The Legalization of marijuana in the United States can be valuable to the United States. This has been a topic in the country since the use of medicinal marijuana has gone up in the west, and the country’s economy has gone down. Although there are negative side effects to smoking marijuana such as health and social reasons, there are many other benefits to the drug. Decriminalization of Marijuana can be used for medical purposes, and give a boast to our economy.
Medical Marijuana
Marijuana can be used to help many sick people with their illness. The Institute of Medicine found “that marijuana may be modestly effective for pain relief (particularly nerve pain), appetite stimulation for people with AIDS wasting syndrome, and control of chemotherapy related nausea and vomiting” (Medical marijuana and the mind). Marijuana is now being looked at as a way to help treat those with psychiatric conditions. The main chemical in marijuana that is used to help people is THC. A Harvard article describes the drug, as “THC is the chemical in marijuana primarily responsible for its effects on the central nervous system It stimulates cannabinoid receptors in the brain, triggering other chemical reactions that underlie marijuana’s psychological and physical effects” (Medical marijuana and the mind). Smoking the drug is used more than any other way because the THC gets to the bloodstream faster. The same Harvard article also looks at why people use it to relieve pain. The article states “Part of the reason marijuana works to relieve pain and quell nausea is that, in some people, it reduces anxiety, improves mood, and acts as a sedative” (Medical marijuana and the mind).
Economic Boost
The Legalization of marijuana can also help the United States economy. It’s no secret that a lot of Americans today have or will have smoked marijuana in their lifetime. Like alcohol, and cigarettes, marijuana should be legal and taxed for economic stimulus purposes. The drug has already made its way into America illegally, and we even have citizens who are growing their own personal crops. Citizens of the country already spend part of their tax money to fund task forces to patrol the borders of the country and stop illegal drugs from coming in. But it’s already proven that the drugs have already made its way through the patrolling. With the decriminalizing of marijuana there can be more money generated into the country. According to an article in the Christian Science Monitor, many citizens of California are pushing to put legalization of marijuana on the November ballot (Benefits from a marijuana tax). The main argument to legalize this crop is that it will be an economic success for the state. If the state is able to tax and regulate the drug they could earn 1.4 billion dollars (Benefits from a marijuana tax). Even though marijuana is an illegal drug, it is still the most profitable crop in America today. Jerry Knight of the Washington Post reported, “American Marijuana growers harvested a record crop last year well over 1,000 metric tons of the illegal herb, federal authorities and private marijuana specialist estimate” (Knight F1). He also wrote about the Federal Drug Enforcement findings, “the agency estimates Americans smoked marijuana worth between $15.5 billion and 21.9 Billion” (Knight F1). The crazy part about both of those statics is that they are taken from an article that came out in 1981. Marijuana has become available now, and is grown more inside of the country. Also as I’ve stated earlier there is a rise in the use of Medical Marijuana. Rob Reuteman of USA today wrote an article about the boom in the Medical Marijuana business. He focused his findings from Colorado’s marijuana dispensaries and found out how popular they are becoming. Reuteman writes, “Denver has 250 dispensary storefronts and Boulder, Colo., has more than 100. So far the has issued more than 66,000 cards that allow holders to purchases medical pot. Card demand is so high that there’s a six-month waiting period (Reuteman). Now I know this doesn’t exactly mean that if it works in Colorado or California that it’ll work anywhere, but I do think it’s worth trying since the two states are having success. Our economy is struggling and legalizing marijuana can help put the country’s economy. 
Those Opposed
Even though Marijuana has been used to help many sick people deal with their illness, several people believe that the drug still should not be consider as a treatment drug. Voth writes in Dangerous is the path “Smoked marijuana is as toxic as tobacco and has no place in the medical armamentarium” (Voth). In the same article Voth talks about how the drug has been rejected as a reliable type of medicine. “Recently, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled that crude marijuana does not meet the criteria required to be considered a medicine” (Voth). After this Voth even took his stance another and looked at what the American Medical Association had to say about the matter “The American Medical Association recently rejected the use of smoked marijuana as a medicine. And a recent survey of 1,500 cancer specialists determined that even if crude marijuana were made available for prescription, it would be the last choice of medicines. Only 9% would prescribe it more than 10 times a year” (Voth). I thought this article gave very good viewpoints on why not to make weed legal in US. But I did also notice the article was from 1995 and that there has been a lot more research and evidence that has came out since then.
