Websites on Marijuana - Essay Example

Websites on Marijuana School The issue of marijuana legalization is one of the most controversial nowadays. Hence multiple websites present different data on the matter of whether marijuana is acceptable for common use or is it extremely harmful. The two websites that will be compared within the scopes of the essay are: the official website of National Institute on Drug Abuse (http://www.drugabuse.gov/) and the website of a network “Moms for Marijuana International” (http://www.momsformarijuana.org/). The information presented on these websites differs according to what each of them is promoting. As the website www.momsformarijuana.org sets itself as a “grassroots network and organization of parents and other citizens of the world who are concerned with the ignorant war that continues to be fought against the Cannabis plant and how it is negatively affecting the future generations of this earth”. Thus it becomes obvious that the website presents information that is supposed to assure its readers that use of marijuana is absolutely safe and should be permitted not only for adults but also for children. As the website’s name is engaged with moms, it means that they emphasize the fact that marijuana is so safe that it can even be used by children. The creators of this website are Serra Frank and Cheryl Shuman who are both moms and dedicated fighters for marijuana’s rights in society. The interesting thing concerning the board of directors is that both women have neither medical nor legal degree to claim themselves as experts on the matter of marijuana. Apart from their lack of education in this sphere, there are no any other reasons to trust the women’s expertise concerning multiple both short and long-term effects of marijuana, because, according to their biographies presented on the website, the women are just mere supporters of marijuana who once decided to create a website to gather other supporters of the drug. On the page that is dedicated to information and some crucial facts about marijuana’s safety, the authors present multiple facts that prove various advantages of marijuana for human organism. One thing that is definitely worth noticing is that all the facts describe how useful marijuana is and how it helps people with multiple problems (there is even a section about treatment of cancer cases with marijuana, which sounds really fantastic). Thus the website describes a long-term history of marijuana as a drug and mentions that many years ago people didn’t even think of marijuana as of something that could do harm, as the drug had always helped people in various diseases’ treatment. Also, based on some researches, the website asserts that marijuana is not even harmless to human organism but may even treat human lungs and stops epilepsy. However, there are no other researches, except for the one mentioned on the website, that would prove the statement. Basically the website postulates marijuana as a kind of panacea, which obviously ignores some crucial facts concerning its harm regarding human organism. Also, there are no opponents’ arguments presented on the website. It turns out that the website describes all the advantages of marijuana usage without mentioning its disadvantages, so it seems like marijuana is totally safe and the creators of the website don’t see what the appeal is. Thus they even advice using marijuana during pregnancy and breastfeeding and the backup arguments that they present are based on a research conducted by a medical doctor. The time when the information on the website was updated the last time is unknown, as it is not mentioned anywhere; although all the researches and evidences from the website are from the past few years. The main problem is that the links that the website suggests to visit to learn more information on particular topics are not of some official research centers or any serious studies, these are links from some suspicious resources from the Internet, which provide doubtful information on the matter of marijuana use. The point is that the resource seems to present real facts based on real researches, they even provide specific links on these researches, but the information doesn’t look trustworthy because it looks more like propaganda of marijuana. Hence, they promote the drug by adjusting their arguments and facts to the message that they want to send, which is too obvious and radical: marijuana is a good, harmless thing and those who don’t think so are wrong. Another website is the official website of National Institute on Drug Abuse (http://www.drugabuse.gov/), which addresses the existing problems of illegal drugs use and explains both advantages and disadvantages of different drugs and their misuse. The very first thing worth noticing regarding the website is that it looks definitely more solid and official than the “Moms for Marijuana”. As far as it presents the results of multiple current researches on the matter of drug abuse, its information is more official and refers to scientific studies. The website was created by scientists who gathered to explore the matter of drug abuse. They postulate their mission as making people aware of harm from drug abuse and prevent multiple hazardous consequences that drugs usage leads to. Thus the page about marijuana has the most current information on the matter (last updated in April 2015) and presents facts about the drug retrieved from the latest researches conducted by scientists. The relevance of the resources can be checked in references, as each and every fact has a reference with the last name of the scientist responsible for the research’s results. Such kind of presentation of information is definitely trustworthy. Hence, the website presents information that explains the definition of marijuana, its history, different ways of usage, and its effects on human organism. It turns out that multiple researches have denoted that marijuana indeed has some positive effects like reduction of painful feelings, causes positive changes in mood and is able to relax its user. However, the scientists from the National Institute on Drug Abuse warn marijuana users that the drug is very dangerous, as it may cause difficulties with thinking and remembering, which leads to certain impair of intelligence. Moreover, a research by Meier (2012) presented in the article has proved that long-term use of marijuana may affect human intelligence, as the drug causes certain brain damages. In comparison, the previous website claimed that marijuana does no harm to brain, which is definitely not true according to many other studies presented on the second website. Also, the “Moms for Marijuana” website presents a research that asserts that marijuana is absolutely safe for pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers; however, the website of National Institute on Drug Abuse argues this point and claims that use of the drug during pregnancy leads to the embryo’s irreversible brain damage. Also, the first website says that marijuana is a kind of drug that doesn’t lead to any addiction, when the second website argues that it is not true and the researches by Lopez (2011) et al. have proved that the drug leads to severe addiction. Moreover, my own research on the topic has shown that marijuana causes the effect when person who has used marijuana for quite a long time can’t get enough of the drug to satisfy oneself, so one starts using harder drugs to get satisfaction, which is twice as worse than a simple addiction (Berger 2000). Furthermore, another study has revealed that marijuana indeed causes depression, which is not mentioned on the first website and noted on the second (Green & Ritter 2000). Thus obviously the “Mom for Marijuana” website is less accurate and trustworthy than the website of National Institute on Drug Abuse. The point is that the first website presents information very unilaterally, using some false facts and unbelievable researches to support their point, when the second website operates real facts and corroborates them, referring to real researches and scientific experiments. References "DrugFacts: Marijuana". National Institute on Drug Abuse. April 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana "Cannabis Information for CPS Social Workers". Moms for Marijuana International. Retrieved from: http://www.momsformarijuana.com/cannabis-information Green, B.E. and Ritter, C. (2000). Marijuana Use and Depression. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 41(1), 40-49. Berger, A. (2000). Marijuana Has Potential For Misuse. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 321, 979. Lopez-Quintero C, Pérez de los Cobos J, Hasin DS, et al. (2011). Probability and predictors of transition from first use to dependence on nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine: results of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Drug Alcohol Depend. 115(1-2), 120-130. Meier MH, Caspi A, Ambler A, et al. (2012). Persistent cannabis users show neuropsychological decline from childhood to midlife. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 109,E2657-2664. Read More