Should Marijuana be Legalized - Research Paper Example

?Topic Should marijuana be legalized? Marijuana which is also known by the of “cannabis” is a drug which has raised many controversies in the recent times. The marijuana is an addictive drug which is obtained from a plant called “Cannabis Sativa”. The drug is made using the stem, bud, leaves and flowers of the Cannabis plant. According to (Cox)“Also called "pot," "weed," "grass," "ganja," and other slang terms, marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse”. Marijuana is used widely in many parts of the world and people prefer it as it is more natural form of drug. However, the usage of Marijuana is not legalized in many developed and developing countries. Even though marijuana is a natural drug, its threatening impact on people’s health has made it a drug to be avoided in all cases.(Thesis) Marijuana is a drug which is smoked and also consumed as a tea and also along with food items. This drug is banned by the government from usage as it has great potentiality for drug abusing. In developed country like USA, the Marijuana’s cultivation, selling and distribution is restricted due it‘s potential life threats. The government also found that this drug has no medicinal properties and hence cannot be legally allowed to be used by its citizens. However, there are many ancient records that suggest marijuana usage, since it is a drug which has the capability of rescuing a person from health ailments. But as the scientific and medical world denounces the usage of marijuana it is banned in most countries. History of Marijuana The history of Marijuana can be dated back to 2737 B.C. and the country which praised about its medicinal property was China. Marijuana is a drug which was used by ancient people to create euphoric experience in them. The use of marijuana historically moved from China to India and then to northern Africa. It was in the period of A.D. 500, that this drug got introduced in Europe. Generally speaking, the psychotic effect of marijuana was first recorded in the medical records of the Chinese emperor Sheng Nung. As per (Narconon International) “The first direct reference to a cannabis product as a psychoactive agent dates from 2737 BC, in the writings of the Chinese emperor Shen Nung. The focus was on its powers as a medication for rheumatism, gout, malaria, and oddly enough, absent-mindedness”. Apart from Chinese, the Muslim people also consumed it as an alternative recreational substance as the Quran prohibited the use of Alcohol consumption. It is through the Muslims, that this addictive drug arrived in North Africa and Persia. Even though, the marijuana was known for its intoxicating properties, more weight was given to its medicinal properties. However, it was in the 16th century that the Spanish introduced cannabis to the English land where it was later cultivated as an alternative for tobacco and for fiber. During the 20th century, the marijuana was only allowed to the show business world and the usage of marijuana among jazz musicians persuaded the music lovers to the use the drug extensively. However, the drug caused many health risks to its users; hence the government of many countries banned the drug for public’s safety. Marijuana has medicinal value and can be used moderately It is a known fact that, everything in the world has good and bad sides. In the same way, marijuana has some medicinal qualities which have been strongly illustrated by the people of ancient cultures. This hemp plant has been used vivaciously by ancient men to treat many health disorders according to the recorded ancient documents. In his book (Shohov 11)states that “Scientific evidence verifies that marijuana has the following therapeutic effect; relief form nausea and increase appetite, reduction of intraocular(within the eye) pressure, reduction of muscle spasms and relief from chronic pain”. In the same way marijuana also helps in treating the symptoms of cancer, multiple sclerosis and AIDS. Marijuana is found to be useful for treating diabetic retinopathy, which can cause blindness in diabetic patients. In early times, marijuana was used for medicinal purpose by people, but under a proper guidance and support o f experts. It is only the habitual smoking of cannabis which can lead to complex physical and psychological problems. It should be very well understood by people that anything in excess can lead to malefic effects. People should understand the positive and negative effect of marijuana on the body and should use this drug in a calculative manner. The government has the responsibility to discover the potential medicinal property of marijuana through proper scientific experiments and should invent the proper way to use it for medicinal purposes. Marijuana should be banned as it is dangerous to health If one contemplates on marijuana and its legalization as a drug, one should analyze whether the drug has proved to be scientifically beneficial in improving the health condition of a person. Marijuana might have been used by the ancient people for health ailments but the contemporary world does not acknowledge of its medicinal properties. There are many reported health