Marijuana, or Cannabis, is a misconceived drug. Many people consider that the usage of marijuana is hazardous, but it can be the exact opposite. So why is the legalization of marijuana in the United States such an issue for some people today? Considered to be a gateway drug and the reason for the collapse of our youth nowadays, cannabis has realized as the vile way. Lester Grinspoon, a professor at Harvard University, states, “Few drugs in the United States have produced as much affective heat as marijuana, particularly during the last decade. The controversy essentially revolves about the question of how dangerous or safe the drug is.” Without regard to persistent users, they believe that this drug is no more harmful than smoking cigarettes. …show more content…
American cancer society said that "Marijuana has not been proven to cause cancer, but one of the ingredients is known to increase the risk of Kaposi's Sarcoma- a common cancer in HIV/AIDS patients." Cancer is a fatal condition, but can be avoided in some scenarios. For example, those who do not smoke cigarettes are less likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer; just as those who do not smoke marijuana are less likely to get Kaposi's Sarcoma. Our lungs are one of the most important parts of our bodies and must be treated with delicacy. Smoking marijuana goes against this, for it destroys our respiratory system which allows us to breathe properly. Smoking one joint is equivalent to smoking two to five cigarettes, which means the damage that a cigarette has on lungs is twice as bad, or even more, as cannabis does. Cannabis smokers end up with five times more carbon monoxide in their bloodstream than tobacco smokers. Smoking marijuana can lead to lung disease 20 years earlier than tobacco smoking (Collins). The future risk probably applies to many other countries, where increasing use of cannabis among young adults and adolescents is becoming a major public health problem. This is significant because in the near future, the United States may see an outbreak of lung cancers connected with this new cancer-causing