Why the Use of marijuana should be legalized
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Get Help Now!Cannabis sativa or Marijuana as is commonly known worldwide is a hard drug with adverse side effects to the users. With this reason it is an illegal drug in a majority of parts in the world. However according to research statistics, with this illegality there is still a high rise of both users as well as those initiated into the practice annually with the United Nations placing it first among the illicit substances widely used in the world (UNODC 198). Having worked previously in a number of facilities for juvenile delinquency and correction in California I observed and participated in the numerous ways, methods and tactics employed by the government to reduce the use of cannabis sativa with little success. Instead, the number of crimes related to the drug use was on the increase along those who used it. It subsequently occurred to me that making the use of Marijuana illegal was not a proper solution to its negative causes which also include the negative reputation associated with its use. It would therefore have been better to make its use legal hence reducing the rate of its use and therefore the rates of physical and mental disorders associated with it. In relation to this therefore, I will provide my reasons for advocating for its legalization in most countries where its use is not allowed against those provided by anti cannabis campaigners.
Due to the psychoactive as well as physiological effects that the drug possesses when consumed just a small amount is recommended to attain these effects. The other effects associated with the use of the drug include common short term effects both physically and neurologically. They include an increase in the heart rate, low blood pressure, an impaired short term or working memory in addition to psychomotor coordination. It therefore normally exhibits a combination of its stimulant, depressant and hallucinogenic properties when used. It is also widely used for medicinal purposes as prevention for nausea and vomiting and hunger stimulation in patients undergoing chemotherapy and those suffering from AIDs among others. Its long term effects on the other hand include a change in brain operation and disruptions in fertility. Numerous articles have thus been written with the debate whether the use of marijuana should be made legal or not.
Most laws have therefore been put in place to prevent the planting, possession and transfer of Marijuana in relation to these and more effects of the drug. However, laws in some countries have been reviewed with regards to the possession of low amounts of Marijuana. Although this is a great step, it still does not provide a full solution in reducing excess consumption of the drug. This is because most young people who indulge in excessive use of the drug do so as an experiment to get the good feeling of being on the other side of the law. To prevent this, it would be appropriate to legalize the use of the drug without restrictions. This would result in the moderate use if not the total abandonment of the drug when not necessary.
There are a number of instances when the drug use is fully permitted and protected by the law such as in its use for medicinal purposes in the treatment of severe chronic pain. This group of people is allowed to grow their own cannabis, employ someone else to do it for them or form groups where they can cultivate the weed. Nonetheless, in the other areas such as in its use as a psychoactive drug it is considered illegal. The ‘gray market” that continues with the distribution of medical marijuana is still present although with its lacks uniformity as there are other people who are harassed depending on their location. This is evidenced by the disparities experienced among its users in Spokane, Seattle and King Country as is depicted by (Connelly 4). On the other hand, the use of the drug to relieve pain is still considered a great crime to the federation. The general legalization of this drug would as a result reduce such incidences creating a general atmosphere for both the medical and recreational users. In addition, it would reduce the kind of bureaucracy that it generates.
In my opinion it is some of these medical users of marijuana that take advantage of the opportunity presented to them to sell the drugs to the illegal users hence the growing numbers. They do this by selling the expensive drugs in most black markets. The war on drugs that has existed for over forty years has considerably become a terrible failure in America with an approximate 800,000 people arrested each year for the possession of the drug (Connelly 7) along a considerable increase in the number of marijuana dispensaries. By making its use legal to everyone those who are initiated into the practice due to their curiosity to do what is illegalized would be reduced.
I agree with those opposed to its legalization as they are also focused on saving the lives of young members who form a majority of its user population. This is because most of those who smoke marijuana are teenagers who are still very productive to the country. However, I feel that this would be made more possible if the use of the drug was accepted as they would not find reason to hide or use the drug in excess therefore reducing the related adverse side effects like reduced productivity, reasoning and decision making (Gerber 97).
There are many side effects used by the supporters of the drug policy dubbed anti-cannabis in the United States. These include mental retardation, the possibility of using other stronger drugs and early death related to the use of marijuana hence the driving source for its illegalization. These have been disputed by a number of studies performed. Besides this many prominent leaders have broken these barriers and succeeded to the top. They include the governor of Indiana; Governor Mitch Daniels and the future vice president Al Gore who smoked it for six years before he was elected to the Congress (Connelly 8).
Additionally, most hypotheses formed against the use of Cannabis such as the likeliness for users to use harder drugs have not been proven by the cause and effects studies on the drugs. Moreover, research conducted by (Torabi, Bailey and Majd-Jabbari) shows that the legalized tobacco smoking worldwide has been shown to elicit this effect more than cannabis does (302-306). This can be established when tobacco is mixed with cannabis especially for those trying the drug for the first time. There have also been a number of contradicting studies linking the use of cannabis to occurrence of various kinds of cancer such as lung cancer. However a majority of them do not find any relation to this while others in fact find the moderate use of cannabis to be an appropriate protection against cancer of the neck, head and also lungs (Kaufman 1-7). In addition, others state the usefulness of cannabidiol in treating breast cancer. As has always been thought no links have also been established between the use of Cannabis with stroke or heart disease hence they have been established as marijuana myths. This is besides the still controversial subject as to whether the benefits of smoking marijuana outweigh its use as a pill.
With most people listing the health side effects of Marijuana as the main reason for its illegalization it is important to perform more studies and research in relation to this. This is because the crime rate as a result of the use of the drug is not as widely considered. From the research that has been conducted so far it is evident that the effects which have been hypothesized do not have any connection with the drug. Marijuana use therefore does not have the capacity to cause these diseases. It would therefore be a proper idea to make the use of the drug legal in order to reduce experimentation of the drug by teens making its use moderate and to the recommended level as well as reduce the number of those arrested as a result of its possession. This is in addition to the good news that with proper counseling one can quit the habit of marijuana smoking.
Works Cited
Connelly, J. “The real reefer madness: Medical marijuana regulation.” Seattle PI 1 May 2011:
Par 4-8.
Gerber, R. “Legalizing marijuana: drug policy reform and prohibition politics.” Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004. Print.
Kaufman, M. “Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection.” Washington Post 26 May 2006:
Par 1-7.
Torabi, M, W Bailey and M Majd-Jabbari. “Cigarette Smoking as a Predictor of Alcohol and
other Drug Use by Children and adolescents: Evidence of the “Gateway Drug Effect”.”
The Journal of School Health (1993): 63 (7): 302-306.
UNODC. “World Drug Report 2010.” united Nations Publication (2010): 198.
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