Unnecessary Evil - Marijuana Legalization Essay Sample

There is a serious debate among the states, federal and local governments on the issue of legalization of marijuana. In the recent past, two states and the District of Columbia passed laws to make use of marijuana for medical purposes legal. Colorado, Washington, and Oregon are the most recent states to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Both sides of the debate for and against the legalization of marijuana use different claims as to why their side should be heard. It is getting increasingly difficult to ascertain the truth of the matter. Claims and counterclaims have been made in the debate on marijuana. Arguments have been met with rebuttals in the discussion on whether or not to legalize marijuana. However, despite the heated debate, marijuana should not be legalized because the potential harms outweigh the benefits that can be accrued from its use.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

One reason marijuana should not be legalized is that it has negative health effects on people. Although some the proponents of marijuana legalization argue that even cigar has health effects but legalized, it is of great importance to note that two wrongs do not make anything right. Particularly, a study carried by the Northwestern University showed that users of cannabis have merger memory and aberrant brain structure that is not healthy for proper development. Predominantly, serious use of marijuana is linked to the brain vicissitudes which is the same as schizophrenia that worsens when used by young people. Moreover, concentration, memory, reproductive, immune systems motor coordination, lungs are all harmfully impacted by the use of marijuana. Therefore, by legalizing marijuana, the state is increasing the brain disorders and other health issues that are being caused by marijuana.

Secondly, marijuana has been linked with addiction, memory lapse, and slow reflexes. These are serious health conditions that should not be overlooked. Particularly, individuals need fast reflexes to make quick responses when faced with dangerous situations. For example, if marijuana befuddled driver were challenged by an object on the road, it would take him too much time to make fast decisions. In this manner, when people are legally allowed to use marijuana number of deaths will increase on the road since the drivers are under the influence of a drug. Moreover, Under the Controlled Substance Act Of 1970, marijuana was categorized under Schedule I drugs because it possesses a high potential for abuse. This means that it has possible to effects on people just like any other drugs in this category. As such, for the marijuana to be legalized, the claims that it is not addictive as per the proponents should be ascertained.

Not even one health organization has accepted marijuana as medicine; hence, it should not be legalized in the name of holding medicinal purposes. Probably the major reason to have marijuana legalized is its effect on glaucoma. However, there is no clear scientific evidence that consumption of marijuana actually averts the progression of visual loss in glaucoma. Such organizations as America Glaucoma Society, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, American Medical Association, American Academy of Ophthalmology and American Cancer Society have rejected marijuana for medicinal purposes. This is because marijuana has repeatedly failed to meet the requirement of Federal Drug Administration and Drug Enforcement Administrations to be used for medicinal tenacities. Marijuana is not recognized as a medicine by medical references, pharmacopeia, and textbooks. Although the synthetic marijuana is available for prescription, it is the last resort for doctors since there are better drugs that can be used to treat diseases that have purportedly been treated by marijuana.

Moreover, the experiment to legalize marijuana has not succeeded in countries and cities that have tried it in terms or crime rates and performance of students in the class. Some of such countries and cities are Netherlands and Colorado. In some cities in Netherlands, the performance of students went down until they banned the use of marijuana. Amsterdam is among the first cities to prohibit its use after it was legalized in the country. The primary reason for that act was due to the fact that learners were coming in classrooms when very high and could barely follow or learn class procedures effectually. On the other hand, Colorado has presented high rates of crime linked to the effects of marijuana. Therefore, its legalization has not benefited to the countries.

Following the discussion herein, it suffices that the issue of marijuana has created intense debate whether it should be legalized. Although the proponents argue that it has some medicinal values and should be officially allowed, marijuana the potential harms outweigh the benefits that can be accrued from its use hence should be prohibited. Particularly marijuana has got several health effects, and its use will increase the number of deaths on the road due to lack of concentration among the drivers. Moreover, its medicinal value has not been ascertained, and it has not benefited the countries that legalized such Netherlands and Colorado.