Causes Of Marijuana Legalization
Erin Doris de Cesare
Frederick Miller
ENG 111, Sec. PI
22 Oct. 2013 Cause and effects of Marijuana Use and Legalization
Believe it or not, marijuana has been a part of human society for longer than history has been recorded by man. Dating as far back as the 6th millennium B.C., far before the Sumerians began recording history around 3500 B.C., marijuana had made it 's first appearance into society as a source of food (“History of Marijuana”). By 1500 B.C., however, it was already being used for medical purposes, as we recorded Chinese Pharmacopeia that year (“Historical Timeline”). From this time up until 1937, when the Marijuana Tax Act officially made marijuana illegal to possess in the United States, people had been allowed to freely …show more content…
and openly use marijuana for both recreational and medical purposes (Prater). The reasons for the initial criminalization of marijuana in the United States have been a topic of dispute for nearly one hundred years, and, in more recent times, many people have begun to support the legalization of marijuana for medical and even recreational purposes, and right rightfully so. Marijuana, unlike the legal drugs tobacco and alcohol, can be used for both recreational and medicinal purposes and its side effects can be easily compared to those of legal drugs. In addition, if marijuana were legalized, taxed, and regulated through a system like the one currently utilized by many states in the distribution of legal medical marijuana, it would only bring benefit to our country. The tax money generated, which could amount to multiple billions of dollars each year, could be put toward securing our nation from foreign threats and developing new alternative sources of energy that will inevitably be needed in the years to come.
Marijuana, commonly referred to as “pot”, “weed”, ”ganja”, or “Mary Jane” on the streets, is a psychoactive drug (one that effects the mind) derived from the plant Cannabis Sativa (“Facts about”). For centuries, it has been used by humans for medicinal, and, beginning in sightly more recent times, recreational purposes(“Historical Timeline”). In its most common form, marijuana is composed of dried and shredded portions of the cannabis plat that can appear in colors ranging from green to brown or gray. In total, it contains around 400 chemical compounds, but the most important of these is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical that is primarily responsible for producing the mind altering effects, or “high”, experienced by marijuana users (“Facts about”). As THS plays a major role in determining the psychological effects of the drug, its concentration is measured to determine the potency of a particular strain of marijuana. According to an article on the website for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “The THC content of marijuana has been increasing since the 1970s” and “For the year 2007, estimates from confiscated marijuana indicated that it contains almost 10 percent THC, on average” (“Facts about”). This is up from just around 1.5% THC in the ate 1970s (“Is Marijuana Significantly”). Marijuana is an extremely popular recreational drug in the U.S., up in the ranks with alcohol and tobacco, and, as a result, it is very likely that the average U.S. Citizen has seen a person using marijuana at some point in their life (“About Marijuana”). For those who haven;t seen a person in the act, however, the methods for the use of the drug must be understood before the issue of legalization can be rightfully considered.
Unlike some drugs, including alcohol, marijuana can be used in a multitude of ways. The first and most common way that marijuana is used is trough the inhalation of the vapors produced by its burning, or smoking. Marijuana can be smoked wrapped in a cigarette paper as a joint, in a hollowed out cigar as a blunt, or out of a pipe or water pipe known as a bong (“InfoFacts: Marijuana”). For users that prefer not to smoke the drug, however, there are alternative methods of marijuana use. According to a page on the ProCon.org Medical Marijuana site, alternatives to smoking marijuana include converting it into a butter or oil and ingesting it in food products like brownies and cakes, drinking it in a tonic form, or inhaling vaporized marijuana, which contains significantly less chemical compounds then marijuana in its normally smoked form (“Non-smoked Uses”). These methods, particularly the ones that involve ingesting the drug through eating or drinking, have the potential to greatly reduce the harmful effects that marijuana can have on the passageways of the lungs by eliminating the need to inhale the heated gases and particulates like tar, a substance generated by the burning of plant matter, that are usually contained in marijuana smoke. Even alternative methods that still involve inhalation of the drug, such as the use of vaporizers to convert marijuana into a purified vapor, have much reduced health consequences. Particularly, these methods can minimize or even entirely eliminate the cancer-causing compounds that are usually inhaled with the drug. As described by Robert Melamede, a professor of biology at the University of Colorado:
It should be noted that with the development of vaporizers, that use the respiratory route or the delivery of carcinogen-free cannabis vapors, the carcinogenic potential of smoked cannabis has been largely eliminated.
