The Legalization of Marijuana(Essay)
 

This is an essay i wrote for class. You can choose to read it or choose to just put your comments on the Legalization of Marijuana. It was my persuasive essay.
I'll space out paragraph by paragraph.

Mrs. Wickham
Communication Arts IIB
23 May 2008


The Legalization of Marijuana
From skateboarding to bicycling, from jogging to running, from cutting grass to smoking grass, all pose minimal harm. Over the years, there has been no actual reliable proof that Marijuana should be Illegal. There has been a continuum of extremely misleading information and a~warnings' about the use of Marijuana, where as the only harm associated with Marijuana is prison. Marijuana is outlawed only due to cultural prejudice. Marijuana should be legalized because it proves to have medicinal purposes, it is not as bad as the media portrays it, and can substitute for other drugs/alcohol.

Marijuana continually proves to be medically positive throughout the years, helping relief from a number of illnesses/side effects caused by medicines treating an illness. Marijuana poses benefit in treating conditions like Aids in which it reduces nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite (Marijuana Policy Project). One of the leading causes of blindness in the United States is Glaucoma, in which marijuana can reduce intraocular pressure, in some cases stopping the damage to the eyes which reduces the cause of blindness. Marijuana serves as a savior to Cancer victims, it keeps their appetite up and it causes relief to nausea and vomiting which is due to chemotherapy. Marijuana also helps the muscle pain and spasms which is due to the disease and helping unsteadiness of motion or gait in general. Marijuana can help prevent epileptic seizures, and reduce the chronic pain caused by injuries and other things that cause pain. Clearly Marijuana proves to be medicinally beneficial.

There are many pieces of evidence about how the use of marijuana can damage the body; however this evidence is extremely misleading and extremely inaccurate. There is no actual proof that the use of Marijuana has an effect on the reproduction system, however the idea that it does damage the reproductive system is in many minds today. Tests done on animals show that unnecessarily high doses of THC are needed to have a deadly effect. The ratio is 1 to 40,000 to be exact. This means that a human being would need to intake 40,000 times as much marijuana as he or she originally needed to get high. If one gram can get a human high, then they would need to consume 40,000 grams or roughly eighty-nine pounds of marijuana for it to have a lethal effect. Marijuana has around the same amount of carcinogens as tobacco, except a tobacco smoker smokes much more tobacco than a regular marijuana user.

Marijuana is not nearly as bad as many think.
Many people do not smoke marijuana because it is illegal, so they choose to drink. Drinking sometimes leads to drunk driving. Some people choose to use harder drugs mainly because it gives them a much stronger a~high' than marijuana, however if marijuana were legal they would switch back to the legal drug because there is less to risk from doing something legal. Studies show that Marijuana and Alcohol car fatalities were relatively the same. After taking a closer look, it was found that 85% of the fatalities where the driver was intoxicated on marijuana, they were ALSO intoxicated on alcohol. For drivers intoxicated on marijuana, the rate was significantly lower. Marijuana is not a gateway drug. In 1993, Rand Corporation did a study to test this theory, in which they tested every state. Where the states that Marijuana had been found more easily and that have been decriminalized, the use of hard drugs has gone down. The rate for the lethal amount of alcohol is one to four or one to ten. 5000 people die from alcohol overdoses every year; and nobody dies from a marijuana overdose, ever, but Marijuana is a~sooo bad', right? Marijuana is has a miniscule danger factor, to a certain extent, however it is obvious from these facts that it is much safer than alcohol which is used more common and important to teens than their iPods and cell phones combined.

There is no proof that Marijuana has any benefit to the human body or society. Marijuana damages the body. Marijuana is a gateway drug. Marijuana has no medicinal purposes. Marijuana is a nuisance to society.

There is proof that Marijuana has benefit to the human body and society, the ones who do not believe it are the ones that have never tried reaping the benefits and the calming feeling that Marijuana serves. Marijuana damaging the human body is known to be true, however, a very misleading fact. Although it may damage the body, there is a skewed perceptive on just how much damage is done. Marijuana has about as many carcinogens as one cigarette, and statistics show that Marijuana is safer than alcohol and other drugs. Tests have shown that no change has been made on the reproductive system of a heavy user. The same has been shown for the brain of a heavy user. Where the states that Marijuana had been found more easily and that have been decriminalized, the use of hard drugs has gone down. That is the only proof you should need, evil skeptics. Marijuana poses benefit in treating conditions like Aids in which it reduces nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. Glaucoma, in which it can reduce intraocular pressure, in some cases stopping the damage to the eyes which reduces the cause of blindness. Cancer, it keeps your appetite up and it causes relief to nausea and vomiting which is due to chemo. Marijuana also helps the muscle pain and spasms which is due to the disease and helping unsteadiness of motion or gait in general (Marijuana Policy Project). Marijuana can also prevent epileptic seizures, and alleviate chronic pain caused by injuries and other things that cause pain. With these facts, the tables have turned. Marijuana could actually pose benefit and prove to be in some cases good for you.

