Prof. Passal
Mon-Thur. 8:00am-10:50am (ENGWR 101)
July 02 , 2013
Legalized Pot; Killing Our Country
Hempeficial, by Steven Jeffrey published in 2011 discusses the legalization of hemp and marijuana plants in the United States. Mr. Jeffrey thinks it is ludicrous that pot is illegal. In my opinion it is irresponsible to propose any initiative to legalize marijuana. My experience has proven it to be highly addictive, damaging to young brains and can rob the economy of the intellect necessary to keep us moving ahead.
It is a myth that cannabis is not addictive. Studies of long- term users show a significant dependency correlation. A friend of mine, who is a neuroscientist, once told me that approximately 173,000 people have some form of dependence to or use cannabis or its sister plant hemp regularly. Jeffrey states “hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years”. That is a classic case of addiction, not be able to stop.
Marijuana is very damaging to the brain, especially young brains. My husband, who is a doctor, points out that it is not uncommon for people who use, to complain about memory loss and not being able to think clearly. That the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana, corrupts the natural process of endocannabinoids, a key family of chemicals that help guide the brain in proper maturation. Yet Jeffrey refers to this as an “innocuous plant”. These chemicals are vital keys to the formation of memory, learning and decision-making. In this way, marijuana is even more damaging to a person because it pilots the brain to become stagnant. The primary concern is it has a lasting effect on young people. Jeffrey agrees that, “the evil female plant-marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh”. My neighbor, a mother of three, told me she is very concerned that her once straight A students do nothing all day now except get high and laugh. When young people fail to show initiative to do something with their lives, we lose that portion of innovative ideas for new and improved technology.
Our nation has stopped growing along with the smokers. Even Jeffrey states that other countries are “literally laughing at our stupidity”.
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