Accepting Marijuana in Society

Many people have a misunderstanding of marijuana and its rightful place in society. The problem arises when people do not understand enough information about marijuana. Their viewpoint of the issue is not broad enough to know sufficient information and to accept any other view except that fact that it is a drug and should be illegal. By carefully and properly defining what a drug means will the difference between drugs be recognized and understood. However, only by knowing the facts about proper use and how legalizing it will affect society in a positive way will their minds’ be swayed in a different direction.

It is true that abusing marijuana will have harmful effects, but at the same time if any common drug is abused, such as Tylenol and over the counter cough medicines, there will be damaging side effects that could result in neural damage and even death. So to say that marijuana has negative effects can hold true for any other drug when not used properly. However, when used responsibly and in moderation, marijuana is far less harmful than tobacco or alcohol. Also, there is confusion about why marijuana should be legalized in the first place. Although currently it is considered an illegal drug in most parts of the country, people do not realize why it has been made legal in those places because they have not seen the facts about proper medical use of marijuana. Of course it is discouraged among regular citizens for recreational use, even though there should not be a need for this either, but the legalization of marijuana is not to encourage further recreational use of this drug. It is to ease the pain of patients who require this drug for their treatment when it is recommended by doctors. These patients have a variety of different conditions were the use of medical marijuana aids them in living better. In some cases, the marijuana was used to induce the appetite, to prevent nausea, and even to treat glaucoma, which is a condition relating to the eyes. Not enough medical tests have been done though to prove the full benefits of marijuana use and more studies need to be done because of the many different beneficial properties of the marijuana. One part of THC, marijuana’s primary ingredient, known as Marinol is already in pill form being sold legally in our country. Doctors believe if more research is done then it will show smoking marijuana has more beneficial properties than that of Marinol and other legal drugs in that category.

However, many people have not been exposed to the true facts of how marijuana works. They only have a one sided view of the drug in which they think it is no better than cocaine or heroin. The problem lies in that marijuana and cocaine are not even on the same level of drugs and the inability to see this difference in the cause for vast amounts of money being poured into the war on drugs, mainly the targeting of marijuana use. If the government were to legalize marijuana then all the money spent on arresting teenagers smoking for recreational fun who be redirected and channeled into more important areas that need attention like disaster funds and cracking down are more dangerous drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Some legalizers claim that our jails are too packed with young people whose only crime was the possession of a small amount of marijuana. This hardly seems like a reason to put someone in jail especially when it is not a uniform policy throughout the nation. In places like California, medical IDs are widespread that enable people to purchase marijuana legally in stores and allow them to carry up to six ounces on them at any given time. Furthermore, they are allowed to have a scale with them also even though this could imply the possibility that they are selling marijuana to others. However, other countries around the world that have adopted this policy have shown in statistics that when they legalized marijuana, crime and other crime related acts were significantly reduced to the point were they are no longer problems to that country. These facts have been observed by many in our government and have been noted more seriously in some minds than others.

There is also a misconstruction in the way people think about what legalizing marijuana means in the places that have legalized its use for medical purposes. According to proposition 215, the marijuana use is only for seriously ill patients who are in need of the marijuana as a last resort to help them get better for the medical condition they have. In no way does the proposition condone the recreational use and abuse of marijuana therefore does not encourage that marijuana be tried by for people just because it is being made legal. The proposition is strongly based in the helping of people in poor health who, as a last resort or not, need the drug to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

When considering legalizing marijuana, one must also consider other drugs that are less beneficial than marijuana but ironically are legal and being able to be sold over the counter in today’s society. Alcohol and tobacco have been legal for years despite research that shows the serious harmful side effects of these drugs. Alcohol can lead to kidney failure, killing of brain cells, and is the leading cause of crimes when people are under the influence of it. It is the leading cause for accidents and rape because these events occur more often when someone has been drinking too much. In addition, cigarettes are far more dangerous than marijuana. Studies have shown that smoking a tobacco cigarette is more harmful than smoking a marijuana cigarette and the effects are many times worse for the tobacco users. It can lead to a variety of different cancers and when smoked by pregnant women can result in low birth weight, premature birth, and even fetal injury. None of these effects have been proven to be the case for marijuana smokers who use the drug responsibly. Also, according to the United States Government National Institute of Drug Abuse, over 400,000 deaths are caused by tobacco, 100,000 deaths by alcohol, all illegal drugs, such as cocaine and heroine, account for 10,000 deaths, but not surprisingly the number of deaths caused by marijuana still stands at 0.

Marijuana is a drug, but not a drug like ecstasy or cocaine but rather a drug like Tylenol and Claritin, drugs that are sold legally to medically benefit the consumer. If marijuana was to be made legal around the whole country than we to would be able to reap the many benefits it has to offer. Only with a better understanding of the drug can people fully realize that it is not an evil drug that should be kept illegal but rather an important factor in helping people and our country at the same time. Our country can profit in many ways if people understand the advantages of marijuana, how the pros outweigh the cons, and just how helpful it can be.

-Kathiann M. Kowalski. Teen Addiction. Shasta Gaughen, Ed. Contemporary Issues Companion Series. Greenhaven Press, 2002.

-Marc A. Schuckit. Marijuana. William Dudley, Ed. At Issue Series. Greenhaven Press, 1999

-Nadelmann, Ehtan A. "The Dangers of Marijuana Use are Exaggerated." Pennsylvania State University. 8 Feb. 2006<http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/OVRC;jsessionid=locID=psucic>.

-Paul Van Slambrouck. Marijuana. Louise I. Gerdes, Ed. Contemporary Issues Companion Series. Greenhaven Press, 2002

-Source: United States government. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Bureau of Mortality Statistics