Due to having medicinal purposes, not being as bad as the media portrays, and serving as a substitute for other drugs or alcohol, Marijuana should be legal. Decriminalize marijuana as a nation, as some states have already done. Not necessarily make it completely legal, but have a minor fine or turn it into something as bad as a parking ticket. There could be many scientific advances made with THC, scientists should utilize gods creations and what the world provides for them to the full extent. After all, everything happens for a reason, right?


Works Cited


Drug Policy Research Center. "Marijuana Use May Not Lead to the Use of Other Drugs." Opposing Viewpoints: Drug Abuse. Ed. Tamara L. Roleff. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Liberty Senior High School. 21 May. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T 010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010127248&source=gale&use rGroupName=libe17244&version=1.0>.


Hager, Paul. "Myths About the Harmful Effects of Marijuana." Contemporary Issues Companion: Marijuana. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2002. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Liberty Senior High School. 21 May. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T 010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010202202&source=gale&use rGroupName=libe17244&version=1.0>.


Lowry, Richard. "Marijuana Is Relatively Harmless." At Issue: Marijuana. Ed. Mary E. Williams. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Liberty Senior High School. 21 May. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T 010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010019217&source=gale&use rGroupName=libe17244&version=1.0>.


Project, Marijuana Policy. "Medical Marijuana Should Be Legalized." At Issue: Legalizing Drugs. Ed. Stuart A. Kallen. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Liberty Senior High School. 21 May. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T 010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010018223&source=gale&use rGroupName=libe17244&version=1.0>.

I'd argue the entire 'essay' but it'd be pointless, honestly.

Do it, pussy.

He made some good points.

He made some good points, but some of the grammar/mechanics used kind of brings down your credibility. Then again, this isn't a high level class.

To sum it up, being lazy and stupid doesn't equal the relaxation you gain from smoking marijuana.

I got 4.0's in highschool while smoking marijuana. Lazy and stupid? Nah.

4.0 while smoking pot and not in college? Sounds stupid and lazy to me.

You don't smoke pot and you're still not in college!


Sounds pretty stupid and fucking retarded to me.

3.7 in high school and 3.2 in college. Sounds real lazy to me.

I'm not claiming to be smart, or not. And I was in college, financial problems are holding me back. And I used to smoke pot until about 2 years or so, the same time I was last in college, *edited until this is moved to Flame Forum*

Wow you guys must just be the apiffany of everything good about smoking pot. For the majority though, pot heads work at McDonalds and don't do shit with their lives, you guys are just freaks.

Epiphany. Not apiffany. And you used it in the wrong context.

But hey, what do I know? I'm just a pothead.

The essay's horribly written. Not trying to be offensive, but you really should get a good writer to revise it for you next time.

Also, as much as you say marijuana isn't a gateway drug, I know plenty of people who started with marijuana and moved on to other drugs. I'm all for legalizing it due to the added tax revenue, but I think you've naive if you think smoking marijuana won't make you more likely to try other drugs. Which is not to say all people who smoke marijuana will try other drugs, but it makes it more likely as you've already become more comfortable with illicit drug usage and will be less inhibited to go on to chase that dragon elsewhere ;).

Instead of focusing on the point, you evade from it and passively choose to check grammar, nice.

You would do the same thing though, so what's your point?

Please don't troll me, for the second time.

You have no fucking point. For you to say that the majority of potheads do nothing with their lives and only work at McDonald's means you have no idea what you're talking about. I know of at least 10-15 people that smoke weed at my law firm, including attorneys. The fact is, the majority of Americans have smoked or do smoke weed, regardless of profession.

Make it legal already FFS.

I think the number of users is going to increase. It's becoming something common, such as drinking. Shit is getting more potent too, methinks.

Haha, you guys so adamately defend smoking pot like it's going to go out of style if you don't.

Regardless of the people you know that work at your "law firm", the people that I know, that smoke pot are mostly losers, that do happen to work at fast food places, don't have jobs, or are working at horribly shitty jobs. Each scenario is different. I agree it should be legalized, but from my own standpoint most people that use it are lazy and retarded. In all seriousness though I'd say it's safe to see is a gateway drug, and then after they try coke/meth/crack/heroin etc, then they are out of the pothead category and into a whole new game of nothingness.

Also, the marijuana that they use in all of these tests are strictly basic marijuana, there is nothing laced in them, they aren't made with any special formula, and they are used at a small dosage. So knowing wether smoking pot is bad for you or not is somewhat skewed, considering the testing isn't realistic.

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LOL

It is pretty obvious you have no idea what you're talking about.