problems, which can occur due to the usage of Marijuana and they can be described as below; Smoking marijuana on a continuous basis can cause damage in the cells of bronchial passage. This weakens the immunity system of lung and the person can fall prey to diseases like pneumonia, pulmonary infection and other lung related illnesses. Marijuana has the capability of weakening the immune system of a persona and can lead to many disorders in a person like AIDS and cancer. Marijuana having potent chemical content can kill the micro organisms surviving in the body which aids our immunity system. A weak immune system makes the person vulnerable to any threatening diseases which in turn can reduce the life span of the person. The marijuana being an addictive drug has the potentiality to cause mental illness as it manipulates brains natural functioning. Some of the mental disorders caused by marijuana are panic attacks, delusion, hallucination, acute psychosis, flashbacks, paranoia, depression and high aggressiveness which are difficult to control. This malicious drug also can cause dangerous mental illness like schizophrenia and bi- polar disorder. In their book (Berent & Lemely) wrote that “ Indeed, the brain is a dynamic organ with properties and reactions to physical substances and neural stimuli” Marijuana is natural and hence better than other man made drugs Everybody knows that marijuana otherwise called “pot” is the best intoxicating drug which is close to nature. As the marijuana is the dried leaves of cannabis plant, it can be deemed as a natural psychotic drug which is less harmful compared to manmade chemical drugs. The drugs which are made by pharmaceutical companies have many side effects but do not show up immediately in the body. For this very same reason, people believe that these are the most suitable medicine to treat their medical conditions. If we compare marijuana with pharmaceutical drugs we can observe that the healing power of marijuana is far more superior to the latter. As per (Ebramsky 17-22)“While at least some of the medical benefits attributed to the drug are real—the pain and nausea relief that marijuana affords patients suffering from cancer, Parkinson’s, AIDS and a range of other serious diseases is well documented”. Marijuana has no side effects like other drugs like cocaine and opium as it is proved to be more subtle in character. The marijuana has the benefit of calming the nervous system and gives a soothing affect to the muscles of the body. It is a drug which is highly recreational in nature and can alleviate a person from depressive state. The cannabis has the quality of erasing stress from the life of people who lead a fast and energy draining professional career. If a person consumes pharmaceutical drugs for stress and depression it will later cause health problems to them. But in case of marijuana the side effects are minimal and less life threatening. Young population will misuse marijuana and destroy their health Marijuana being a recreational drug has gained a huge popularity among teenagers all over the world. It is always the teenager who will fall prey to drug like marijuana as it has the potentiality to give immense pleasure and euphoric feeling to them. Another reason for the use of marijuana among teenagers is that it is less costly and more natural in form. As per (Dokoupil)“The number of regular pot users is up by 3 million in the past five years, and the rate of high-school experimentation is at a 30-year high”. It is easy for the teenagers to smoke marijuana and is believed by them to be harmless to their health. But this belief is a myth as marijuana has proved to be reason for many health problems among its users. Mostly teenager’s health are in a delicate state when compared to that of adolescent men and the former can be impacted more heavily than the latter by the toxicity of marijuana. It is a known fact that, marijuana has the potentiality to destroy the mental stability of the young population as it is a psychotic drug. It reduces the cognitive skill and intelligence quotient of the teenagers and this can lead to the destruction of their educational profile. The teenagers are mostly ignorant and unaware of the harmful effects o f marijuana and if it is made legal, then they can be the most negatively affected segment of the society. A teenager who is indulging in marijuana will be having a defective personality and this can badly effect the social interaction of that person in a society. Conclusion Here, when we contemplate on the use of marijuana we can find that there are many mixed reviews regarding its benefit and side effects. As per (Forrester,1006-11)“Marijuana has long been used for its neuropsychiatric effects including enhanced relaxation and perceptual alterations such as heightened sensory awareness and a slowing of time”. However, it is proven that is a drug which can cause number of health problems in a person. Many even today, demands the government of USA to make marijuana a legal drug as it is more natural and in raw form. However, any intoxicating element extracted from nature has its equal painful side effects and negative consequences, which are