Should Marijuana be legal?

University Degree Social studies

Nick Santini 12/10/03

Professor Price Argument Paper

Argument Paper

Should Marijuana be legal?

The arguable question I am taking a side on is, should Marijuana be legal to consume and cultivate? Although the argument has been argued before, the topic has never left the table. Marijuana is a considered a gateway drug that is inhaled into the lungs and causes the subject to become docile and euphoric. The idea in most uses of this drug is certainly not for medicinal purposes. The usual purpose is to become high.

The side I have taken for this question is yes, Marijuana should be legal to

consume and cultivate. The reason I have taken this side on this question is because I feel

that marijuana has become one of the leading problems for the government. The

government alone has spent billions of dollars on the drug war. The only legal way to use

the drug is if you have permission from a doctor to use it for medicinal reasons.

Marijuana control began in 1923. From the 1920’s to the 1940’s use of marijuana was

uncommon until the Canadians started to use the drug (cannabis). Since then the drug has

moved from Canada to countries all over the world including the U.S. Many people do not understand the effects that it can have. I think of Marijuana as a cigarette with a much bigger buzz. The effects of marijuana are different for different people. Marijuana does cause some physiological changes while under the influence (like increased heart rate and blood pressure, "munchies", reddening of the eye), however, research tends to support that these changes are not threatening to the user and are only temporary. Marijuana causes "tachycardia" (rapid heart action). It increases one's heart rate and blood pressure (questia)skyling. One reason why Marijuana should be legal is that there is no good reason for it not to be legal. The government should not have the right to take away our individual rights. As long as people aren’t getting harmed there should be no government involved (questia). Our government likes to spend our money chasing peaceful people on boats who like to get high, The taxpayers end up having to foot the bill for there lockup. So the government could end up spending our money on more important issues if Marijuana was legal.

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People are also under the impression that Marijuana is hazardous to our health, well so is bacon. Marijuana is only hazardous to people to who choose to do it. It is in the same boat with cigarettes and fatty foods that give us lung cancer and make us gain weight. The economic reality is that huge amounts of money can be realized by tapping into the illicit drug trade. As Courtwright (42) explains, "if you can't beat it, join it" because people will always find a way to get around the system with a zero-tolerance on drug use policy. For ...

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People are also under the impression that Marijuana is hazardous to our health, well so is bacon. Marijuana is only hazardous to people to who choose to do it. It is in the same boat with cigarettes and fatty foods that give us lung cancer and make us gain weight. The economic reality is that huge amounts of money can be realized by tapping into the illicit drug trade. As Courtwright (42) explains, "if you can't beat it, join it" because people will always find a way to get around the system with a zero-tolerance on drug use policy. For example, they may resort to domestic cultivation as opposed to importing cannabis. Cannabis use has always been around and it is unlikely to go away through any "get tough and spend money policy." Thus, why not deal with the reality and make money in the process.

Marijuana has also been looked at as a medical drug. Doctor Solomon Snyder, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and Doctor Grinspoon, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School argue that cannabis has been used extensively "with apparent success to treat a variety of ailments, " from migraines and excessive menstrual bleeding to ulcers, epilepsy and even tooth decay. Oral doses of THC can and have also been used to combat the war on cancer and chemotherapy. In one study, oral doses of THC alleviated the cancer pains in patients, while causing drowsiness (Jones and Lovinger 435). It is also used as an anti-nausea agent for cancer patients (Fackelmann 88). Marinol, a synthetic THC pill, has also been used to combat weight loss in AIDS patients. It is effective for weight gain (Stone 268). Marijuana is also effective in helping patients withdraw from the use of addictive drugs and in treating various psychiatric illnesses. More recent studies have reported that marijuana smoking may prevent glaucoma by decreasing the fluid pressure in the eyes (Hellman 6). Fackelmann (88) explains that besides recreation, many people suffering from glaucoma turn to marijuana to help restore their vision. Smoking has obvious advantages over swallowing a pill because the timelag from swallowing a pill to getting its effects is long and variable. If the cannibinol properties travel throughout the lungs, it hits the bloodstream within 10 to 15 seconds. It may even be better to use water pipes, which cool hot gasses and filter out "particulates and coal tars" without absorbing THC or other active ingredients (Kleiman 166).

All in all Marijuana has become a very popular and important drug in our society. The reasons why it is illegal are faulty and have made no impact on stopping the drug from its use. With this argument I hope I have made a dent in the oppositions corner. Marijuana might be a gateway but, it has its reasons for being here. God put that drug on earth for a reason and the government is badgering the reason.

Governments should stop dreaming of a drug free society and wake up to the situational reality. Whether the government adopts a policy of decriminalization or legalization, there needs to be more tolerance of a drug that is widely used and will likely remain to be widely used, because thus far enforcement has been ineffective in eradicating marijuana use and increased enforcement or slightly decreased enforcement is unlikely to make a difference. Furthermore, there are no longer any good reasons to keep marijuana illegal. It is a relatively harmless drug with excellent potential in medical advances and generating billions of dollars. The problem with reforming the present marijuana law is inertia. The government is reluctant to change the law because of appearing to promote the use of drugs to a public that is generally intolerant to its use because of its minimal exposure to the drug. However, marijuana is not a very dangerous drug and the costs of controlling it far outweigh the value of keeping it illegal. Inertia does not provide an adequate reason for safeguarding the status quo and society needs to look at alternative policies - starting with decriminalization. It is high time that the government reform the laws that prohibit marijuana use and adopt a more realistic, softer policy for a relatively soft drug.

-WORKS CITED-

-Hellman, Arthur D. Laws Against Marijuana; the Price we Pay. Chicago:

-Jones, Helen C. and Lovinger, Paul W. The Marijuana Question; And Science's Search for an Answer. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. 1985

-Courtwright, David T. "Drug Legalization, the Drug War, and Drug Treatment in Historical Perspective," Drug Control Policy; Essays in Historical & Comparative Perspective. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press. 1992.

-Stone, Richard (ed). "Reefer madness at FDA." Science. vol.263. Washington: The American Association for the Advancement of Science. 1994.

-Fackelmann, Kathy A. "Marijuana and the Brain; Scientists Discover the Brain's own THC." Science News. vol.143. Washington, D.C.: Science Services. 1993.

-Kleiman, Mark A.R. Marijuana; Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control. New

-WEBSITES-