Since the first article I found seemed to be a little out dated, I wanted to find another article that was also against the legalization of marijuana. After a few more minutes of research I stumbled upon an editorial from 2002 in the Washington Post. The main point of this article is to let readers know that marijuana is a harmless drug and should not be taken lightly. Walters (the author) describes why the same drug that has been used over the years is more lethal today then it was a few decades ago. Walters write, “Parents are often unaware that today's marijuana is different from that of a generation ago, with potency levels 10 to 20 times stronger than the marijuana with which they were familiar” (Walters A25). Walters’s main concern about the drug is how teenagers in the United States will use it. He talks about how dangerous the drug may be on teens learning abilities by saying “Researchers have learned that it impairs the ability of young people to concentrate and retain information during their peak learning years, and when their brains are still developing” (Walters A25). When looking at long-term effects Walters writes “The THC in marijuana attaches itself to receptors in the hippocampal region of the brain, weakening short-term memory and interfering with the mechanisms that form long-term memory” (Walters A25). Walters makes good use of what researchers have found about the drug and presented in his editorial. He brings up the fact that marijuana has been linked to car accidents, can be now be classified as an addictive drug, and could lead many Americans to get drug treatment (Walters A25).
Myths & Facts
Like most drugs that are prescribed or available over the counter, weed has side effects and could cause harm, however I think people should look more at the facts and not the myths when discussing whether or not the country should legalize it. One main myth about the drug is that marijuana is a gateway drug to more harmful drugs such as cocaine and heroin. McMahon a writer for USA Today found research that discuss how there is no conclusive evidence that marijuana’s effects lead to the usage of any other drug (McMahon 4A). McMahon also talks about how marijuana may be considered a gateway drug only because when youth start to smoke it they are more likely to try other drugs (McMahon 4A). John Morgan and Lynn Zimmer, two professors who work at the Lindesmith Drug Policy Research Centre in New York try to debunk more myths about the illegal substance. When talking about the substance being used as a medicinal purpose (something I will touch on more later), both found that “Marijuana has been shown to be effective in reducing nausea induced by chemotherapy, stimulating appetite in Aids patients. Although a synthetic capsule is available by prescription, for many patients it is not as effective as smoking marijuana” (Brownlee). When looking at if the drug leads to more hard drugs the two say “The vast majority of marijuana users never use another illegal drug. Out of every 100 people who have tried marijuana, only one is a regular user of cocaine” (Brownlee). The two professors never said that the drug couldn’t be addictive, but when asked if the drug could be highly addictive they responded by saying “Marijuana does not cause physical dependence or withdrawal. Experts in the drugs field rank it less addictive than alcohol, tobacco and caffeine” (Brownlee). The last main myth buster that the pair of professors tries to put to rest is about damages to the brain cells. When asked if marijuana kills brain cells, they respond by saying “None of the medical tests currently used to detect brain damage in humans have found harm from marijuana, even from long-term, high-dose use” (Brownlee). After reading this article I was under the assumption that there still needs to be more research done on the effects of the drug before arguments are made about why the substance should never be legalized. Another article I read from the Washington Times also talks about the myths of smoking. One of the myths about legalizing marijuana is that it will make the drug more available and be used more often. Nadleman and Piper say, “close to 100 million Americans have already used marijuana. Half of all teens try marijuana before graduating from high school” (Nadleman, Piper M11). The availability of the drug is already high and can be accessed to anybody who really wants to smoke some.
In Conclusion
I don’t see the legalization of Marijuana in America happening anytime soon. But there is hope that it will happen eventually. With more about this subject in the news everyday, there seems to be more support from US citizens. The drug could help stimulate America’s economy, and also be used as medicine for those that have certain illness. I plan to keep paying very close attention to what happens to many states that are purposing to legalize the drug in the near future. If certain states such as California, Alaska, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington all get business to sell medical marijuana, there could be a chance we could see a reform to marijuana laws. When it comes to use of Marijuana as a profitable drug, the possibilities are very high. The only thing now is to wait and see who wants to inhale the benefits.
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