Legalizing Marijuana - Essay Example

Running Head: LEGALIZING MARIJUANA Legalizing Marijuana s Legalizing Marijuana Introduction Marijuana legalization has been the center of numerous debates throughout America. This paper shall discuss both sides of the argument in light of the analysis by expert authors in this field. Lastly a conclusion shall be presented which shall be based upon my personal thoughts and inference. For centuries the marijuana plant has been used in medicinal and spiritual journeys. As old as human writing there have been accounts of the use of the marijuana plant in cultural activities. People around the globe have used the plant as part of cultural rites of passage, as an aid to meditation or purely recreationally as a social stimulant. Within every culture there are differences however. In every part of the world religion was used as a tool to explain things that science could not, and religion's view on mind-altering substances like marijuana, alcohol and mushrooms has traditional been negative. Early western religious leaders looked skeptically on people in an inebriated state, perhaps thinking that they were possessed. This might explain the inherent distrust of any mind-altering substance; early science was too primitive to explain the inebriated state so religious leader's denounced users as demon possessed. In the west especially, where religion was not so much of a spiritual nature but a kind of penance were substances seen as evil. Unlike other, more primitive religions of the world, where its practitioners wanted to elevate the soul to communicate with God, western Christianity seemed to want to make every person live as plainly as possible. It taught that suffering was a good thing and if the common person questioned why they were told by their religious leaders that it was because that was how God wanted it to be. It's easy to see now how the modern western world developed its bias against substances. Discussion Today in the United States and most parts of the western world (like Britain, Canada, and France) marijuana is illegal to possess or distribute (although in Canada possession has been decriminalized). Penalties in the United States for possessing marijuana differ from state to state but are generally severe: a hefty fine at the least to several months or even years in prison, depending on the amount of marijuana found. (Schwartz 2000) Some states have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes: relief of chronic pain and post-traumatic stress. It has been shown in every study that the large majority of the American population (around 70 percent always) agrees with marijuana use for medicinal purposes. However, federal law in many cases clashes with state law when government officials do raids on houses of known medicinal marijuana users that have been sanctioned by the state. In every case federal law supersedes that of the state law and the patient is fined or imprisoned and the marijuana, usually no more than a few plants for personal use, is taken from the patient. (Grinspoon and Bakalar 2002) Arguments abound over the legality of this. Should federal law supersede state law Those true to the founding fathers ideals of the sovereign state say no, while federalists say yes, that the government should have the power to restrict state laws. The arguments on both sides are long and equally compelling. Marijuana has been discovered to be very useful in the field of medicine. Effects of marijuana have been known to cause pain relief. Marijuana was used as an anesthetic in many countries. Marijuana smokers reported that marijuana ad relieved pain while smoking and a much higher tolerance to pain after smoking. In particular, marijuana helps relieve the tension in a headache because of it effect on the brain. (Doblin and Kleiman 2003) It also helps with anxiety because it can be used as a sedative. Studies have shown that marijuana can also be used as a Bronchodilator. It can help relieve feelings of suffocation during an asthma attack. Many people who smoked marijuana also reported that it helps relieve bronchial congestion of a cold. Marijuana has also been known to relieve nausea. In Cancer Chemotherapy Marijuana has been discovered to increase appetite, slow down weight loss, and relieve nausea (Responsible Drug Use 201-203). Currently Marijuana is illegal to use in the United States, but medical doctors may obtain it under special agreements from the federal government. This happens so doctors can prescribe it to the most necessary patients (Benson and Watson 2001). Marijuana has many uses in the field of medicine and has been reported to help many people. Perhaps the greatest argument in favor of decriminalizing marijuana is that explaining its medicinal usage. Many people can benefit from the use of marijuana, from AIDS patients who are too sick to eat, to people suffering from migraines or insomnia. Denying terminally ill patients a drug that could potentially help them and ease their pain is vindictive and inhumane. DEA administrative law judge Francis Young stated that, "Marijuana in its natural form is one of the most therapeutically active substances known to man". Marijuana grows out of the ground; it is a natural substance, not one that is manufactured in government run laboratories. Marijuana is considered a schedule 1 drug, putting it in the same category as heroin and PCP. There has not been one case of anyone overdosing from marijuana in the U.S., yet there are approximately 3,000 reported