Thus, the side effects of marijuana usage can be altered by changing the method by which it is used. This property of marijuana is not unique to it, as tobacco can be purified before inhalation through the use of vaporizer as well. Still, one thing that is unique to marijuana is its medical value. Marijuana, in a sense, is the most flexible of all drugs. Rather than only having recreational value, as tobacco and alcohol do, marijuana has been shown to have a significant value in the treatment of some medical conditions, including chronic pain, HIV, cancer, Tourette 's Syndrome, and others. It has proven to be particularly useful in the treatment of neuropathic pain, a type of pain associated with diseases that include diabetes, cancer, multiplie sclerosis (MS), and HIV (“Chronic Pain”). In fact, at the conclusion of a series of clinical trials on the use of smoked marijuana for medical purposes, investigators at the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research concluded that “marijuana ought to be a “first line treatment” for patients with neuropathy and other serious illnesses” (Armentano). In addition, research regarding the use of marijuana for the treatment of nervous disorders such as Tourette 's Syndrome has revealed similar success. Tourette 's Syndrome is a neurological disease distinguished by uncontrollable vocal outburts, called tics (“Tourette 's Syndrome”). Numerous studies have shown that marijuana, with its active ingredient THC, can be extremely effective in reducing the severity and frequency of these tics. In a trial that involved administering of doses of THC to 24 patients with Tourette 's Syndrome, researchers came to the conclusion that “subjects experienced a significant reduction in tics following long-term cannabinoid treatment, and suffered no detrimental effects in learning, recall or verbal memory” (“Tourette 's Syndrome”). Knowing this information certainly leaves us to the question, why exactly does marijuana maintain its status as an illegal drug while tobacco and alcohol, which have no medical benefits whatsoever, are entirely legal? This is a question yet to be answered, and still the medical benefits of marijuana are not fully known. Due to classification of the drug by the DEA as a Schedule-I substance, or one that has no currently accepted medical benefits, and many other factors, much potential research regarding the use of marijuana for medical purposes gas simply never been performed. Thus, restrictions on marijuana and its research have prevented investigators from discovering other potential uses and side effects of marijuana, and biased sources of funding for this research have made it difficult for scientists to decipher whether or not marijuana is truly a dangerous substance (“Disjointed”). Regardless, current research has shown that marijuana can have significant medical benefits, and, in fact, 16 states (17 if you include Washington D.C.) in the U.S have allowed for the legal use of the drug for medical purposes (“16 Legal Medical”). Still, marijuana is depicted as a drug that can have extreme adverse effects on one 's life and health, with some people, including Connecticut state senator Toni Boucher, going as far as to say that “drug users, including marijuana users, may commit murder, or child or spouse or elder abuse, or rape, or property damage, assault and other violent crimes under the influence of drugs” (Strauss). Clearly, this is an area which many people are not properly educated in regards to marijuana. Like most other legal drugs, including those that are used strictly for medical purposes, marijuana does have its own short and long term side effects. Still, in comparison to the side effects of drugs like alcohol and tobacco, which are entirely legal for recreational use in the U.S., these side effects can be considered to be relatively moderate. In the short term, marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol all produce some sort of “buzz” or “high” for their users. The marijuana high, which lasts for anywhere from an hour to a few hours or more depending on the potency of the drug, produces effects such as inhibited cognitive capabilities, decreased motor coordination and ability to solve problems, increased heart rate, and altered senses and perceptions (“Marijuana”). In low to medium doses, alcohol can produce very similar effects, including slow reaction time, reduced coordination, sensations, and perceptions that are less clear, poor concentration, and altered emotions (“Short and Long Term Effects of