Introduction
America’s most used illegal substance, marijuana, has been a growing issue around the nation. With the collapse of our economy, and an increasing number of marijuana users , people have begun to raise the question of whether or not we should legalize marijuana. Would legalization be the best solution for our nation? We first must look into facts and details from both sides of the argument and which one our nation would be better off with.
History of Marijuana in the United States
Marijuana also known as Cannabis, has been used for thousands of years. It was believed to be first used as medicine by the Chinese. Marijuana was brought into the United States in 1619, when the colony of Jamestown required all settlers to grow Cannabis by Law.
After years of growth and use, the media had
depicted marijuana as a dangerous, addictive drug that led to insanity and
death. Rumors of Mexicans and African
Americans smoking marijuana and going insane and killing people were common in
the early 20th century. These
over-exaggerated truths led to the signing of the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937,
which prohibited marijuana in the United States.
Over the years, more people have admitted to
trying and using marijuana in the United States. Today 17 states have legalized medical marijuana. Medicinal marijuana is legal for patients who
have been prescribed cannabis by a doctor.
Each of the 17 states has different restrictions on the law that allows
the use of medical marijuana.
Science and Side-effects of Marijuana
Marijuana is the name of the plant that contains the chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. THC is the substance that is delivered to the brain’s cannaboid receptors when smoked or consumed. This creates cellular reactions that cause a “high” feeling. The use of marijuana causes both short term and long term effects that have both positives and negatives.
Short Term effects (negative): poor memory and
thinking, poor muscle coordination, poor attention span, altered sense of time
and space, altered driving skills, delusions, depression, food craving, and
anxiety.
Short Term effects (positive): reduced
spasticity, increased appetite, reduced pain, and helps manage ADHD.
Long Term effects (negative): cancer,
breathing problems, loss of memory, decreased immune system, energy impaired,
and birth defects.
Long Term effects (positive): reduced anxiety,
increased empathy, and improved brain function.
Who are the major players?
A few of the sides on this topic of marijuana legalization are those who are for legalizing marijuana, those for decriminalizing marijuana, and those for non-legalization. Along with these three sides are people who believe medical marijuana should be legalized and those who believe it should not.
Legalization of
marijuana means that the American people have the right to use marijuana. Although marijuana will be legal to use in
this case, there may be some restrictions for public safety. Restrictions include who can buy it, where it
can be bought/used, how much can be bought/used, driving laws, etc. Each person or party in favor of legalization
has a different opinion on what restrictions should be enforced. The Presidential Candidate for the
Libertarian Party, Gary Johnson is in favor of legalization. Legalization claims to eliminate the drug war
in the black market along with saving our government billions through law
enforcement cuts and creating a marijuana tax for consumers.
Decriminalization
of marijuana can is in between legalization and non-legalization. Decriminalization can range from limiting the
number of marijuana arrests for small possession charges and first time
offenders to eliminating jail-time completely for marijuana possession. Decriminalization
has been viewed to help protect the futures of many charged with possession of
marijuana. Current President, Barack
Obama is in favor of this approach.
Non-legalization
means that marijuana should be illegal in all forms. Current Presidential Candidate, Mitt Romney,
is in favor of this approach. Drug Watch
International believes marijuana should remain illegal because “The legalization or decriminalization
of drugs would make harmful, psychoactive, and addictive substances affordable,
available, convenient, and marketable. It would expand the use of drugs. It
would remove the social stigma attached to illicit drug use, and would send a
message of tolerance for drug use, especially to youth.”
Medical Marijuana Legalization
means that marijuana should be allowed use for medicinal purposes. Patients must receive a prescription for the
substance by a doctor. The degree of
illness to qualify for medical marijuana differs in the states it has been
legalized in. Research has stated that
medical marijuana has many health benefits for many illnesses. http://www.cmcr.ucsd.edu/
Analysis: What is best for Our Nation?
In order to find out which solution is the best for America, one must look at each side’s effect from an economic and societal perspective. The solution that would give our country the most economic and societal success is the correct choice for America.
Legalizing
marijuana has been estimated to save the United States roughly 10-14 Billion
dollars per year by Harvard Economics Professor, Jeffrey Miron. http://www.prohibitioncosts.org/
This
number comes from law enforcement savings along with the government creating a
tax on the sales of marijuana. With less
law enforcement and marijuana sold legally, more people would be encouraged and
feel less ashamed to try the substance.
