Stay Away Marijuana

Should marijuana be sold at corner stores to anyone over 16? Recently, some of CanadaЎЇs politicians have claimed to introduce the legislation of legalizing marijuana. According to the policy, the possession of marijuana will not be considered as a criminal sanction. Indeed, marijuana will become a legal substance. People who are over 16 can buy it over the counter just as alcohol or tobacco. Although legalizing marijuana may be beneficial to those people with medical purposes, it will create more problems and dangers to the society. The problems that associated with legalizing marijuana are causing negative impacts on public health and increasing marijuana consumption among youths. Also, the misuse of marijuana may cause people to drive under the influence of the drug, and hence, more accidents may occur, causing more expenses on public health care. Clearly, the downsides of legalizing marijuana outweigh its benefits.

Marijuana is a drug that is harmful to a personЎЇs health. It has been found to have adverse impacts on oneЎЇs mental processes such as memory, attention, judgement, and problem- solving (Butcher, Mineka, Hooley, 2004, p.415). Also, marijuana can interfere with a personЎЇs ability to think rationally and logically. Thus, the lapse in judgement caused by the drug use can lead to risky sexual behaviours and this may result in increasing sexually transmitted disease such as AIDS. Moreover, the long-term use of marijuana may cause chronic breathing problems and cancer to the lungs, as well as, other parts of the respiratory tracts. The immune systems may also be affected and the body may have a more likelihood of contracting infections. Additionally, chronic users might neglect their personal hygiene and nutrition, which can lead to serious health problems. Hence, the use of marijuana will not only contribute to adverse impacts on an individualЎЇs health, but also threaten the health of society.

In addition to increase public health problems, legalizing marijuana will lead to increase use of the drug among youngsters. Despite the regulatory approaches, legalizing marijuana has the inevitable effect of increasing the availability and consumption of the drug. Under the current prohibitions, the rate of consumption of marijuana among teenagers is already high; however, the rate of use would greatly increase if the drug was legitimately available to the population. For instance, despite the prohibitions against distribution of alcohol to teenagers, many youngsters who are under the legal age drink alcohol today. Similarly, high percentages of the young population are currently smokers even though the law prohibit them from buying cigarettes. Therefore, it is expected that the usage of marijuana among teenagers would increase if marijuana was legalized. Notably, the marijuana use will impair the development process of teenagers, which will negatively affect their health in later life. Thus, the increased use of marijuana among teenagers is a great concern. It will contribute to great dangers on the health of the youths.

Like alcohol, marijuana use will affect a personЎЇs driving skills and decrease the ability to drive safely on the roads. Several medical studies have demonstrated that marijuana can impair motor coordination, alertness, ability to concentrate, and ability to react quickly (Butcher et al., 2004, p.416). Impairing these functions create a dangerous situation for anyone who is driving. As we know, drunk driving is a major problem in our society despite all the stiff penalties. A lot of alcohol users drink irresponsibly which put themselves and others at risk. Similar pattern could also emerge among marijuana users. This problem would be accentuated if marijuana were more widely consumed, especially