Alcohol”). Unlike in the case of marijuana, however, the effects produced by alcohol when it is consumed in heavier doses can take a turn from bad to life-threatening. In high doses, alcohol can cause effects such as vomiting, breathing difficulties, passing out, alcohol poisoning, coma, and in extreme cases, death (“Short and Long Term Effects of Alcohol”). This is clearly reflected by the fact that in 2001, the CDC reported 331 preventable deaths due to alcohol overdose and not even a single death due to marijuana overdose (“Facts of Cannabis and Alcohol”). In fact, there have not been any recorded cases of death solely due to marijuana consumption throughout the entire history of its use. As explained by Robert Gable, a professor at Claremont Graduate University: Alcohol is one of the most toxic drugs, and using just 10 times what one would use to get the desired effect can lead to death. Marijuana is one of the most – if not the- least toxic drugs, requiring thousands of times the dose one would use to get the desired effect to lead to death. This “thousands of times” is actually theoretical, since there has never been a recorded case of marijuana overdose (“Facts on Cannabis and Alcohol”)
In other words, a man or woman who goes out to have some fun with his or her friends and uses alcohol can potentially wind up dying for doing so, while a man or woman that does out for a night of fun and uses only marijuana, according to the test of time, is not likely to have the same fate. Despite this fact, the use of alcohol for recreational purposes is legal and accepted as normal in our society while the use of marijuana for the same purposes is outlawed. Thus, it can be said that our current drug policy promotes the use of more deadly drugs. Tobacco 's short term effects don 't closely resemble those of any previously mentioned drugs, and include narrowing of the arteries and an increase I blood pressure, heart rate, and the amount of blood actually flowing from the heart (“Tobacco”). These effects seem relatively moderate, but it is in the long term where tobacco has its greatest adverse effects. Tobacco has been linked to the development of lung and heart disease as well as multiple forms of deadly cancers in its users over longer periods of time (“Tobacco”). In addition, the long term effects of the other most popular legal recreational drug, alcohol, include distribution of normal brain development, liver damage and cirrhosis of the liver, decreased brain mass, destroyed organs, heart disease, heart attack, or stroke, and a decrease in fertility (“Short and Long Term Effects of Alcohol”). The long-term effects of the illegal drug marijuana, on the other hand, are much less severe, and include breathing problems, such as wheezing and coughing, damage the immune system, decreased fertility, and a decrease in cognitive ability and energy (“Short and Long Term Effects of Marijuana”). Some people that argue against legalization of marijuana would also state that it causes cancer and contains the same cancer-causing compounds as tobacco. Although the latter portion of that statement is true, more recent research shows that the former part is not necessarily the same. Robert Melamede, a professor of biology, explains exactly why in his 2005 article titled Cannabis and Tobacco Smoke Are Not Equally Carcinogenic: In conclusion, while both tobacco and cannabis smoke have similar properties chemically, their pharmacological activities differ greatly. Components of cannabis smoke minimize some carcinogenic [cancer-causing] pathways whereas tobacco smoke enhances some. Both types of smoke contain carcinogens [cancer-causing agents] and particulate matter [like tar] that promotes inflammatory I mmune responses that may enhance the carcinogenic effects of the smoke... Furthermore, THC inhibits t he... [activation of] some of the carcinogens found in smoke. In contrast, tobacco smoke increases the likelihood of carcinogenesis [development of cancer] by overcoming normal... protective mechanisms... Cannabinoids receptors have not been reported in respiratory epithelial cells lining the passageways of the lungs]... hence the DNA damage checkpoint mechanism [that is overcome by tobacco] should remain intact after prolonged cannabis exposure [Preventing the onset of cancer. Furthermore, nicotine promotes tumor [formation] whereas cannabis inhibits it... current knowledge does not suggest that cannabis smoke will have a carcinogenic potential comparable to that resulting from exposure to the [inhaling of] tobacco smoke.
