Marijuana Argument Paper
To Legalize or Not to Legalize
The question of whether or not to legalize marijuana has been a hot spot for this generation and is something that has enflamed a lot of passion in people. This issue plays a big part in the lives of Americans because marijuana is the most commonly used, and abused, drug in the United States (DuPont par. 3). Some people think it should be legalized because it would be good for the economy, it would help stop the drug wars, and because they believe it’s the right of individuals to smoke marijuana if they so desire.
Other people think that it should not be legalized because of its negative health effects, dangers to society, and because they don’t think that marijuana has any benefits to the community of our country. Because of the scope of this issue, there are many strong arguments for and against the legalization of marijuana. However, in my opinion, marijuana should not be legalized due to its harmful side effects, negative impact on our economy, and overall danger to society. The first reason marijuana should not be legalized is that it leads to numerous health concerns for the user and those around him or her.
Marijuana will increase the heart rate by 20% to 100% after using it and this can lead to later heart problems. It also affects the lungs and because when smoking marijuana, one inhales more deeply and for a longer time than when smoking cigarettes, so the effect on the lungs is even worse (“Marijuana” screens 1-2). It can lead to coughing, pulmonary infections, and lung cancer, and marijuana also represses the immune system, which exposes the body to numerous diseases (“What are the medical dangers of marijuana use? ” screens 1-2).
Finally, marijuana is very unhealthy for the brain. According to the web page “Marijuana” written by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana causes one to have distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, and problems with learning and memory. These results can last for multiple days. Other extreme mental diseases that smoking marijuana can cause are anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia (screen 1). Not only that, but marijuana can indeed be addictive which leads to further health problems (“What are the medical dangers of marijuana use? ” screen 3).
Many people, when arguing in favor for the legalization of marijuana, neglect the negative impact marijuana has on its user, which is an incredibly important part of the argument. Yet marijuana does not only negatively affect the user, it also presents many dangers for society. One of these dangers is all the health risks that come from secondhand smoke. The secondhand smoke of marijuana can cause all of the health problems that smoking it directly does. If children are around smoke from marijuana, it can cause asthma, ear infections, breathing problems, and it can stunt their mental and emotional development (“Effects of Smoking” par. -2). Another concern for the safety of society that marijuana presents is people driving under the influence. If marijuana were legalized, the amount of DUI’s would absolutely increase (“Arguments For and Against Legalizing Marijuana” screen 1). Currently if a person gets pulled over for driving under the influence, they’re in for “double trouble,” so to speak, because the officer could arrest them for, obviously, driving under the influence, but they could also arrest them for possessing marijuana since it is illegal.
If marijuana is legalized, people will still be given DUI’s, but they won’t be worried about going to jail for possessing marijuana, which might lead to more DUI’s. Marijuana has so many dangerous outcomes on society, which is one more reason why it should not be legalized. Finally, marijuana truly would not have any positive outcomes on our country. Many people argue that if we legalize marijuana, we can put high taxes on it and improve our economy from it. However, marijuana is very easy to get from other sources, so why would people buy taxed marijuana when they can get along just fine with marijuana bought from other locations? DuPont par. 11). People can grow their own marijuana in their backyards, get some from friends, or even get it from another country. In addition, the legalization of marijuana could lead to people advocating for the legalization of other, more dangerous drugs, which would cause of plethora of new problems. In the end, legalizing marijuana would truly do no good for our society. In conclusion, legalizing marijuana would not help at all in our fight to prevent the abuse of this drug.
Legalizing marijuana will lead to numerous health problems, will hurt the safety of all people, not just the users, and it will do no general good for society. In fact, legalizing marijuana will simply increase the number of users and abusers. An effective way for controlling our country’s use of marijuana would be creating more prevention awareness problems. Many people do not know the harmful effects of marijuana and if they did, the amount of people who use marijuana would most likely drop. We need to take action to educate people about the harmful effects of marijuana so that this issue oes become exacerbated in the future.
Works Cited
- “Arguments For and Against Legalizing Marijuana. ”Pros & Cons of Legalizing Marijuana. University of Missouri at St. Louis. Web. 11 Sept. 2012.
- DuPont, Dr. Robert L. “Why We Should Not Legalize Marijuana. ”Marijuana & Money. CNBC. 20 Apr. 2010. Web. 11 Sept. 2012.
- “Effects of Smoking. ”Diseases & Health Conditions. Livestrong. 2012. Web. 11 Sept. 2012. “Marijuana.
- ”DrugFacts. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Nov. 2010. Web. 11 Sept. 2012. “What are the medical dangers of marijuana use? ” Health Concerns. Harvard. Web. 11 Sept. 2012.
