Legalizing Marijuan It's Time To Legalized

Submitted By lindseymccartin
Words: 2131
Pages: 9

It’s Time to Legalize Marijuana is the dried flower clusters and leaves of the hemp plant, which is taken for many reasons, including to induce happiness or relax. Marijuana has been in existence for centuries all around the world, and is a substance that has become very much a part of the American culture. Nearly 65 million Americans have claimed to either have used it occasionally or regularly, but the debate on whether this substance should be legalized or not remains a very hot topic today. Marijuana is good and would be beneficial if legalized for multiple reasons including bringing in money to the government, helpful medical uses, hemp is one of the best materials in the world and it is healthier for you than beer or liquor. My personal opinion in the argument of legalizing marijuana is that I truly cannot see the harm in it, and legalizing it holds so many more favorable factors than not. It is widely known that “the Supreme Court voted in a 6-3 outcome against legalizing the use of medical marijuana”for glaucoma patients (McCrimmon). The court ruled that “medical necessity” is no defense to “the distribution or use of marijuana”, which is classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act in 1970 (McCrimmon). Cannabis is short for the scientific name Cannabis Sativa, which contains THC, short for Tetrahdrocannabinol. THC is a chemical that affects a person’s mood and feelings as a relaxant, meaning that it slows down brain function. It can give people symptoms such as hallucinations, sedation or stimulation. When the cannabis leaves and flowers, or bud, are dried, they can be smoked like a cigarette or put in food as marijuana. When using cannabis, it enters the bloodstream through the lungs if smoked, and is at it’s peak point in thirty minutes. The extent that the effects have on the user are determined by the amount of cannabis that is ingested by the user, the way it is taken, how experienced and healthy the person is, physical and mental conditions, and it is even determined by the setting in which the user is in. Some users feel happy or high while others feel uninhibited, anxious, or paranoid (which is more common for the first time users). During the “high”, the users “pulse rate increases, pupils dilate, eyes become bloodshot, and also the appetite often” increases, causing the expression of getting “the munchies” (Mathre). The government thinks that marijuana is too dangerous to be used. Is this true, seeing how many of the government officials, according to the statistics, have probably used it before? Is it not hypocritical for them to ban it of use even for medical purposes, while many of them smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol? Cigarettes contain tobacco, and of course contain nicotine as well. Nicotine is an alkaloid in the night shade plant family, named after the tobacco plant “Nicotina Tabacum”. In mild doses, the nicotine in a cigarette acts as a “stimulant and is one of the main factors responsible for the dependence-forming properties of tobacco smoking” (Potter). Nicotine hardens the blood vessels, is responsible for heart disease, and is also responsible for cancer in a lot of tobacco smokers. This is mainly because “nicotine breaks down in a cancer causing chemical called Nitrosamine” when it is burned (Gagnon). Cigarettes also have the effect of closing up the lungs of the effected second hand smokers, and this of course traps in the dirt, smoke and other impurities that would otherwise be coughed up. Even with this medical knowledge today, the government does not see fit to ban this absurdity, and there are many reasons for that. One opinion is because of its profits from tax revenue, and because Nicotine is addicting, people are always going to be buying cigarettes, while Marijuana on the other hand, does not contain this harmful substance known to date. It contains THC, which is a bronchial dilator, which means it does the exact opposite of nicotine and