Still, tobacco, which contributes to hundreds of thousands of cancer-related deaths each year, remains legal, while marijuana, which does not, is illegal. Have the politicians which make the decisions regarding marijuans legal status completely ignored this fact? If you consider the effects of marijuana on health relative to drugs like tobacco and alcohol, it doesn 't necessarily appear to be as bad as you might have thought or been told previously. More and more people are beginning to support marijuana legalization upon discovering this, yet the costly and ineffective war against its use continues to rage on in the U.S. The efforts of the “war on drugs” in the U.S. Have been a near complete failure, at least when it comes to marijuana. Marijuana usage continues to be extremely high in the U.S., and, in addition, a continually increasing number of people seem to show support for marijuana legalization, ever for recreational purposes. According to an article on the NORML website, marijuana is still very popular as a recreational drug despite its illegal status and the efforts of our government to quell its use. The article boasts some impressive, yet disappointing statistics, stating that marijuana has been used by 100 million Americans with 14 million of them using it regularly, making it one of the highest ranking recreational drugs, third only behind the legal drugs alcohol and tobacco. (“About Marijuana”). Despite these statistics and others that clearly show the drug war 's epic failure to stop the use of marijuana in the U.S., tax payer money continues to be spent on the efforts. According to a Gallup poll fro October 2011, 50% of Americans are now in support of marijuana 's complete legalization. This has dramatically risen since the 1970s, when the first Gallup poll conducted on the issue showed only 12% of Americans in support of its legalization (Newport). Still, the people that compose this 50% that are in support of legalization have their money being used to pay for anti-marijuana campaigns and prison fees. How much money is actually spent by our government on this failing battle each year? Although many people in the U.S., now support the legalization of marijuana for recreational use, the US government continues to spend massive amount of money each year on the war against it. This spending of tax dollars, which amounts to $7.7 billion a year, could instead be put toward investment into alternative energy sources and the development of new technologies (“Milton Friedman, 500+ Economists”). The spending on the war against marijuana only further contributes to the massive budget deficit of the U.S. Government, and its legalization could not only reverse the spending of the government but turn marijuana into a major profit-generating crop through taxation. In fact, according to a 2005 report by Dr. Jeffery Miron, a professor of economics at Harvard University: Replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of taxation...would produce combined savings and tax revenues of between $10 billion and $14 billion per year.
To put this into perspective, the web page citing this information goes on to explain that $14 billion in annual combined annual savings and renues would cover the securing of all “loose nukes” in the former Soviet Union (estimated by former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb at $30 billion) in less than three years. Just one year 's savings would cover the full cost of anti-terrorism port security measures required by the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (“Milton Friedman, 500+ Economists”).
In other words, the money currently used to support the prohibition of marijuana in opposition to the viewpoints of many taxpayers could instead be used to prevent terrorism and promote national security. If marijuana were legalized, it could not only generate useful government revenue, but, if regulated through doctor or government prescribed “weed cards” that would permit the purchase of marijuana only for the people that are of proper age, could keep marijuana out of the hands of our children as well (“A Weed Card”). If current trends continue, support for marijuana legalization will soon take a majority, and, as the new generation of increasingly supportive politicians is ushered in to power, it is very likely that we will see the end of the prohibition of marijuana in the U.S. In the not-so-distant future. When considered from an objective standpoint, the arguments for marijuana legalization are very strong.
If alcohol and tobacco, drugs that can have devastating effects on their users and have no medical benefits whatsoever, can remain legal, then marijuana, with its less devastating effects and clear medicinal value, should be considered for legalization as well. In addition, it can clearly be shown through statistical data that the war on marijuana has been ineffective in reducing marijuana use and that has only caused unnecessary government spending over the years. The US Government has been spending useful resources on marijuana prohibition that could instead be used for the development of new alternative energy sources and the securing of our nation against terror and other threats.
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Frederick Miller
ENG 111, Sec. PI
22 Oct. 2013 Cause and effects of Marijuana Use and Legalization
Believe it or not, marijuana has been a part of human society for longer than history has been recorded by man. Dating as far back as the 6th millennium B.C., far before the Sumerians began recording history around 3500 B.C., marijuana had made it 's first appearance into society as a source of food (“History of Marijuana”). By 1500 B.C., however, it was already being used for medical purposes, as we recorded Chinese Pharmacopeia that year (“Historical Timeline”). From this time up until 1937, when the Marijuana Tax Act officially made marijuana illegal to possess in the United States, people had been allowed to freely …show more content…
and openly use marijuana for both recreational and medical purposes (Prater). The reasons for the initial criminalization of marijuana in the United States have been a topic of dispute for nearly one hundred years, and, in more recent times, many people have begun to support the legalization of marijuana for medical and even recreational purposes, and right rightfully so. Marijuana, unlike the legal drugs tobacco and alcohol, can be used for both recreational and medicinal purposes and its side effects can be easily compared to those of legal drugs. In addition, if marijuana were legalized, taxed, and regulated through a system like the one currently utilized by many states in the distribution of legal medical marijuana, it would only bring benefit to our country. The tax money generated, which could amount to multiple billions of dollars each year, could be put toward securing our nation from foreign threats and developing new alternative sources of energy that will inevitably be needed in the years to come.