deaths from cocaine overdose every year. (Earleywine 2002) How can a drug with 3,000 reported deaths be more widely accepted for medicinal purposes than a drug with no reported deaths This country is backwards on its standards in deciding which drugs should be legal and which should not. (Schwartz 2000) Arguments against the legalization of marijuana state that labs have also produced a drug called Marinol that acts the same way THC does. Marinol, generically known as dronabinol, is a highly concentrated formulation of delta-9-THC, one of the many active forms of THC found in marijuana. There are over 20 active forms of THC in marijuana and Marinol is only one of them. Natural marijuana also contains many other nonpsychoactive ingredients which help to dilute the full force of pure THC. If the person give someone who has never smoked before a pill of pure THC they are going to be a little uncomfortable. (Alexander 2003) At least with smoking marijuana patients can control their dosage and stop when they have reached a sufficient high. As for AIDS patients whose main trouble is nausea and loss of appetite, taking the pill may in it induce vomiting, or just put they right to sleep, defeating the whole purpose of it. Lastly, each capsule of Marinol costs $10 or more, when used as recommended that is over $1,000 per week. In comparison, marijuana grown naturally is much less expensive. (Goode 2000) The government is missing out on a very lucrative cash crop. At this time the largest cash crop in the United States is corn, grossing 19 billion dollars annually. Marijuana has the potential to gross nearly 25 billion dollars annually. It is no secret that organized crime is one of the biggest profiteers. (Foltin et al. 2001) This source of untaxed income is just adding to the wealth and power of organized crime. If it were to become legal, the price would go down, it would eventually be off the black market and organized crime would loose that source of income. As the person can see, if marijuana were to become legal there would be a huge industrial boom, a lot more room in our prisons for malicious prisoners, a lot more happier and comfortable patients, and a lot more happier people. Keeping marijuana illegal is one of the worst decisions ever made. Hopefully one day the government will realize what a bad choice it has made. There are many arguments against the legalization of marijuana, mainly by people who have never tried it. Marijuana should remain illegal because it is dangerous and addictive. It is considered a "gateway" drug which means that once a user stops getting high off it, or becomes bored, then they will move on to other more dangerous drugs. 20% of all people who tested positive for marijuana use also tested positive for other dangerous drugs. The risk of using cocaine is 104 times greater with the use of marijuana. Since it also lowers inhibitions it is more likely to make bad decisions. If we legalize marijuana then children will assume it is a safe drug and want to try it. They will see it as widely accepted and okay to use so they won't think twice about it when someone offers it to them at a party. (Hollister 2001) Marijuana impairs the person's vision and ability to drive and think clearly. It also elongates the person's reaction time. These kids will think they are okay to drive then get into a car and potentially kill themselves or someone else. Since marijuana has been considered a schedule I drug there is no use for it as a medicine. There are other ways to relieve pain from many of these diseases. Consider Marinol, a drug used to mimic the effects of THC without the harmful cancer causing effects of smoking marijuana. It can just be given to Aids and Cancer patients who have trouble keeping a piece of toast down, but magically they will be able to swallow and keep down this pill. Marijuana will never become legalized because the government has been preaching for years about how horrible it is and if it were to become legalized they are afraid the citizens won't believe anything they say again. (Kreit 2003) All of the arguments against it can easily be contradicted. Marijuana is not considered a "gateway drug". No one has ever proved a casual link between pot and heroin. I'm sure if the person took a poll of all the heroin users the person could even prove a correlation between heroin and coffee; but no one is rushing to criminalize coffee. There is a huge difference between people smoking marijuana and people smoking cigarettes; marijuana smokers can stop smoking once they reach a desired high, cigarette smokers keep on going. They inhale many more intoxicants than compared with equal amounts of marijuana. In order to induce a lethal response, one must smoke 15 pounds per minute for 15 minutes in a row-then the person can overdose from marijuana. But that is just not likely or possible. Take cigarettes however, which are very legal, and the person have a death toll of 440, 000 per year! The next largest arguments against the legalization of marijuana are that it is a gateway drug (one leading to other drugs such as cocaine and heroine) and that since smoking in general is harmful, why should it be done at all Pro-legalization argues that it has never been proven as a gateway drug, and asks the public to consider this. There have been no studies of marijuana smoking leading to harder drugs, and that statement is based on opinion. As for the health issues inherent in inhaling smoke into the lungs, is it the government's job to watch over our