With more people using the substance, they will be spending more on
marijuana and less on other resources and products in the economy. As people begin to spend less on those other
resources, those companies selling those products will lose money, thus
negatively impacting the economy. Although
the marijuana companies and government will be gaining from sales and tax
revenue, other companies will be negatively affected. Miron had estimated that about half of that
10-14 Billion comes from the tax revenue, which is essentially coming out of
the pockets of the American people. The
American people should be spending their money on other more important things
in life and not on drugs.
The
non-legalization of marijuana will decrease the amount of people wasting money
on marijuana with strict law enforcement.
Strict law enforcement will keep marijuana out of the hands of minors
and people who would abuse the drug if legal.
The Huffington Post claims that 9 percent of people who use eventually “meet clinical criteria for dependence”. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/04/marijuana-legalization-research_n_1850470.html
The numbers of people becoming physically
dependent on marijuana would increase dramatically if the laws were
diminished. Physical dependence leads to
many long-term negative effects. http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana
Marijuana could decrease the health and
lifestyle of millions of Americans without law enforcement of marijuana.
Although non-legalization decreases substance abuse, the drug war in the black market still continues to go on in America.
This report states that drug trafficking has
claimed the lives of over 55,000. Because drug cartels have been killing people
over the distribution into the United States, it is believed that legalization
would put an end to these drug cartels.
What many people do not see is that if marijuana were to be legalized,
drug cartels would still continue to sell marijuana, just cheaper than what it
is sold in marijuana dispensaries. If
there business goes down, it offers them more incentive to those cartels to
import other illegal and more harmful drugs such as cocaine, opiates, and
heroin. This would increase the amounts of other harmful drugs coming into our
country. http://www.drugwatch.org/Against%20Legalization%20of%20Drugs.htm The only way in which this drug war could end
is if all abused drugs were to be legalized and regulated in our society at a
low costs.
Another negative of non-legalization is the
criminal punishment that comes with possessing small amounts of marijuana. This has been said to be a problem which has
ruined many people’s futures.
Decriminalization of marijuana could decrease the punishment for
marijuana possession charges. The
American people must make sure decriminalization of marijuana does not get to
out of hand to the point where people are not afraid to use the drug
anymore. If we eliminate jail time for
marijuana possession, people may be less afraid to use marijuana and abuse it
more. The increased drug abuse could
lead to more marijuana being sold on the black market, thus causing more deaths
and drug trades. Our group believes
first-time offenders with small amounts of possession charges should only be
fined, rather than be put in jail. This
would give people a second chance to learn from their mistakes, along with
saving the government money for their jail time.
Like the decriminalization, our group believes
medical marijuana should be legal to people with severe illnesses but must have
some restrictions. We believe that if
morphine and other harmful drugs can be used for medicinal purposes, marijuana
should be allowed. Although it will be
helpful to patients with cancer, glaucoma, and other severe illnesses, the
United States must make sure it does not get in the hands of people without
illnesses. Therefore we believe doctors
must prescribe only small doses per appointment to patients they find it
necessary to be given to.
In your blog post, you say in your final paragraph, “We believe that if morphine and other harmful drugs can be used for medicinal purposes, marijuana should be allowed.” However, what you don’t mention is that there is a major difference between these drugs: Morphine and other drugs are approved by the FDA for medical purposes but marijuana is not.
ReplyDeletehttp://the420times.com/2012/06/lack-of-fda-approval-may-be-the-best-reason-to-use-medical-marijuana/
I noticed that in your blog post, you delve deeply in-depth and seem to touch on the major topics for and against legalization, decriminalization, and illegalization. However, you fail to adequately support your view of continued use of medical marijuana. After research, the concept of using marijuana for medical purposes has major faults. In reference to marijuana, you state in your last paragraph, “..it will be helpful to patients with cancer, glaucoma, and other severe illnesses…” This is a tricky statement. Though there are some benefits to medicinal marijuana, there are many serious side effects. The danger of increased risk of psychosis and increased risk of cancers make it appear as though the benefits may not be worth the extreme risks. These risks seem even less necessary when other treatment alternatives are taken into consideration. There are other options, discovered after marijuana had become the widely used drug, approved by the FDA that are producing much more effective results without the dangerous side effects.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/131459-cons-medical-marijuana/
Yes, I agree that morphine and marijauna have different effects and can be harmful to the body if abbused. Morphine is infact more harmful than marijuana, because it works a different way "marijuana/cannibus also worls on the brain but in a different manner[than morphine] causing euphoria which is about the opposite of depression" It is also less addictive than morphine is. Although I agree that marijuana can be harmful if abbused, it should be used as a medicine only to patients in need of pain relief.