Marijuana, commonly referred to as “pot”, “weed”, ”ganja”, or “Mary Jane” on the streets, is a psychoactive drug (one that effects the mind) derived from the plant Cannabis Sativa (“Facts about”). For centuries, it has been used by humans for medicinal, and, beginning in sightly more recent times, recreational purposes(“Historical Timeline”). In its most common form, marijuana is composed of dried and shredded portions of the cannabis plat that can appear in colors ranging from green to brown or gray. In total, it contains around 400 chemical compounds, but the most important of these is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical that is primarily responsible for producing the mind altering effects, or “high”, experienced by marijuana users (“Facts about”). As THS plays a major role in determining the psychological effects of the drug, its concentration is measured to determine the potency of a particular strain of marijuana. According to an article on the website for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “The THC content of marijuana has been increasing since the 1970s” and “For the year 2007, estimates from confiscated marijuana indicated that it contains almost 10 percent THC, on average” (“Facts about”). This is up from just around 1.5% THC in the ate 1970s (“Is Marijuana Significantly”). Marijuana is an extremely popular recreational drug in the U.S., up in the ranks with alcohol and tobacco, and, as a result, it is very likely that the average U.S. Citizen has seen a person using marijuana at some point in their life (“About Marijuana”). For those who haven;t seen a person in the act, however, the methods for the use of the drug must be understood before the issue of legalization can be rightfully considered.
Unlike some drugs, including alcohol, marijuana can be used in a multitude of ways. The first and most common way that marijuana is used is trough the inhalation of the vapors produced by its burning, or smoking. Marijuana can be smoked wrapped in a cigarette paper as a joint, in a hollowed out cigar as a blunt, or out of a pipe or water pipe known as a bong (“InfoFacts: Marijuana”). For users that prefer not to smoke the drug, however, there are alternative methods of marijuana use. According to a page on the ProCon.org Medical Marijuana site, alternatives to smoking marijuana include converting it into a butter or oil and ingesting it in food products like brownies and cakes, drinking it in a tonic form, or inhaling vaporized marijuana, which contains significantly less chemical compounds then marijuana in its normally smoked form (“Non-smoked Uses”). These methods, particularly the ones that involve ingesting the drug through eating or drinking, have the potential to greatly reduce the harmful effects that marijuana can have on the passageways of the lungs by eliminating the need to inhale the heated gases and particulates like tar, a substance generated by the burning of plant matter, that are usually contained in marijuana smoke. Even alternative methods that still involve inhalation of the drug, such as the use of vaporizers to convert marijuana into a purified vapor, have much reduced health consequences. Particularly, these methods can minimize or even entirely eliminate the cancer-causing compounds that are usually inhaled with the drug. As described by Robert Melamede, a professor of biology at the University of Colorado:
It should be noted that with the development of vaporizers, that use the respiratory route or the delivery of carcinogen-free cannabis vapors, the carcinogenic potential of smoked cannabis has been largely eliminated.
