Marijuana - Take Two Puffs and Call Me in the Morning

Take Two Puffs and Call Me in the Morning

For decades the marijuana prohibition has been violating individual's rights, but scientific research has proven that marijuana has therapeutic uses and is harmless compared to other drugs. Therefore, marijuana should not be considered a dangerous drug and should be legalized. The prohibition of marijuana did not end with crime; nonetheless, it is responsible for the imprisonment of thousands of its users. The government's campaign against marijuana has also created cultural factors that make the use of marijuana socially unacceptable. However, it should be up to each individual to decide if he/she wants to use marijuana whether it is for pleasure.

The legalization of marijuana has been strongly debated since the 1920s and 1930s, when it was first recognized as a dangerous drug, and tabloid newspapers popularized exaggerated stories of violent crimes allegedly committed by immigrants intoxicated by marijuana (Article 28). In 1937, the Marihuana Tax Act was signed to prohibit the use of marijuana because marijuana supposedly caused violent crimes, "sexual excess," addiction, and led to the use of harder drugs (Article 1). In the 1970s, the government created the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) to study the effects of marijuana (Article 27). The NIDA published many claims concerning marijuana use but they did not have evidence to support their claims (Article 27). This misinformation and the government's campaign against marijuana made the legalization of marijuana impossible.

Marijuana is not an addictive drug. National epidemiological surveys show that the large majority of people who experience marijuana do not become regular users, and the regular users consume marijuana in a way that does not interfere with their other life activities (Article 32). The idea that marijuana use results in the use of "harder" drugs is not true because over time there has not been any consistent relationship between the use patterns of various drugs "NORML Report on Marijuana"). It is true that users of heroin, LSD, and cocaine have used marijuana, but research has shown that most marijuana users never use another illegal drug. Research shows that marijuana use increased in the 1960s and 1970s, while heroin use decreased. In the 1980s when marijuana use decreased, heroin use remained stable (Article 32). There are many claims that marijuana is an addictive drug but without scientific evidence one cannot believe these claims.

It has always been believed that marijuana use causes brain damage which is false. Marijuana is psychoactive because it stimulates certain brain receptors, but it does not produce the toxins that kill them, and it does not wear them out as other drugs do (Article 27). There is no evidence of anyone dying of a marijuana overdose ("NORML Report on Marijuana"). There is a great deal of misinformation about marijuana which has led people to believe that marijuana is a dangerous and harmful drug but scientific research has proven all those beliefs wrong and shown that marijuana is harmless. The legalization of marijuana will not only help terminally ill patients, but also those suffering from physical pain. Millions will benefit from the legalization of marijuana, especially because many of the drugs that are available have the ability to kill rather than help. Aspirin is used to cure moderate pain, but every year it kills more than seven thousand people (Article 9). Marijuana, unlike aspirin, provides a better quality of pain relief, and it elevates the patient's spirit (Article 27). There is evidence that marijuana improves the appetite and helps AIDS patients gain weight. Thousands of AIDS patients who have a weight loss condition, called wasting, would live longer if they could smoke marijuana. Also, smoking marijuana is effective in lowering the pressure inside the eyeballs of glaucoma patients. Studies have proven that short-term marijuana use helps relieve chemotherapy-induced nausea for cancer patients who do not respond well to other medications (Article 60). Marijuana also helps patients with multiple sclerosis, paraplegia, epilepsy, and quadriplegia (Article 27). Marijuana will also be useful for diseases and disorders that are not deadly. People with certain physical pains such as headaches and arthritis can relieve their pain with marijuana. Marijuana can also help relax or calm down a person who is upset or depressed. Many of the current medications available for depression have negative side effects, which marijuana does not have (Article 28). The medical uses of marijuana are many and with more research scientists are likely to find more. Marijuana as a therapeutic drug will help individuals who are terminally ill or suffer from physical pain.

It should be an individual's decision to use marijuana for therapeutic or recreational reasons but because of cultural factors marijuana has not been legalized. Smoking marijuana should not be socially unacceptable, but the problem is that marijuana use has always been associated with pleasure. The majority of alcohol users do not consume alcohol with the intention of becoming intoxicated. Alcohol has a social value as a relaxant and, in some instances, as a therapeutic. Marijuana has not been recognized as having therapeutic uses, but is used mostly as a way of intoxicating oneself. Alcohol is usually consumed with meals and on social occasions and the purpose is not necessarily to get drunk. Marijuana is not associated with any purpose other than to get high, and people believe that individuals who use marijuana turn to the drug to avoid finding solutions to their problems. Society needs to understand that the legalization of marijuana will have many benefits and people need to start associating marijuana with therapeutic uses, and not just pleasure so that it can be legalized in the future.

The prohibition of marijuana violates the civil rights of marijuana users because they should be able to smoke the recreational drug of their choice, but instead they are imprisoned and labeled as criminals when they use marijuana. The prohibition against marijuana is responsible for the arrests of hundreds of thousands of mostly young people and law-abiding citizens who work hard, raise families, and contribute to their communities ("NORML Report on Marijuana"). The Federal Bureau of Narcotics has publicly stated that it is not concerned with the prosecution of the student or occasional user, but only the dealer or heavy user ("NORML Report on Marijuana"). This is not true because state laws against marijuana do not take into account the