Benefits Of Legalizing Marijuana

Should Marijuana be Legalized

8/December/2017

Marijuana, also often known as cannabis, is extracted from the plant, cannabis sativa. In the recent decade, marijuana has become a highly controversial topic due to the pro-legalization movement of marijuana in the United States. Since the late 1900s, policies were slowly moving towards pro-marijuana. From decriminalization to legalization of medical use and to finally the legalization of recreational use states started adopting liberal policies. However with the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado in 2012, controversy arose. People began to argue whether marijuana should be accepted in society, and if so, to what degree. While people who are against legalization argue that marijuana

Many supporters claim that there are two types of addiction: physical addiction and psychological addiction. Marijuana, they argue, is not physically addictive because it is not the chemicals within marijuana that cause one to become addicted to it. Furthermore, even if it were to be psychologically addictive, marijuana is less addictive than caffeine. Until recent years, the public viewed marijuana as an addictive drug, which would have been extremely difficult to quit by frequent users. In reality, however, the degree of addiction is not as heavy as people think it is to

Cannabis has many different ways of being consumed. A widely spread way of consuming marijuana, other than smoking, is by eating it through foods such as brownies. The problem of consuming marijuana by food is that people are much more likely to over consume it. Unlike smoking marijuana, in which the effects quick in pretty quickly, eating marijuana takes much longer to take effect. Without realizing it, people will often over consume marijuana, causing permanent damage to the brain. Even people who have a lot of experience with marijuana are often unsure of what their limits are if they consume marijuana by food. Although this is not a direct result of the drug itself, it is nevertheless one of the side effects which has to be taken into consideration. Furthermore, an overdose of marijuana, like alcohol, is not only harmful to the person him/herself, but to those around as well. After consumption, people become “high,” losing their ability to control their body. This will increase the likelihood of incidents such as car accidents or criminal activities, creating a general negative impact on society. Due to the obvious harmful qualities of marijuana and its side effects, people who are against legalization believe that there has to be a strong regulation on