Why shouldnt marijuanas be legalized essay

April 6, 2011

They say marijuana is a helpful medicine. They say it makes you calm down and feel good. They also say that it isn’t as dangerous or harmful as alcohol and other drugs. Those are some reasons why they want to legalize marijuana. But are they right? No they are not. Marijuana should stay illegal in the United States because if it is legalized, more people will smoke it, causing negative effects on health and families. If marijuana is legalized, people will think smoking marijuana is something we can do every day at anytime, which increases drug use. People are going to smoke marijuana without getting in trouble or getting arrested. Also there is going to be easier access to marijuana, and it will be cheaper to buy. These same things happened when alcohol was legalized. Also, drug dealers can grow marijuana without getting arrested, and make a bunch of money off of it. “Van Deventer, a news reporter, described how he and his friends used drugs casually for a while. He felt like he was growing closer to addiction. But buying illegal drugs wasn’t easy. Van Deventer and his friends feared being arrested. They worried about undercover cops posing as drug dealers, who often sold them fake drugs” (Legalizing Drugs, pg 67). According to this passage, Van Deventer stopped using drugs when it was illegal, because he didn’t want to get arrested. If drugs are legalized, he and his friends would use drugs casually again. Increased drug use leads to negative health effects. For example people who are depressed use marijuana because they believe it will calm them down, and make them feel better. However, this isn’t true because marijuana worsens depression. Other negative health effects are respiratory illness, lung infections, and cancer of the lungs, mouth, throat, and esophagus. Marijuana users have a higher risk of cancer then cigarette smokers. Also, after a few minutes of smoking marijuana, your heart beats faster and your blood pressure drops. Because of lower blood pressure and higher heart rate, researchers found that marijuana users have a four times higher chance of a heart attack within the first hour of smoking marijuana. Legalizing marijuana would also lead to negative effects on families. Marijuana use at work and school lessens from 13.6% in 1988, to 3.8% in 2006, according to USA Today. Marijuana use basically got smaller after it was legalized. Also, younger teens will use it. Parents will use it and give bad example to younger kids and teens, and parents will use it and become high around their kids. Marijuana affects teens and their ability to concentrate in school, and drug-using parents will neglect or abuse their children. If marijuana stays illegal, these negative effects will lessen. “The more the barriers there are (cops or the hassle or the fear of dying from an overdose) the less likely you are to get addicted,” according to Van Deventer (Legalizing Drugs, pg 68). He’s trying to make the point that because marijuana is illegal, there are more consequences when smoking marijuana, than if it was legalized.

Why take the risk of legalizing marijuana? It is only giving a bad idea to teens, parents, and families. Increased drug use, negative health effects, and negative effects on families are all the outcomes of legalizing marijuana. So think about this, will it put a negative affect on your family? Will it increase drug use by people? Will it affect teens and their ability to learn? Will it make you depressed and a have higher risk of cancer? Yes it will.

The topic of this controversial essay will be about is the legalization of marijuana. I will be advocating for the legalization of marijuana. The legalization of marijuana is so controversial because it was outlawed in the past, but now people are discovering new things it could do and wish to have it legalized once again. The legalization of marijuana can offer medical benefits, generate a lot of tax money, and decreases prisoner space. The legalization of marijuana can offer many health benefits. In the past, it was used as medical treatment for diseases such as malaria, rheumatism, fever, dysentery, or depression; as an appetite stimulant; or as a way to induce sleep. It can help reduce anxiety, depression, and restlessness. 29 states…show more content…
If marijuana is regulated and taxed properly, it can generate millions of dollars that can help pay the debt of the US and/or help cities rebuild a better infrastructure. Marijuana has become the third most popular drug in the US behind alcohol and tobacco. It is a renewable resource and is not just used for smoking; it can be used to make paper, oils, and cloth. Every year millions of tax dollars are being spent to enforce marijuana laws. If these laws were repealed and marijuana was legalized, we would not only make money from the marijuana, but we would also be using a lot less money to enforce marijuana laws. The legalization of marijuana would create an increase in jobs because it will create a new industry. It can create many businesses related to marijuana such as spas, textiles, paper, marijuana dispensaries, and many others. All of these will help boost the economy. The only reason it was banned was because of a man named William Randolph Hearst wanted to eliminate a textile competitor because he was using hemp to create his textiles. Hearst was big in the media so he launched a marijuana prohibition movement and later got marijuana banned in Congress. Marijuana is easy to cultivate. It is illegal to cultivate a lot at once because even though the state allows it because the federal government never legalized it. In the end, it would greatly help the country and we would

“Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn 't the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit … unnatural?” -Bill Hicks, (Marijuana Bill Hicks, GoodReads). The human being have used marijuana in the past and present. People have used marijuana in many different ways this being to help himself or others. Marijuana has many advantages and disadvantages depending where you live that affect millions of people every day and also the US. People that live in states that marijuana has not been legalized yet do not have the same advantages and the people from other states that can smoke it freely because it 's legal. Marijuana is the most important (human theme) impacting American lives. There are clear…show more content…
Also liberty because we should be free to do whatever we want while we are not hurting anyone and there has been no recorded deaths to cause of marijuana only to the person that consume it. One connection that I can do in general to marijuana is Alcohol. From 1920-1933 alcohol was banned in the US but before that time it was legal and then after that time they decided to legalize it again. Legalization of marijuana has no connection with my life since I don 't live in the US and also I don 't use marijuana. In conclusion Marijuana is something you can prosper from in its search. The hops for the people that smoke weed is that it will make them feel better and help them in their life. The main reasons for its illegalization were racist beliefs and false statements. It has been used as a medicine since an ancient asian dynasty used it. “They lie about marijuana. Tell you pot-smoking makes you unmotivated. Lie! When you 're high, you can do everything you normally do just as well — you just realize that it 's not worth the fucking effort. There is a difference”, ― Bill Hicks, (Marijuana Bill Hicks,

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