Thus, the side effects of marijuana usage can be altered by changing the method by which it is used. This property of marijuana is not unique to it, as tobacco can be purified before inhalation through the use of vaporizer as well. Still, one thing that is unique to marijuana is its medical value. Marijuana, in a sense, is the most flexible of all drugs. Rather than only having recreational value, as tobacco and alcohol do, marijuana has been shown to have a significant value in the treatment of some medical conditions, including chronic pain, HIV, cancer, Tourette 's Syndrome, and others. It has proven to be particularly useful in the treatment of neuropathic pain, a type of pain associated with diseases that include diabetes, cancer, multiplie sclerosis (MS), and HIV (“Chronic Pain”). In fact, at the conclusion of a series of clinical trials on the use of smoked marijuana for medical purposes, investigators at the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research concluded that “marijuana ought to be a “first line treatment” for patients with neuropathy and other serious illnesses” (Armentano). In addition, research regarding the use of marijuana for the treatment of nervous disorders such as Tourette 's Syndrome has revealed similar success. Tourette 's Syndrome is a neurological disease distinguished by uncontrollable vocal outburts, called tics (“Tourette 's Syndrome”). Numerous studies have shown that marijuana, with its active ingredient THC, can be extremely effective in reducing the severity and frequency of these tics. In a trial that involved administering of doses of THC to 24 patients with Tourette 's Syndrome, researchers came to the conclusion that “subjects experienced a significant reduction in tics following long-term cannabinoid treatment, and suffered no detrimental effects in learning, recall or verbal memory” (“Tourette 's Syndrome”). Knowing this information certainly leaves us to the question, why exactly does marijuana maintain its status as an illegal drug while tobacco and alcohol, which have no medical benefits whatsoever, are entirely legal? This is a question yet to be answered, and still the medical benefits of marijuana are not fully known. Due to classification of the drug by the DEA as a Schedule-I substance, or one that has no currently accepted medical benefits, and many other factors, much potential research regarding the use of marijuana for medical purposes gas simply never been performed. Thus, restrictions on marijuana and its research have prevented investigators from discovering other potential uses and side effects of marijuana, and biased sources of funding for this research have made it difficult for scientists to decipher whether or not marijuana is truly a dangerous substance (“Disjointed”). Regardless, current research has shown that marijuana can have significant medical benefits, and, in fact, 16 states (17 if you include Washington D.C.) in the U.S have allowed for the legal use of the drug for medical purposes (“16 Legal Medical”). Still, marijuana is depicted as a drug that can have extreme adverse effects on one 's life and health, with some people, including Connecticut state senator Toni Boucher, going as far as to say that “drug users, including marijuana users, may commit murder, or child or spouse or elder abuse, or rape, or property damage, assault and other violent crimes under the influence of drugs” (Strauss). Clearly, this is an area which many people are not properly educated in regards to marijuana. Like most other legal drugs, including those that are used strictly for medical purposes, marijuana does have its own short and long term side effects. Still, in comparison to the side effects of drugs like alcohol and tobacco, which are entirely legal for recreational use in the U.S., these side effects can be considered to be relatively moderate. In the short term, marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol all produce some sort of “buzz” or “high” for their users. The marijuana high, which lasts for anywhere from an hour to a few hours or more depending on the potency of the drug, produces effects such as inhibited cognitive capabilities, decreased motor coordination and ability to solve problems, increased heart rate, and altered senses and perceptions (“Marijuana”). In low to medium doses, alcohol can produce very similar effects, including slow reaction time, reduced coordination, sensations, and perceptions that are less clear, poor concentration, and altered emotions (“Short and Long Term Effects of Alcohol”). Unlike in the case of marijuana, however, the effects produced by alcohol when it is consumed in heavier doses can take a turn from bad to life-threatening. In high doses, alcohol can cause effects such as vomiting, breathing difficulties, passing out, alcohol poisoning, coma, and in extreme cases, death (“Short and Long Term Effects of Alcohol”). This is clearly reflected by the fact that in 2001, the CDC reported 331 preventable deaths due to alcohol overdose and not even a single death due to marijuana overdose (“Facts of Cannabis and Alcohol”). In fact, there have not been any recorded cases of death solely due to marijuana consumption throughout the entire history of its use. As explained by Robert Gable, a professor at Claremont Graduate University: Alcohol is one of the most toxic drugs, and using just 10 times what one would use to get the desired effect can lead to death. Marijuana is one of the most – if not the- least toxic drugs, requiring thousands of times the dose one would use to get the desired effect to lead to death. This “thousands of times” is actually theoretical, since there has never been a recorded case of marijuana overdose (“Facts on Cannabis and Alcohol”)