Deletehttp://www.salem-news.com/articles.march022009/mj_vs_morphine_pl_3-2-09.php
Also i do state our groups view in the last paragraph saying that it should be legal with some restrcitions on who can purchase it and how it is used.
I agree that THC in marijuana may cause psychosis and anxiety, but according to cancer.org the CBD in marijuana has shown to decrease tumor growth and anxiety. They also state that marijuana can be taken by mout, which would decrease the negative effects of the drug on the body by limiting the amount entering the bloodstreat at once.
http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsand sideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/herbsvitaminsandminerals/marijuana
You say “physical dependence leads to many long-term negative effects”, but you leave out the list of positive long-term effects that you mentioned earlier in the post. You also say that we need to “make sure [marijuana] does not get in the hands of people without illnesses” by making sure doctors prescribe small doses. Wouldn’t this be harmful to those who needed larger amounts for serious forms of cancer? A better policy could be to have doctors gain licenses to prescribe medicinal marijuana so unnecessary prescriptions would decrease.
ReplyDelete“If there business goes down, it offers them more incentive to those cartels to import other illegal and more harmful drugs such as cocaine, opiates, and heroin.” This statement makes the assumption that more people would do these harder drugs if marijuana was legal. http://stopthedrugwar.org/speakeasy/2009/may/28/research_proves_marijuana_not_ga this includes a study that says that marijuana is not a gateway drug. Cartels import whatever is in demand in a country. Right now, marijuana is in demand because it is illegal. Your argument hinges on the assumption that people will do whatever drugs are readily available to them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHGxO1XhwkU Ron Paul would disagree with that in this video (starting at 1:55) he says that if heroin was legalized very few people would choose to start doing heroin. I don’t think that people would immediately start doing harder drugs just because cartels started importing them. While that may be true for a small number of cases, many cartels would be forced to shut down (at least in the United States).
In the section of the History of Marijuana you stated that “Marijuana was brought into the United States in 1961, when the colony of Jamestown required all settlers to grow Cannabis by Law.” The fact that the colony of Jamestown required all settlers to grow Cannabis by law is true, but here on the History of Jamestown site it states in the second paragraph that it wasn’t until “May 14, 1607, that the Virginia Company explorers landed on Jamestown Island to establish the Virginia English colony on the banks of the James River, 60 miles from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.” It also states here on the Rise and Fall of Marijuana site, in the fifth paragraph that the Jamestown colony enacted the first marijuana law in 1619. I say this because; the whole argument is now incorrect because you have stated the wrong year of 1961. That’s a 300 year difference for the year you put and the actual year. Colonization ended for Jamestown in the 1700’s and by 1961 it was an historical site.
ReplyDeleteMedical Marijuana legalization would only lead to bigger problems because you’re making it ok for a certain group of people to have it. This may lead to: people faking illness to receive the prescription from their doctor, people who work at the hospital receiving it from the doctor illegally, illegal prescriptions written and it also would cause an attack to hospitals because they will become the ones with the biggest supply. Legalization of Medical Marijuana will have the same effects as you stated non-legalization will have with the exception of medical purposes. It will still cause people to sale it illegally and send the message of tolerance for drug use to youths. The legalization of marijuana will end some of the illegal problems in the latter and actions similar to the exchange Dave Chappelle and the Doctor makes in the clip.
VIDEO:PLEASE WATCH ==> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDHVi3h6ZXw
You stated in your analysis that “The non-legalization of marijuana will decrease the amount of people wasting money on marijuana with strict law enforcement.” Marijuana is not legalized now and there still are a lot of people using the drug even with the strict laws that the U.S have now upon them. The money that is made by the people today is still being wasted and it’s only cycling among the people. If only medical marijuana was legal it will still be the same. The legalization of marijuana will take that money from the cycle of just the few people who sale and consume it illegally and put it into the cycle of the economy and that money can go towards education or bring the deficit down. Either way it won’t stay amongst the same people going through the same cycle. You stated in the legalization of marijuana section, its “estimated to save the United States roughly 10-14 Billion dollars per year by Harvard Economics Professor, Jeffrey Miron” (http://legalizationmedicalmarij.blogspot.com/).
