The Pros And Cons Of Marijuana

Like any other drug, marijuana carries its own set of risks and adverse side effects. Marijuana has been cast into the tier of Schedule I drugs almost entirely due to how commonly it is abused and illegally used for recreational purposes. Marijuana is the most abused drug in the United States aside from alcohol, which led to its label as a Schedule I drug despite its possible medical significance. Abuse is an especially urgent matter in adolescents who are more prone to long-term impacts due to their bodies and brains still in stages of development. Although marijuana alone has never be the direct cause of a death, it leads users to behave dangerously and partake in risky activities that many “social lubricants” often result in. The high

A prime example of an unscheduled drug that are completely legal in the United States, despite having no medically accepted benefit today, is alcohol. After the failed attempt to make alcohol an illegal substance in the Prohibition Era, it has since been set apart from scheduled substances, despite its meeting the requirements to be categorized as a Schedule I substance. In 1920, alcohol was made illegal to reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, reduce the tax burden created by prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene in America. Mark Thornton points out in his policy analysis of Prohibition that instead, “Alcohol became more dangerous to consume; crime increased and became ‘organized’; the court and prison systems were stretched to the breaking point; and corruption of public officials was rampant (1991). This ultimately led to Prohibition laws being repealed and ever since it has been accepted that alcohol, along with all its dangerous and deadly qualities, will forever be a part of society. The government has also been somewhat willing to ignore all the dangers alcohol use since it is a lucrative source of tax revenue. Marijuana use has started to follow a similar trend in recent years, especially since states have started to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Just as making alcohol illegal became more burdensome than beneficial,

(2015)
This source cited a drop in crime rates nearing 10% and a decrease in traffic fatalities of about 3% since the legalization of marijuana in Colorado. In addition to these benefits of legalization, it has also been reported that states with marijuana legalization have seen a drop in the abuse rates of other drugs as cited in a study of data collected from 1999 to 2013 (Kim et al., 2016). These results come in a stark contrast to the theories believed by some that the legalization of marijuana would lead to a steep increase in drug related