Should Marijuana Be Legalized in the US - Research Paper Example

Should Marijuana Be Legalized in the United States? Marijuana legalization has been a controversial issue, especially in the United States. Marijuana, or cannabis, has been used for centuries in other cultures, usually in ancient eastern civilizations, for medicine. However, most people get addicted to it as they use it for leisure and lifestyle purposes (as in the United States). Marijuana offers a high that many people chase. This gives people the reason to do the associated crimes because of marijuana. The statistics say that 47% of arrests made in America are associated with marijuana use. Cannabis is native to Asia, specifically from Central and South Asia. The use of cannabis is widely spread from Romania to Nepal to India and even to ancient Assyria. Marijuana can refer to any preparation from the cannabis plant. Common usage for it are usually for recreation, but most people use it for its medicinal properties nowadays. Many cultures use it as a spiritual drug since third millennium BC, but most countries prohibit the use of marijuana liberally because of its psychoactive properties. When consumed, cannabis has remarkable psychoactive effects. It also produces physiological effects. The most notable change in a person who takes marijuana is a change in mood. Physical effects can include increased heart rate, impaired short term memory, low blood pressure, loss of concentration and loss of psychomotor coordination. There is also increased sensation of temperature and dryness of mouth. The long term effects of cannabis use are unclear. Cannabis classification is unclear as it can be a stimulant, hallucinogen and depressant. Many people classify it as a hallucinogen because of its psychedelic properties. I. Pro Arguments The main argument for the legalization of marijuana is the medical debate. The second debate is the one about taxes. Hemp, which marijuana is a member of in terms of biological classification, is a very useful plant which can give a boost to industries. Some religions also value marijuana in their ceremonies. Thus, making marijuana illegal is actually a violation of the First Amendment of the US Constitution that states that government cannot prohibit any religion from doing free exercise. Medical marijuana is a major argument of those who are pro-marijuana. Especially in AIDS patients, marijuana is being used to alleviate pain and nausea. They also work for cancer patients. In fact, the American Medical Association has argued for the legalization of marijuana. According to them, marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol and cigarettes. Some studies also mention that marijuana is proving to be safer than other over the counter drugs. Marijuana, in its basic, natural form, is actually one of the safest substances to take therapeutically. With proper dosage and preparation, marijuana can be safely used as treatment for patients with AIDS and cancer. It also aids manic-depressants in stabilizing their mood and at the same time, those with Multiple Sclerosis. It can also be used for patients with glaucoma as marijuana can actually lower the blood pressure in the eye. Marijuana, when taken in large amounts, does not cause death, unlike alcohol. Marijuana can only make a person unconscious when “overdosed” but not dead. In fact, there are synthetic cannabinoids out in the market sold as prescribed drugs for treating diseases that range from depression to multiple sclerosis. The government can also tax the use of marijuana, and tax it heavily as sin tax. All branches of government are participating on the “War on Drugs”. These government people arrest people, and these arrested people get locked up. Now when they are in jail, the taxpayers have to pay for their bills: the food, the attorney’s fees, court fees and the like. This can be very costly for the government. Now when marijuana is legalized, it can be taxed. And then when taxed, the money from it can help other programs that are geared toward the fight for other more serious drugs. Thus, when marijuana is legalized, the government can save a lot of money on spending on people who get arrested, and at the same time earn from it. The earnings can fund a lot more drug education programs for the community in return. The issue of liberty is also being tackled when the issue of marijuana is discussed. The major argument is this: why should marijuana be illegal? According to First Act in the Constitution, the people have the right to choose for themselves. Now the government has the right to limit the choices it gives its constituents, if the individual’s actions endanger a lot more people. However, this does not apply to marijuana because the people freely choose to use marijuana and the individual’s actions because of marijuana do not pose a danger to society; not as much as, say, other legal substances like tobacco and alcohol. Alcohol can cause death when taken in larges dosages and can cause cirrhosis when exposed for a long time. Tobacco has been proved to cause cancer and other lung ailments. But the point is, the people still have the right to decide for themselves, and the government should respect this right. Another reason why the government should legalize marijuana is the fact that prohibiting marijuana does not help the “war on drugs”. Prohibition, in fact, produces the forbidden fruit effect, in which the one being prohibited increases the incidence of being used, and in this case, marijuana. Thus prohibiting something is not suggested. Take, in case, the availability of marijuana in high schools. It is actually easier to procure