bodies Should the government watch over us as if we were children, telling what is ok for us to do to ourselves If marijuana smoking was an endangerment to other's lives this would be another issue (one finding its roots in the very roots of what the purpose of a government is, and what its duties are), but it is far less of an endangerment to others than tobacco and alcohol. Second hand smoke from marijuana is nearly a myth; the leaf of the marijuana plant is generally dry and emits very little smoke and of course, the purpose smoking the plant is let as little smoke escape as possible to achieve an inebriated state. (Kreit 2003) Otherwise, the effects are like that of tobacco, and presumably less dangerous than tobacco smoke. As to the effects of alcohol versus marijuana, there is no comparison. Most claims by anti-legalization are that when one is in an inebriated state with marijuana it is the same as alcohol, with a loss of coordination and reaction time. This would make activities like driving dangerous. (Schwartz 2000) The actual effects of marijuana are less of a loss of motor skills than that of alcohol, but alcohol is legal. Drunk drivers are ten times as dangerous as a stoned driver, since smoking tends to relax and elevate mood while drinking drives up testosterone and pushes drinkers to perform stunts that they normally wouldn't in a sober state. In contrast, a person "high" on marijuana is still aware of the consequences of their actions and tends to make better judgment calls. Smoking marijuana is harmful, its true, but it's a risk that we should be allowed to take with our own bodies. After all, cigarettes and liquor present a much greater danger than marijuana (and this has been scientifically proven). For many, many years scientists have pushed the government for the right to study marijuana and its effects and they have been denied or ignored. To the government and to big business the emergence of legal marijuana would be devastating. To the government, legalizing marijuana would cut their power to fight the war on drugs, which to all other drugs is legitimate, but if marijuana were legal the government would have no authority to move in certain places where they do presently. To American big business it would be an even bigger disaster: the tobacco, liquor, and beer industries would have an entirely new threat. (Kreit 2003)The marijuana plant does not grow naturally in the colder North American climate, so the main producers of the plant would be foreign companies that would take away business from legal tobacco smokers or beer drinkers. (Schwartz 2000) Pharmaceutical companies would also lost out on the legalization of marijuana as a medicinal herb, since the properties of the marijuana plant cure or treat basic ailments covered by many drugs currently like Ritalin. Already an over prescribed quick-fix for parents of overactive children; the loss of the Ritalin market (and drugs like it) would sink the pharmaceutical companies. Conclusion Marijuana seems to have more benefits than disadvantages, and therefore I strongly believe that Marijuana should be legalized immediately. Given the choice of a natural plant that grows out of the ground, or a compressed substance concocted in a laboratory by government run officials, which would the person choose for relief if the person were dying of a terminal illness I know I would rather have something organic and natural. Aids and cancer patients have trouble keeping anything down, don't give them something else to worry about by shoving a pill down their throat, just let them smoke-the person can't vomit up smoke! Let's face it-prohibition doesn't work. No matter how hard the government tries, there are even more people than ever using marijuana. Many are just social smokers, maybe a hit or two at a party. Keeping it legal doesn't deter anyone-it only provides income for many gangs. If the government really cared about the citizens it would legalize it, thus taking it off the black market and just sell it themselves. References Alexander, Dale; A Marijuana Screening Inventory (Experimental Version): Description and Preliminary Psychometric Properties Journal article American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Vol. 29, 2003 Benson, J.A. and Watson, S.J., 2001. . Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base National Institute of Medicine, Washington, DC. Doblin, R.E. and Kleiman, M.A.R., 2003. Marijuana as anathematic medicine; A Survey of oncologist's experiences and attitudes. J. Clin. Oncol. 9, pp. 1313-1319. Earleywine, Mitch; Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence Book Oxford University Press, 2002 Foltin, R.W., Brady, J.V. and Fischman, M., 2001. Behavioral analysis of marijuana effect on food I intake in normalcy. Pharmacology. Biochem. Behav. 25, pp. 573-582. Goode, Erich; Marijuana Book Atherton, 2000 Grinspoon, L. and Bakalar, B., 2002. Marijuana as medicine. A plea for reconsideration. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 273, pp. 1875-1876. Hollister, L.E., 2001. Hunger and appetite after single doses of marijuana, alcohol and amphetamine. Clin. Pharmacology. There. 12, pp. 44-49. Kreit, Alex; The Future of Medical Marijuana: Should the States Grow Their Own Journal article University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Vol. 151, 2003 Schwartz, R.H., 2000. Marijuana as an anathematic drug: How useful is it today Opinions from clinical oncologists. J. Addict. 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