Legalizing

Carly Henderson

Dr. Barker

English 1301

12 July 2005

Legalizing Marijuana

What is marijuana? According to the Department of Health and Human Services, marijuana is considered to be, "A dry, shredded green/brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa" ("NIDA InfoFacts..."). They also state that "Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States" ("NIDA InfoFacts..."). Even though it is illegal, people of all ages are now using this drug. Marijuana is most commonly used to relieve stress and help people relax. There are many misconceptions when is comes to marijuana. Many people are very skeptical to the thought of legalizing marijuana. If certain small amounts of marijuana were legalized, the government might be surprised with a positive outcome. Although the Supreme Court considers the usage of marijuana to be unlawful, they should think about making specific amounts of marijuana legal for personal usage. Before completely dismissing the idea, they should consider all the facts about legalizing marijuana and how it might be helpful to our society.

First of all, marijuana can be used for medicinal purposes. Marijuana has been known to help people with a wide variety of illnesses. As stated on Norml. Org, "These include pain relief -- particularly of neuropathic pain (pain from nerve damage) -- nausea, spasticity, glaucoma, and movement disorders" ("Medicinal Use"). These are common problems for which many people suffer. It seems that marijuana can really have a positive effect on disease infected people. It should not be banned strictly because people consider it a "drug", especially if the sick use it wisely under a physician's supervision. People should consider how much legalizing marijuana could help. According to Norml. Org, "Marijuana is also a powerful appetite stimulant, specifically for patients suffering from HIV, the AIDS wasting syndrome, or dementia" ("Medicinal Use"). These are serious illnesses that could be easy helped by the use of marijuana. If legalized, these sick people would have access to a good solution to their bad health problems. With the vast amount of unhealthy people, it would seem that the legal use of marijuana could be of service to many people. Although using marijuana might seem old fashioned when it comes to medicinal uses, by the way it shows to help the sick, it might be just as useful as new advanced medicine.

Second, the personal use of marijuana does not cause enough damage to be considered an illegal drug. The majority of people who use marijuana mostly smoke it. It is really no different than smoking a cigarette by what it does to a person's body. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, "Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers do" ("NIDA InfoFacts..."). Both marijuana and cigarettes are inhaled and can have harmful effects on one's health. They both can kill people out of long term use. But unlike marijuana, cigarettes or any other tobacco product are legal at the age of eighteen. There is no reason why marijuana can not be sold legally to eighteen year-olds. This is a drug, that when used maturely, would really cause no more harm than any other tobacco product legally on the market today.

Next, when police officers take time to bust people for personal marijuana usage, it takes their attention away from bigger, more important drug abusers. Considering that marijuana is the most highly used drug in America today, it is obvious that anyone could be using it. Although all different types of people are known to have tried it, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "Males were more likely than females to have purchased their most recently used marijuana" ("Office of Applied Studies"). The men are the ones who are more likely to get arrested for marijuana because they are shown to be the ones that have possession of it the most. Policemen spend precious time arresting people of all ages for possession of marijuana because it is illegal. They are taking their time arresting people for what? For a drug that doesn't cause any real damage in the first place. They should be trying to find the real drug dealers that are selling the drugs that are a real threat to our society. For instance, a policeman comes across a person selling a few grams of marijuana. He then arrests this person and takes him or her to jail. The police officer along with the offender must then go to court. This is a lot of time being spent on just a few grams of marijuana. The real threats are the drug dealers that sell cocaine, heroine, methamphetamines, and crack-cocaine. The police should be spending their time trying to arrest these types of criminals. These drugs are very harmful and mind-altering, and they can literally ruin people's entire lives. If possessing certain amounts of marijuana was legalized, maybe the police force would stop harassing the people with small amounts of marijuana, and could use that time more wisely getting