Legalization Of Marijuana

Legalization of Marijuana

According to the World Drug Report 2000, 80 percent of illegal drug use around

the world involves marijuana( Lennard-Brown 4), and it is the most common illicit

drug used in the United States( Drug Facts 1). Also in the United States, twenty states

and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use even though it

hasn't been approved by the FDA to be a medicine( Marijuana NIDA 5), and both

Colorado and Washington have legalized recreational use for adults over 21

years (Caryn Robin 2). As it is possible to notice, this paper is about marijuana and its

legalization, it will show both, pros and cons, of the topic and after viewing all the facts,

in the end one side will be supported.

Marijuana is a mixture of the dried and shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and

flowers of the cannabis sativa plant. The mixture can be green, brown, or

gray(Marijuana NIDA 1). The greatest amount of illegal marijuana is grown in South

America and Asia (Lennard-Brown 8), especially because of the bright sunlight, that

makes the cannabis produce the highest concentration of intoxicating chemical

(Lennard-Brown 8).

Marijuana can me known by other names, as weed, pot, hash, grass or herb

(Lennard-Brown 7). People usually smoke it as a cigarette or in a pipe(Marijuana

Medline 1), the cigarette is called "joint" or "nail" and the pipe is known as "bong"(

Marijuana NIDA 2). Others smoke "blunts"- cigars hollowed out and filled with the

drug, and some users it as tea or mix it with food( Marijuana NIDA 2). When used with

food, larger amounts tend to be taken, and so the effects last for longer and can be more

intense( Lennard-Brown 25).

2

Costantini

The effects of smoking marijuana vary, depending on the concentration of

intoxicating chemicals it contains(Lennard-Brown 25). Effect can also be unpredictable

when marijuana is used in combination with other drugs (Marijuana NIDA 3). For some

people, smoking makes them feel good, a user begins to feel "high", or filled with

pleasant sensations(Marijuana NIDA 2). Within a few minutes after inhaling marijuana

smoke, an individual's heart begins beating more rapidly(normally 70 to 80 beats per

minute, may increase by 20 to 50, or even double), the bronchial passages relax and

become enlarged, and blood vessels in the eyes expand, making the eyes look red(

Marijuana NIDA 3).

Marijuana smoke contains the psychoactive substance THC, or delta-nine-

tetrahydrocannabinol, that quickly passes vie the user's lung into the bloodstream

(Lennard-Brown 24). When high-grade marijuana is used, the effects are felt less

quickly, but when they do occur, they can be almost hallucinogenic (Lennard-

Brown 25), but low-grade marijuana has very little effect, sometimes it is referred to as

"headache pot", because the user tends to get a feeling of heaviness in their head or a

headache (Lennard-Brown 25).

Since 2007, annual, monthly, and daily marijuana use has increased (Marijuana

NIDA 2) and according to NIDA's 2012 Monitoring the Future study, about 6.5 percent

of 8th graders, 17 percent of 10th graders and 22.9 percent of the 12th graders had used

marijuana in the month before de survey ( Marijuana NIDA 2). This studies showed that

smoking marijuana is getting more popular and common in the society, also,

statistically, one of five teenagers will try marijuana at some times in their

life (Lennard-Brown 54).

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has records of drug abuse

problems in 130 countries (Lennard-Brown 4), nevertheless, a growing number of states

3

Costantini

in the United States have legalized the use and/or cultivation of marijuana for medical

purposes (Medical Marijuana 1).

Even though scientific studies are underway to test the safety and usefulness of

cannabis compounds for treating certain medical conditions (Marijuana Medline 1),

some states as Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts,

Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island,

Vermont and Washington, have already legalized the use of medical marijuana (Medical

Marijuana 1). Though federal law still bans both the sale and