marijuana compared to alcohol in high schools. This is because alcohol is legal, and it has laws that restrict it. Now if the main goal of the society is to keep the drugs away from the students, then the government should legalize marijuana in order for them to make laws that regulate it. II. Con Arguments However, there are also cons when the subject of marijuana is being talked about. First off is the health issue, then the productivity issue. Also accounted for is the marijuana user’s higher incidence of accidents compared to those who do not use marijuana. Criminal activity as linked with drugs is also argued by those who are anti-marijuana legalization. The health issue stems from the fact that marijuana is being smoked. Smoking marijuana is actually more dangerous than cigarette smoking if the tar content is being made the benchmark for “healthier options”. Smoking marijuana deposits at least three times more tar compared to smoking a cigarette. It can be as much as five times more tar if the marijuana is not quite processed. Average marijuana smokers smoke three to four joints per day. Smoking three to four joints per day, the marijuana smoker’s tar consumption is similar to smoking a pack of cigarettes. Thus, it can be said that a marijuana joint also contains more carcinogens than a cigarette because of the concentration of such chemicals in a single joint: Marijuana contains 70% more carcinogens than a cigarette. Other health arguments have included that results of some studies have shown that smoking marijuana can actually increase coronary and respiratory diseases, memory failure and cancer. Because of the remarkable decrease of body control, there are also more accidents, especially driving accidents that occur when a person drives under the influence of marijuana. This is similar to that of the effect of alcohol. Other arguments that are related to health is the placebo effect of these drugs. Many proponents of the anti-marijuana movement are saying that marijuana’s effects on sick people, especially where they are proven “effective”, are just placebo effects, this is because marijuana is a mind-altering substance. If a patient suddenly stops the marijuana treatment, he would develop withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms occur when a body develops dependence to a certain drug and the body abruptly stops taking it, making the body look for it. Symptoms include nausea, sleep and appetite disturbances, anxiety, irritability, depression and restlessness. Marijuana is also considered a drug. Drugs are linked to criminal activity. Now, marijuana is one of the largest “commodities” the drug businessmen seize into America. These reasons: large amount of drugs, the corruption and violence that surround the drug business is one of the main reasons why marijuana is not legalized. It is bane of society and the world would be a better place without these illegal drugs and the people who spread them. If the government would legalize marijuana, the criminal efforts to import it would not decrease; in fact, many people believe that it would grow, since many people are going to use marijuana legally. The moral debasement by bringing into the society is one of the major reasons why it’s not legalized. However, if indeed it’s legalized; many legislators and researchers think that the usage of marijuana would increase. It is a given that the number of adult users would increase if marijuana were to be legalized. What they fear is that the youth users would also increase. The youth sector is actually the largest users of marijuana. Now if it were eventually legalized, the number of youth users would increase. And since they are young, they would be exposed to marijuana as they grow older, making them more at risk to several diseases, making the population unhealthy. Accidents would also increase if marijuana were to be legalized. Since marijuana impairs the senses, especially the motor skills, driving accidents would surge. Since marijuana is already causing serious accidents even though it is not legal yet, many people believe that if it were legalized, then these numbers would increase. Marijuana is also believed to be a gateway drug. With gateway, that means marijuana is a start in order for a person to do harder drugs like heroin, cocaine or ecstasy. This is because the user would either increase the high that he was used to when he is using marijuana or, because of social interaction with fellow drug users. There were also studies that were performed on twins: when they were babies, one twin was exposed to marijuana. This baby grew up to use marijuana before the age of seventeen while the other twin has not. This proves that early cannabis users would move on to harder drugs five times more than their twin. III. Critique Both sides propose very valid arguments. One should actually take some time to think about taking a position in this debate. My stand on this is debate is broken as I see that both of them are actually right. The major point of this argument, or you can say that the irony of this argument, is that both sides (the pro and con) actually fight for the same thing: lessen the drug problems in America. The methods in achieving that goal, though, are the striking differences between the two. Both panels have huge holes in their arguments though, that makes people agree with the both of them. That means that there is no clears solution just yet in alleviating the marijuana problem in the drug scene in America. Summarizing the anti-marijuana camp, they believe that having measures such as serving jail time and paying a lot of fines will decrease marijuana