You also stated in the non-legalization section that “The numbers of people becoming physically dependent on marijuana would increase dramatically if the laws were diminished. Physical dependence leads to many long-term negative”. With medical marijuana you will still have the same process going on with the people who are getting prescriptions for this drug. It will help them with their sickness but at the same time causing those people more long-term negatives because they have become dependent of the drug. Some patients will still abuse the prescription and because it’s not legalized for other people the crime rate will stay the same or increase and it will still land in the hands of minors. Legalizing Medical Marijuana makes no changes to the economy or the crime rates. If the U.S legalize marijuana for medical reasons they might as just legalize it all together.
Links:
http://www.apva.org/history/
http://www.ozarkia.net/bill/pot/RiseFallMarijuana.html
First off, I would like to apologize for the factual error of the Jamestown date. Obviously that was a mistake, the correct information is that the English introduced it to Jamestown in 1611 (http://www.narconon.org/drug-information/marijuana-history.html).
DeleteWe understand the inherent risks to legalizing medical marijuana that you addressed, however, your concerns are already taking place and yet, 17 states have legalized it. The taboo surrounding marijuana is almost unfair in comparison to other doctor prescribed and administered drugs. The simple poor connotation associated with the drug limits the public opinion, and frankly, many of the fully legalized drugs have harsher effects on the mind and body.
Obviously, you are in disagreement with the facts and figures our group has brought to the table. While we understand your reasoning, we would like to offer you this analogy: if marijuana were taxed just like cigarettes, consumption would decrease due to the ability for people to pay for it. Often times people enjoy the thrill of doing something illegal, just simply because it is breaking the law. You see this with teenagers and shoplifting, even though teenagers are the demographic with the most expendible income. Allowing marijuana to become legal will have a lot of consequences, but let's allow the 17 states that have taken the plunge already to report back to us with the data supporting or rejecting our hypothesis and go from there.
Under long term positive effects, you mentioned “improves brain function.” Well according the National Institute on Drug Abuse (http://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/directors-page/messages-director/2012/09/marijuanas-lasting-effects-brain) “studies have shown a link between prolonged marijuana use and cognitive or neural impairment.” Particularly for youth, using marjiuana “when the brain is still rewiring, pruning, and organizing itself can have a negative and long-lasting effects on the brain.” For example lowering your IQ; this statement has been supporting by numerous articles
ReplyDeleteCnn: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CC8QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2012%2F08%2F27%2Fhealth%2Fhealth-teen-pot%2Findex.html&ei=YMOCUKmBPYLc8ASc_oHgAw&usg=AFQjCNEpexo9rkcozhjH2AK_MORYdNNIBA&sig2=5WBWjujI1iMsbB74Hy37Aw
TIMES: http://healthland.time.com/2012/08/28/does-weekly-marijuana-use-by-teens-really-cause-a-drop-in-iq/
ABC NEWS: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/08/27/teenage-marijuana-use-may-hurt-future-iq/
Theguardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/neurophilosophy/2012/mar/02/how-marijuana-impairs-memory
Your video is not from a reliable source, who is MrPaullyD16 and why would I watch this video with an instrumental. You could find a more valid source video.
I agree that the legalization would allow weed to seem acceptable and increase the use of a “harmful” and “psychoactive” drugs. To strengthen your statements use more sources beyond the videos. For example in order to show the potential influx in users one could use the quote from CNN’s article (http://www.cnbc.com/id/36267223/Why_We_Should_Not_Legalize_Marijuana) which states that “today there are 15.2 million current marijuana users in comparison to 129 million alcohol users and 70.9 million tobacco users.
Chelsea, we chose to lay out our argument in the beginning rather than the end. From our experience, blogs that state an argument in the beginning are more effective at presenting points to progress our argument. Many people would be turned away from a blog that seemed pointless, such as a blog that did not present a point until the end (because many people would stop reading before getting to the point.) The point of that video was to be humorous and attract viewers, but in hindsight, you have a valid point that it is nonsensical in this context. Thank you for the advice about mental addictiveness, but we already have a video talking about the neurological effect of different drugs. Adding an extraneous amount of information about drugs affecting the brain would not be necessary. If you have any specific information that would add to our blog please post that with why it is important for us.
ReplyDelete