Argumentative Essay: The Legalization Of Marijuana

We have all been in contact of drugs whether it’s legal or not. There is an impressive quantity of drugs used daily, some being used medicinally. Though drugs are important in the medicinal field today and are gaining popularity, there are people who abuse these drugs. That begs the question if the legalization of certain drugs should be considered. One of the main topic nowadays is the legalization of marijuana.That's why I decided to do my paper on this subject. The United States is now in debate on the legalization of cannabis. More and more states are voting to decriminalize and regulate cannabis. My top concern is how legalizing marijuana will effect our society. How will it affect crime rate and job employment? What are the health problems

The article states that on a physiological level the consumption of marijuana can cause“, rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure, increased rate of breathing, red eyes, dry mouth, increased appetite, or ‘the munchies’, and slowed reaction time” (Joseph) some of these effects are not necessarily felt by everybody. Some psychological risks, according to the article, are paranoia, short term memory loss, anxiety, depression, and a distorted sense of time. Though some of these risks seem harmful, many believe that marijuana is safer than alcohol. While interested in learning about effects on heavier smokers or long term users, I read another article from the site drugfreeworld.org called “The Harmful Effects of Marijuana” which states that “Marijuana smoke contains 50% to 70% more cancer-causing substances than tobacco smoke” and with tobacco being a very large topic in health debates, it is something to consider when talking about marijuana. The article also claims that according to a study in Australia, marijuana can cause brain abnormalities if used

They state that marijuana can lower a man’s sperm count and cause temporary sterility which can decrease fertility, therefore be a concern for anyone trying to have kids. But this is not the only effect that marijuana could have on child birth as the drugfreeworld.org article argues that “Cannabis is one of the few drugs which causes abnormal cell division which leads to severe hereditary defects” (“The Harmful”) such as prematurity, birth defects, mental abnormalities, and going so far as increasing risk of leukemia in a child. These risks can be very concerning to many especially couples wanting children, but one of the main questions is, are they any different from drugs that are legal now? I wondered and came to find that many of these effects have also been seen in drugs already legal such as tobacco. With this in mind many Americans, wonder why marijuana is illegal while other more common drugs with similar effects are not. This finally brings us to the main question of my research, should marijuana be legalized? Looking for some answers, I came to the conclusion that I had only found negative effects. The only positive one was that marijuana wasn’t much different from other, but legal drugs. So I decided to look for some of the positive effects that marijuana legalization might have on society. After a bit of searching I fell upon