Arguments Against Legalizing Marijuana

Marijuana is the most used illicit drug in the United States. It can be smoked or eaten and may cause hallucinations, an increase in appetite, dizziness or many other side effects. It tends to be called a gateway drug, which means it may lead to the use of other harmful drugs. Using marijuana affects the brain which causes chemical changes. It may cause difficulties in paying attention to details, learning new information, and concentration. It also has a negative effect on the lungs which could cause cancer or other diseases. Over 7% of the population uses marijuana (Palamar, 2014). Drug use has become more prevalent within adolescents and college students in the United States. Although many people use it for recreational or medicinal use,

Researchers have found that more than 35% of adolescents have used one or more illegal drug (Single et al., 1974). It has been speculated that marijuana use would lead the user to take more harmful drugs. Arguments against the legalization of marijuana stated that using marijuana would lead to aggressive and criminal behavior and that it is the first step towards a drug addiction (Single et al., 1974). Typically, adolescents who have never used marijuana generally will not use other drugs. However, marijuana users often engage in other illicit drug use. It was found that within 13,000 High School students, 31% of the marijuana users have used LSD compared to the 1% who have never used marijuana (Single, et al., 1974). Among heavy marijuana users (have used 60 or more times) 84% report the use of “pills” (methedrine, amphetamines, barbiturates, or tranquilizers). 78% have used LSD or other psychedelics. 62% have used cocaine, heroin, or other narcotics (Single et al., 1974). Though data shows a strong correlation between marijuana use and other illicit drug use, data does not show that marijuana use actually will lead to the use of other drugs (Single et al.,

It is known that using drugs tend to lead to health problems. Within marijuana users, there have been many serious respiratory, neurocognitive, and malaise problems reported (Brook, Stimmel, Chenshu, & Brook, 2008). It has been shown that people who use marijuana that were “exactly one standard deviation greater than the mean of marijuana use” were 1.44 times more likely to have breathing problems (Brook, et al., 2008). Participants whose use of marijuana was exactly one standard deviation greater than 1.52 were more likely to have malaise, and 1.36 times more likely to have neurocognitive problems (Brook, et al., 2008). Using marijuana may also lead to an increased heart rate, depression, anxiety, and possible suicidal thoughts. Long-term marijuana use may lead to mental illness in some users. These may include paranoia or hallucinations. It has been found that using marijuana may react with a chemical in the brain that is linked to schizophrenia. It may also lead to a worsening of the symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, or people who do not know they have schizophrenia (Schnell, Becker, Thiel, & Gouzoulis-Mayfrank, 2013). This leads to a life-long medical condition that they would have never known existed if they never used