sometimes too subtle to notice. However, many people have also praised marijuana for its healing property in case of some serious ailments. The question is not about the positive and negative effects of marijuana but about its overall impact on the society. Even though, many marijuana users and legislative authorities condemn its negative effect on health on a person, the scientific world reinstates that its use can be lethal to body. In USA, marijuana is the most used illicit drug and it has the power to hallucinate people within hours of its use. Thus it impairs the mental functioning of a person which can cause chaos in the society. It is also a drug which can bring discord and despair among the young population of a country. It is by considering these facts that the government has banned its production, selling and distribution in USA. Finally, it could be said that just being a natural drug, does not make marijuana less toxic to the health and well being of a person. Bibliography Berent, Jonathan, and Amy Lemley. Work Makes Me Nervous: Overcome Anxiety and Build the Confidence to Succeed. N.p.: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Print. (database) This source is used in the essay to describe about the power of brain in responding to the substance abuse like marijuana smoking. This reference is highly crucial to the essay as it asserts the nature of brain. This referencing is extracted from a book which solely comments on the psychological issue and the functioning of brain. Moreover the authors are credible personalities as they have graduation in psychological stream. Cox, Lauren. "Marijuana: Facts about Cannabis." livescience.com. Techmedia Network, 5 Nov.2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. . This reference has been highly useful for explaining the definition of “ Marijuana” and names it is called around the globe. The source of this reference is “Live science” which is a renowned website for conveying information regarding scientific world. The author of this article, Cox has made extraneous effort in describing the nature of Marijuana from all dimensions. Hence, this source has assisted in adding more valuable information about Marijauna in the introduction stage of the essay. Dokoupil, Tony. "HIGH TIMES IN AMERICA." Newsweek 160.18 (2012). Print.(database) Since the article is about Marijuana and its effect on its users, this reference has been important in laying down the statistics about the drug users. Revelation of statistical data is crucial to any research paper and adding this reference has increased the validity of the paper. Moreover, Newsweek is a famous magazine which elaborates on variety of issues. Apart from this the author is a major contributor to the magazine as he is well versed in many global matters. Ebramsky, Sasha. "Altered State." The Nation 291.26 (2010): 17-22. Print (data base) This reference which is discussing about the good affects of Marijuana has helped in supporting the argument very well. The source is a wealthy journal which presents information about many vital subjects. Moreover, the author of the journal article, Sasha Ebramsky is a well established writer , who has contributed extensively to the journal called “ The Nation”.The author has education qualification in many streams like philosophy, politics and economics. Forrester, MB. "Synthetic cannabinoid and marijuana." Sage Publications 31.10 (2012): 1006-11. Print (database) This reference is from a valuable source which is the book written by Forrester who has immense knowledge about substance marijuana and its neurological effects. This book has invaluably contributed to the enrichment of the content of the essay as it reflects the medicinal property of marijuana.This source has been used to enhance the wealth of information of the concluding part of the essay.In this book, the author has inputted much comprehensible information about marijuana and as a result the book was of great help in arguing on points. Narconon International, . "History of marijuana." narconon.org. Narconon International, 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. . This website from where the reference has been taken is owned by drug rehabilitation centre’s and has revealed some valuable information about Marijuana which dates back to centuries. The reference obtained from this website has helped the essay to point out the age old use of marijuana .This quote from the website of Narco international has enhanced the quality of the essay by illuminating the historical information about marijuana. Shohov, Tatiana. Medical Use of Marijuana: Policy, Regulatory, and Legal Issues. New York:Nova Science Publishers, 2003. 11. Print The writer of this book is an educated person in the field of marijuana and has presented well the facts surrounding it. The reference taken from this book has helped greatly in stating about the beneficial facts about marijuana. This source has helped greatly in strengthening the counter argument area of the essay .Additionally the writer of this book has taken assistance from many scientific literature to present facts in the book, which has enhanced the credibility of the source. Read More