harmful than cannabis is. Each year new research is released documenting the harmful effects that tobacco and alcohol have on the body. Including direct links to cancer and death. Unlike tobacco marijuana has never been linked to cancer. In addition, there has never been a single documented death from cannabis usage. Alcohol causes people to use poor decision making and it causes people to become violent and aggressive. When comparing marijuana to modern day pharmaceuticals one again is forced to conclude that marijuana's classification is unjustified.…

    • 1150 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The history of recreational marijuana usage goes far back, to thousands of years ago. Even today, despite being illegal in most countries, it is widely used.…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What many people do not understand about marijuana is that it is a safe drug and not all drugs are bad drugs. “Marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco. Around 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning. Similarly, more than 400,000 deaths each year are attributed to tobacco smoking. By comparison, marijuana is nontoxic and cannot cause death by overdose.” (NORML, 2015). Marijuana comes in third behind alcohol and tobacco as the most popular recreational drugs. There has never been a death due to marijuana due to the fact that is is nearly impossible to overdose and it is “nontoxic”. It is very confusing to many people as to why this drug is illegal when looking at how safe it is compared to things like alcohol and tobacco…

    • 207 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays