Persuasive Essay On Legalizing Marijuana

Marijuana, since being discovered, has been around since B.C. For the most part, it has been considered safe. It still has yet to be legalized in all 50 states, despite having no documented deaths. Legalization of marijuana in the United States should be a reality because it helps in the medical field, it reduces stress levels, and causes close to no harm compared to many legal drugs.

Marijuana can be used to help people in a medical way. “In fact, some of the chemicals in marijuana, such as THC and especially CBD, have been found to induce tumor cell death and show potential as effective tools in treating cancer”(drugpolicy.org). Not only can marijuana be used to help you feel good, it can help cure cancer as well. THC is short for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol

“In 2007, a team of experts was formed to conduct an analysis on the relative harms of marijuana, alcohol, and other drugs for the esteemed British medical journal “The Cancet”. It concluded that marijuana posed far fewer health and safety risks than alcohol”(mpp.org). That study was made in 2007, there have been numerous studies decades before that state the same thing. We’ve known for several years that marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol but people need to step up and do something about it. “Nearly 88,000 people die from alcohol-related causes annually, making it the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States”(niaaa.nih.gov). Alcohol documented deaths per year: 88,000. Marijuana documented deaths ever: 0. Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including nearly 42,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure(cdc.gov). That’s almost half a million more deaths in one year than marijuana has caused ever. So the safe drug that makes you feel good and kills no one is illegal, but drugs that have killed millions of people are legal. The majority of The United States know that marijuana is far less dangerous than a lot legal drugs so it is time for our government to legalize it in all 50

Some people might argue that it is just another addictive drug that wastes your money. Yes it is true, marijuana can be addictive, but it is not addictive because of the chemicals in it. Marijuana addictiveness is just the same as being addicted to eating candies or other foods. It is not the marijuana that cause addiction, it is how you do it and how frequently you do it. Another popular argument against marijuana is that it is a gateway drug. Just like addiction, marijuana can be a gateway drug. If you get prescribed antidepressants and you want more of it or something stronger, it can also be considered a gateway drug. In various ways, all drugs could be considered gateway drugs. One can prevent this by being able to control themselves. Legalizing marijuana can also prevent the desire of people thinking they’re “cool” for breaking the law. The last frequently talked about argument about marijuana is that it kills brain cells. “In terms of marijuana and its effects on brain cells, or neurons, there is little to no evidence to suggest that any of the active ingredients in the marijuana plant administered at doses appropriate for human consumption have neurotoxic effects”(drugpolicy.org). Based on the information i have given, these arguments are almost invalid to use against