Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Legalization of Marijuana.
I believe marijuana should be legalized for many reasons. To start off marijuana is less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes combined. Tobacco kills over 400,00 people a year and alcohol caused around 15,387 deaths in 2007. Marijuana has actually been found to help treat many diseases and disorders. Such as Glaucoma, Arthritis, Appetite loss/Nausea, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and Nail Patella Syndrome. Not only does marijuana help us medically it also could help economically. Marijuana is the most widely used illegal substance. If marijuana was legalized the government could save millions of dollars. The government would not have to pay for the thousands of jail inmates charged with possession of marijuana and they could reduce funding to the narcotics departments. The only effects of marijuana are long term and is only caused by the smoke inhalation. Marijuana is one of the safest illegal substances because there is no way to overdose. Marijuana could change the future of the medical and economical world.
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I am not going to spend the time here to argue whether or not smoking marijuana is more harmful than smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol - such may very well be the case. But just because something harmful than cigarettes or alcohol does not mean that it should therefore be be recommended to the public as an endorsed and legal substance. I can understand if you feel that marijuana should be available as a "medically necessary drug" to help patients with certain diseases, but to make the broad, sweeping claim that the Federal government somehow owes it to the average recreational user to legalize their drug of choice is both reckless, laughable and irresponsible. There are simply not enough studies to say for certain whether or not marijuana causes any bodily harm or impairs a person's mental capacities to a certain degree. There are studies showing that marijuana does slow the reflexes. (Interesting enough there was a recent study connecting marijuana use to car accidents, wherein 38,000+ youth acknoowledged that they had smoked prior to the accident. I am not suggesting that marijuana was the sole conrtibutor to the accident, but it may have had an effect.)
ReplyDeleteI wonder why you favor legalization over decriminalization. You have to admit that you have no evidence as to whether or not a functioning, taxable open marijuana market would even exist at the end of legalization. More than likely, the underground black market would continue to thrive just as it always has. Why would someone who already hasa a thriving business want to trade that in for paying small business taxes? It doesn't make sense. What will more likely happen is that mariuana consumption will increase, overall productivity will decrease, taxes will go uncollected, and no one will be better off. It makes more sense for those who wish to smoke recreationally to move to California to help them pass a law for that state and leave the rest of the country out of the equation.
ReplyDeleteI agree that overall, marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. Too much alcohol use in bars can lead to violent situations due to over exaggerated anger, and many health problems can result in major health problems. But unnecessary deaths due to alcohol-related car accidents are by far the biggest problem. If marijuana is legalized, these car accident deaths may increase even farther. Whether it impairs your judgement more than alcohol is not really the biggest issue. It will still result in slower reaction time and will impair driving. Furthermore, it may not have as many deadly health effects, but it still has many downfalls. For instance, it is proven that marijuana greatly affects one's short-term memory. This may not be a serious health problem, but causes the user to seem less intelligent because he/she has trouble remembering simple day-to-day things. This can be a problem for America's future. However, I do agree that we shouldn't be wasting money by sending violators to jail, so maybe we could reduce the sentence to a fine unless someone is driving under the influence of it.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with the legalization of Marijuana. That it is less harmful does not mean that it is not harmful at all. It has been proven to kill neurons, which are the brain cells. Those cannot reproduce. If you kill them, they are gone for good. Also, Matijuana does damage the lungs. Why would you want to legalize something that damages either your brain or your lungs? If the government decided to have Marijuana's consumption as somethign illegal is for a reason. I bet the government has thought of the money this could bring to the country if it was legalize, but if they have not legalize it is for a reason. It does helps with some sicknesses, but this does not mean it should be legalize to everybody. That it helps the sick doesn't mean that the unsick should use Marijuana. What for? Just to hurt your lungs and have even more sick people? Marijuana should stay the way it is; only legal for medical reason. That's all.
ReplyDeleteI agree with marijuana legalization but only for medical purposes. i dont think legalizing marijuana in the form of alcohol was legalized would have any good consequences except that less people would be in jail for possession or consumption. Many people dont realize that legalizing marijuana would actually be very expensive for who ever uses it for reasons other than medical reasons. For people who sell it, would have to stop because it wouldnt make sense for people to sell it on their own instead of an actual store and theres no doubt it would be taxed. For people who smoke it, the cost would go extremely high. Some smoke shops have some form of legal marijuana and its at a very high price compared to what you can get around the corner of your house. If we legalized marijuana it would be how it is in california. Doctors would be the only people able to grow it.
ReplyDeleteFist of all, just because it is LESS harmful does not make un-harmful. Weed causes cancer too. Marijuana does not CURE any diseases, it riduces the pain or nausea with out taking and pills. If we legalize marijuana how long do you think it will stimulate the enconomy? How long do you think America could run correctly if everyone is stoned? You think the 1960's were the highlights? During the 60's when most were high out there minds the hippies spread around S.T.D's with thier "make love not war" theory, which by the way did not work and never will work. Before than sex use to be a confidential angagment between a man and woman. Drugs and sex go hand in hand. Now we have to teach about sex to our kids as soon as know the letters S.E.X. Teenagers getting pregnant before they learn how to make koolaid. Take a look at amsterdam. Legalized marijuana and prostitutes. So yeah lets legalize marijuana and prostitutes and become a third world country.
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