Legalization of Marijuana (why america should NOT allow it) - Research Paper Example

As a result, there has been heated debate on whether to legalize it in America with its proponents claiming that it has medicinal values that might prevent some major diseases. Due to this, it was in 1970 that the Food and Drug Administration carried out thorough survey to establish its properties at the University of Washington. The results of the research indicated that the structure of Marijuana was very complex and it would take many other years of extensive study to establish its genuine medical values (Vaughn, 1).

In 1972, the US Congress situated marijuana in Schedule one of the Controlled Substances Act since they deemed it to have no genuine medical values. From that time onwards, many states of the United States has taken a step further of legalizing the medicinal use of Marijuana (ProCon.org, 1). Marijuana is a brown, green, or gray mixture of desiccated, grated leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant, which contains a chemical referred to as tetrahydrocannabinol. All forms of marijuana alter the normal functioning of the brain.

One of the major characteristics of Marijuana is that it is very addictive. In this regard, studies indicate that doctors have diagnosed more teens with Marijuana that with any other abused drug including alcohol (Above the influence.com, 1). Head states that Many Americans believe Marijuana as a remedy for many of their health conditions ranging from glaucoma to cancer. However, on a national level, these anticipated benefits remain unaccepted. This implies that there is a lot of controversy in the assertion of medical benefits of Marijuana (2).

Why America should not allow the legalization of Marijuana There are numerous reasons in support of the anti-legalization of Marijuana in America. In general, although proponents of Marijuana assert medicinal benefits, it becomes very dangerous to use it for medicinal purposes. In addition, it lacks approval by the Food and Drug Administration and different legal drugs make use of marijuana needless (ProCon.org, 3). Generally, the harmful effects associated with use of Marijuana include general apathy, premature cancer, addiction, hostility and augmented violence, damage of harmonization and discernment, several mental disorders including despair, destruction to the immune system loss of memory and reproductive problems (Marijuana.com, 3). One of the major reasons of the anti-legalization of Marijuana is its severe addictive capability.

The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 categorizes Marijuana as a Schedule one drug on the foundation that is has a high possibility for abuse. This means that once people start using Marijuana, it gets in to their system and it becomes very hard to stop using it. In this regard, it dominates their lives and controls their actions towards using the drug (Head, 1). Contemporary survey indicates that Marijuana is presently the principal cause of drug addiction other than alcohol in the United States.

For instance, among the 7 million people aged 12 and above categorized with severe addiction of an illegal drug in 2008, marijuana accounted for 4.2 million of this. This indicates that approximately two thirds of Americans stricken by any drug use condition are suffering from addiction of marijuana or its abuse (DuPont, 10). This simply implies that the number of people using Marijuana would sharply augment if the