People say marijuana is harmful to your mind and body, but I say what isn't nowadays? If marijuana doesn't have any more damaging effects or even up to the amount of damage as tobacco and alcohol and doesn't make you any more inebriated, then why is it illegal? This is my last hope to show any disbelievers that marijuana shouldn't be any less legal than tobacco and alcohol. Marijuana should be legal, and if it isn't, then tobacco and alcohol shouldn't be either. Some people think marijuana is this horrible drug that messes you up, makes you crazy, and turns you into a criminal but that thought is old thinking of the past. "The idea has persisted that in the long run smoking marijuana causes some sort of mental or emotional deterioration. In three major studies conducted in Jamaica, Costa Rica, and Greece, researchers have compared heavy long-term cannabis users with non-users and found no evidence of intellectual or neurological damage, no changes in personality, and no loss of the will to work or to participate in society" (Grinspoon). I acknowledge that there is some basis for pothead stereotypes. People who are under the influence of marijuana most of the time, like people who are drunk most of the time, may not get good grades in school or promotions at work. But that does not mean that occasional marijuana use renders people incapable of academic or professional success, any more than an occasional drink does (Sullum).
People also have this theory about marijuana leading to other drugs. The "gateway theory," formerly known as the "steppingstone hypothesis," has long been a staple of anti-marijuana campaigns. “Marijuana use, it is claimed, leads inexorably to the use of more dangerous drugs like cocaine, heroin and LSD. If we can stop kids from trying marijuana, we can win the drug war” (Nadelmann). This has also been shot down by the Institute of Medicine and Canada. People who do illicit drugs most of the time have used marijuana first, just like most people who have used marijuana have drunk alcohol first. There is no proven fact that marijuana leads to other illicit drugs; it is true that if you are a marijuana user, you may be around or exposed to other drugs because of where you choose to use it, or buy it from. But marijuana is not in itself a gateway to other drugs. People are confusing correlation with causation; it is not safe to conclude from the fact that marijuana users are more likely to use heroin or cocaine that marijuana use results in heroin or cocaine use (Nadelmann). Most people who use marijuana do not use other illicit drugs such as opiates and heroin, just like not all people who drink alcohol use marijuana.
Now that I'm speaking of marijuana and alcohol, I would like to make some comparisons. Unlike alcohol, marijuana tends to suppress criminal and violent behavior whereas the intoxication from alcohol may induce violence, rage, and criminal behaviors. The intoxication from marijuana on the other hand "induces a mild lethargy that is not conducive to any physical activity, let alone the commission of crimes. The release of inhibitions results in fantasy and verbal (rather than behavioral) expression. During the high, marijuana users may say and think things they would not ordinarily say and think, but they generally do not do things that are foreign to their nature. If they are not already criminals, they will not commit crimes under the influence of the drug..."(Grinspoon) So I must conclude in repeating that marijuana should not be illegal while tobacco and alcohol are legal, it is simply a contradiction.
Works Cited
Lester Grinspoon, James B. Bakalar, and Ethan Russo. "Marijuana Use Is Not Usually Harmful." Opposing Viewpoints: Marijuana. Ed. Jamuna Carroll. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Web. Century College Library. 8 Feb. 2010
Nadelmann, Ethan A. "The Dangers of Marijuana Use Are Exaggerated." At Issue: Legalizing Drugs. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2001. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Century College Library. 23 Feb. 2010
Sullum, Jacob. "The Truth Behind Propaganda About Marijuana's Adverse Effects." Contemporary Issues Companion: Marijuana. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2002. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Century College Library. 23 Feb. 2010
I agree with you that marijuana is no more "dangerous" than tobacco and alcohol. The effects are marijuana is at the “same” level as tobacco and alcohol. They all have their ups and downs but I believe as long as marijuana is regulated, it should be legalized. I have stated already in a previous post of mines that the reason people think that marijuana leads to other "harder" drugs is because the "buyers" are introduced to newer drugs when purchasing marijuana because it is illegal.
ReplyDelete