Argumentative Essay: The Legalization Of Marijuana

In the US today, recreation of drugs and the legislation along with it are all heavily involved with one of the most common drugs in the world called marijuana, also known as cannabis or weed, and other various names. Marijuana is a greenish-gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves and flowers of the plant Cannabis sativa. Marijuana’s popularity largely derives from the main psychoactive content called delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which users seek and experience the intoxicating effects that allows them to be “high”. It is generally rolled up into a “joint”, or weed cigarette, and smoked or water pipes called “bongs” (National Institute of Drug Abuse). Although marijuana can give one the feelings of euphoria, it gives policymakers a headache,

In a large survey published in 1994 epidemiologist James Anthony, then at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and his colleagues have asked more than 8000 people between between the ages of 15-64 about their utilization of marijuana and other drugs. The researchers confirmed that “those of who had tried marijuana at least once, about 9% eventually fit a cannabis dependence. The corresponding figure for alcohol was 15%; for cocaine, 17%; for heroin, 23%; and for nicotine, 32%” (Arkowitz & Lilienfeld). Additionally, some opposers have been consistent with the notion of marijuana being a “gateway drug”, however according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse “the majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, ‘harder substances’” (NIDA). While 111 million Americans have attempted marijuana, only a third try cocaine and 4% heroin. People who tried marijuana are more likely to try other drugs than the general population, but that doesn't mean that it encouraged them to do so (Boffey). The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences also wrote in agreement that “most drug users begin with alcohol and nicotine [and other illicit drugs] before marijuana . . . because of this, marijuana is not the most common, and is rarely the first ‘gateway’ to illicit drug use. There is

A new report published in Scientific Reports compared the lethality of the 10 most common drugs: marijuana, cocaine, heroin, alcohol, tobacco, ecstasy, methamphetamine, diazepam, amphetamine and methadone. Researchers determined the lethality by comparing the lethal dose of each drug. They concluded that marijuana had the lowest risk of mortality and was safer than alcohol and tobacco along with the rest of the substances that were included in the study. A DEA ruling in 1988 stated that “a marijuana user would have to consume 20000 to 40000 times the amount of THC in a joint to be at risk of a fetal dose”. A similar study was also conducted from British independent scientific committee, in which they compared 20 drugs and determined the amount of harm they caused to individual users and to society as a whole in terms of crime, family breakdown, and other social difficulties. When adding all of the damage, the panel approximated that “alcohol was the most harmful drug, followed by heroin and crack cocaine. Marijuana ranked eighth, having slightly more than one-fourth the harm of alcohol” (Boffey). "You can die binge-drinking five minutes after you've been exposed to alcohol. That isn't going to happen with marijuana," said