Legalization of Marijuana
“Reefer Madness” or Economic Opportunity? Smoking marijuana is illegal for many reasons, including psychological addiction, fear of an unproductive society, and belief that it is a gateway to harder drugs. Conversely, marijuana may actually be an asset to American culture. Even though marijuana has earned a bad reputation in the past as a “mind-altering drug,” the economic, medical, and legal benefits outweigh the disadvantages.
What clarifies something as a drug? If the definition of “drug” is the obtainment of pleasure, then who is to say that anything people do for enjoyment is not a drug as well? The power of free will is a factor in the illegal status of marijuana. Taking the right of people to willingly put substances into their body with no legal repercussions is unconstitutional. Cigarettes, which are smoked in a similar way as marijuana joints, are legal in every state; both marijuana and cigarettes have the same chemicals inside of them. Along with unconstitutional, it is also unfair to disregard one lung-harming substance as legal for purchase and recreational use and make the other illegal.
…show more content…
Marijuana effects your logic and motor skills, while cigarettes do not. Though cigarettes have long term harmful side effects, marijuana has short term as well as long term harmful effects. Loss of memory, depleting brain cells, and hallucinations have been reported with constant use of marijuana, although none of these accusations have been scientifically proven as a fact in all users. Studies have shown that women who frequently smoked marijuana on a regular basis since a young age have had an increase of testosterone and problems developing