Article Rebuttal: Marijuana
BCOM/275
September 25, 2012
Gregory Hearnes
Article Rebuttal: Marijuana
According to Elon (2006), [Smoking a marijuana cigarette deposits about three to five times more tar into the lungs than one filtered cigarette. Smoking three to four joints per day causes as much harm to the respiratory system as smoking a full pack of cigarettes a day. Marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke.]
The truth of the matter is that scientific studies show that marijuana is not toxic to humans, and the “overdose” amount is so unrealistic as to be laughable. More people have died from prescription drugs, firearms, alcohol, aspirin, or peanut butter than marijuana. There is no evidence that supports marijuana having ever caused any medical deaths. Alcohol and tobacco are both more addictive and dangerous than marijuana (Hubpages, n.d.)
“Accident records from one study showed that up to 12% of non-fatally injured drivers and up to 16% of fatally injured drivers had marijuana in their bloodstream” (Elon, 2006).
Just because an individual has marijuana in their bloodstream does not mean that they were under the influence at the time of their accident. Marijuana can show up in the bloodstream over 30 days after actually consuming it. This study is not accurate because it does not show that the individuals were actually under the influence of marijuana at the time of their accident.
According to Elon (2006), “After marijuana became legal and sold in smoke shops in the Netherlands, consumption nearly tripled among 18 to 20 year olds.”
The truth is that to this day, there is not one part of the world that marijuana is legal. There are a couple of parts of the world that have decriminalized marijuana, but it is definitely not legal.
It seems that some of the claims made
References: Elon, (2006). Legalization of marijuana. Retrieved from http://www.elon.edu Hubpages, (n.d.). Why legalize marijuana?. Retrieved from http://hubpages.com/hub/Why-Legalize-Marijuana