use. The other camp on the other hand, say that marijuana is part of the human culture and it’s natural for us to smoke it, hence, it should be legal. Then of course, the medical marijuana debate: it all boils down to the point of the patient’s well-being. Let’s take the anti-marijuana’s camp first: it has been statistically recorded that most people who get into jail only for marijuana are petty, non-violent criminals – if you can even say they are criminals. And then when they get out of jail after some time, they move on to use other higher forms of drugs and do other crime. One can say that jail time has made criminals out of them, as it’s impossible for them to get out of the said place without being influenced. This also fuels the argument that prohibiting marijuana makes the government spend a lot: the government spends a lot of food, shelter, medicine of these petty “criminals” the more they spend their time in prison, which is a waste on government money. This also makes our prisons over-crowded. The pro-marijuana camp drops the reason of freedom of choice, and marijuana smoking being intrinsic to the culture of humankind as the major reasons why the government should legalize marijuana. As it is part of the culture, marijuana is just like food, thus, it should be legalized. To eliminate the use of illegal drug users, then make the drug legal. For them, it’s all about labels. The good point of this argument is that the government can actually tax marijuana. Like alcohol and tobacco, this tax money is a lot and they can actually fund a lot of projects. This would also promote tolerance and would encourage other industries. However, it is an undeniable fact that legalizing it would result to more users of marijuana. And there is no evidence that it would be properly regulated once it has been legalized and it would put a stop to the sale of illegal drug (marijuana) trade. Freedom of choice is also an issue here. The person owns his own body and he should be responsible it and the choices that he makes. The government should only limit the choices if the person endangers others, right? By choosing marijuana for himself, he is not endangering anyone (except if he drives recklessly, but of course that can happen to anyone). So, why not respect the others’ right to choose? The medical marijuana debate, on the other hand, is as fractured as the two former arguments. True, marijuana can ease the patients with AIDS and cancer. They can reduce nausea, increase the appetite and anxiety of certain people. They do help. However, it is also undeniable that smoking joints are more harmful than smoking cigarettes as they contain a whole lot more carcinogens and tar. There are synthetic drugs that are derived from marijuana. They are pure chemicals and they do not have the impurities that make marijuana dangerous. This, for me, is more acceptable, because the main goal of medicine is to make the patient feel comfortable as he convalesces. If taking a treatment (marijuana) that can make him more diseased is an option, I do not think that it is a good option as a medical treatment. It should also be noted that marijuana produces withdrawal symptoms, so maybe after the treatment, the patient would also experience these symptoms and would be put to more danger. For me though, I think that it would be wise to legalize it for the sake of taxes alone. It should be legalized but then it should also be restricted, like drugs such as Valium or Xanax. This is because marijuana can be addicting and releasing it to the major population would make it more vulnerable to abuse, and for drug lords to make use of (for their business). So for me, that would be it. I’m all for legalizing. It also respects people’s rights with regards to their own preference and freedom to choose, but it would be controlled. IV. Conclusion Marijuana has been around for centuries. It has been used by several cultures for their religious practices. Many people believe that it is a cause of a lot of problems and it should be made a dangerous drug so that the sanctions for possessing one would be more effective in reducing its presence in society. However, there are people who say that marijuana is not that dangerous, citing that other cultures actually use it for some of their practices, as said before. The main issue is for marijuana is to be legalized or not. There are a lot of arguments, ranging from health to security issues. However, the main goal for this issue is to reduce the drug use in society. Both sides propose valid arguments but for me, I would choose legalizing marijuana use. Not only that it would respect freedom of choice, it would also encourage tolerance for most people. It also helps medically. Although I’m not keen for drug abuse which marijuana is so famous for because of its psychoactive properties, making it a restricted (but legal) drug like most psychological drugs would be more fit. References: Bates, B. (2010, Feb). Teen cannabis use predicts depression. Clinical Psychiatry News, 38(2). Booth, Martin (2005). Cannabis: A History. Macmillan Publishers & Random House, Inc: New York. Print. Boschert, S. (2010, Feb). Marijuana self-medication might prompt mood disorders, stress. Clinical Psychiatry News, 38(2). Jaffer, Mehru, U.N. Firm Against Legalization of Drugs. Inter Press Service. 17 Apr. 2003. Newsbank. Retrieved from May 8, 2012. Sabet, K.A. (2009, June 7). The price of legalizing pot is too high. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 9, 2010. Stop Drugged Driving. (n.d.). Institute for Behavior and Health, Inc. Rockville, MD. Retrieved May 8, 2011. from http://www.stopdruggeddriving.org Read More