Should Marijuana Be Legalized?
Yes. Marijuana was made illegal by the Reagan administration to discourage the “hippie movement.” He blamed the economy, poverty, crime, and violence on the use of marijuana. Nancy Reagan started the “Just Say NO to Drugs” campaign. Clinton and Bush also ran on the same platform. Marijuana was made illegal as a political strategy, not because our government cares about our health.
Many argue that marijuana has a negative effect on pregnancy. Yes, marijuana is known to reduce the gestational age. Although, when used on occasion, there are no harmful effects on pregnancy. On the other hand, tobacco and alcohol, both legal in the United States, are known to reduce weight, length, chest, and head circumference at birth. Some people also argue that if we legalize marijuana, it will increase peer pressure for adolescents to use because there would be less legal fear in using the drug. It would still be illegal for people under the age of 18 to use the drug, therefore there is still the fear of using under the age. Tobacco and alcohol are both legal but illegal for people under the age of 18. Instead of spending money on enforcing the law of marijuana being illegal, educate adolescents on why and when this drug can be harmful. There is also an understanding that marijuana can lead to death. 400,000 people per year die because of tobacco use. 50,000 people die per year because of alcohol use. There are no reported deaths due to marijuana. If you are really concerned about deaths due to drugs and alcohol, consider making tobacco and alcohol illegal. Lastly, making something illegal is expensive. America spends $60 million a year on the war on drugs. We spent even more money putting people in jail for crimes relating to drugs. The amount spent on the war on drug is enough to pay for a college education for the entire country. Also, by legalizing marijuana, we can insert a sales tax on the drug. America could make money from legalizing marijuana. ~Emma B. | No. If the United States were to legalize marijuana it would be detrimental to the health of many American citizens. Long-term use can result in the shrinking of the hippocampus, which causes emotional and memory issues, panic attacks, and delusions. Many people will likely begin to use this drug if it is legalized because it will be more easily accessible to the general public. You will no longer have to go through a dealer and have to worry about what is laced into it which will make it look much more appealing. Marijuana will end up like alcohol and tobacco and get in the hands of young middle school and high school children who aren’t matured enough to be using it.
Marijuana can effect the development of a growing teenager a lot like alcohol and tobacco do now. Research from the University of Cincinnati has proven that adolescents that use marijuana have lower thinking skills, lower complex attention, lower verbal memory and planning ability. When asked to do simple cognitive tasks like remembering the location of tasks. The adolescent users who were able to complete their tasks, had to use more parietal and frontal cortices to complete their tasks. That really means that they have to use their brains harder then they should. These side effects in adolescents have not yet been proven to improve over time. Females are at increased risk of these side effects because they have a larger prefrontal cortex but the risks are still high for males. The effect of marijuana legalization on the United States would be detrimental. Marijuana would be used by more adolescents along with alcohol and tobacco, which is a horrible combination if it is legalized. After prohibition was thrown out there was a higher rate of death due to liver failure. There is predicted to be a rapid increase in use of marijuana if it is legalized. ~Sydney J. |