In other words, a man or woman who goes out to have some fun with his or her friends and uses alcohol can potentially wind up dying for doing so, while a man or woman that does out for a night of fun and uses only marijuana, according to the test of time, is not likely to have the same fate. Despite this fact, the use of alcohol for recreational purposes is legal and accepted as normal in our society while the use of marijuana for the same purposes is outlawed. Thus, it can be said that our current drug policy promotes the use of more deadly drugs. Tobacco 's short term effects don 't closely resemble those of any previously mentioned drugs, and include narrowing of the arteries and an increase I blood pressure, heart rate, and the amount of blood actually flowing from the heart (“Tobacco”). These effects seem relatively moderate, but it is in the long term where tobacco has its greatest adverse effects. Tobacco has been linked to the development of lung and heart disease as well as multiple forms of deadly cancers in its users over longer periods of time (“Tobacco”). In addition, the long term effects of the other most popular legal recreational drug, alcohol, include distribution of normal brain development, liver damage and cirrhosis of the liver, decreased brain mass, destroyed organs, heart disease, heart attack, or stroke, and a decrease in fertility (“Short and Long Term Effects of Alcohol”). The long-term effects of the illegal drug marijuana, on the other hand, are much less severe, and include breathing problems, such as wheezing and coughing, damage the immune system, decreased fertility, and a decrease in cognitive ability and energy (“Short and Long Term Effects of Marijuana”). Some people that argue against legalization of marijuana would also state that it causes cancer and contains the same cancer-causing compounds as tobacco. Although the latter portion of that statement is true, more recent research shows that the former part is not necessarily the same. Robert Melamede, a professor of biology, explains exactly why in his 2005 article titled Cannabis and Tobacco Smoke Are Not Equally Carcinogenic: In conclusion, while both tobacco and cannabis smoke have similar properties chemically, their pharmacological activities differ greatly. Components of cannabis smoke minimize some carcinogenic [cancer-causing] pathways whereas tobacco smoke enhances some. Both types of smoke contain carcinogens [cancer-causing agents] and particulate matter [like tar] that promotes inflammatory I mmune responses that may enhance the carcinogenic effects of the smoke... Furthermore, THC inhibits t he... [activation of] some of the carcinogens found in smoke. In contrast, tobacco smoke increases the likelihood of carcinogenesis [development of cancer] by overcoming normal... protective mechanisms... Cannabinoids receptors have not been reported in respiratory epithelial cells lining the passageways of the lungs]... hence the DNA damage checkpoint mechanism [that is overcome by tobacco] should remain intact after prolonged cannabis exposure [Preventing the onset of cancer. Furthermore, nicotine promotes tumor [formation] whereas cannabis inhibits it... current knowledge does not suggest that cannabis smoke will have a carcinogenic potential comparable to that resulting from exposure to the [inhaling of] tobacco smoke.
Still, tobacco, which contributes to hundreds of thousands of cancer-related deaths each year, remains legal, while marijuana, which does not, is illegal. Have the politicians which make the decisions regarding marijuans legal status completely ignored this fact? If you consider the effects of marijuana on health relative to drugs like tobacco and alcohol, it doesn 't necessarily appear to be as bad as you might have thought or been told previously. More and more people are beginning to support marijuana legalization upon discovering this, yet the costly and ineffective war against its use continues to rage on in the U.S. The efforts of the “war on drugs” in the U.S. Have been a near complete failure, at least when it comes to marijuana. Marijuana usage continues to be extremely high in the U.S., and, in addition, a continually increasing number of people seem to show support for marijuana legalization, ever for recreational purposes. According to an article on the NORML website, marijuana is still very popular as a recreational drug despite its illegal status and the efforts of our government to quell its use. The article boasts some impressive, yet disappointing statistics, stating that marijuana has been used by 100 million Americans with 14 million of them using it regularly, making it one of the highest ranking recreational drugs, third only behind the legal drugs alcohol and tobacco. (“About Marijuana”). Despite these statistics and others that clearly show the drug war 's epic failure to stop the use of marijuana in the U.S., tax payer money continues to be spent on the efforts. According to a Gallup poll fro October 2011, 50% of Americans are now in support of marijuana 's complete legalization. This has dramatically risen since the 1970s, when the first Gallup poll conducted on the issue showed only 12% of Americans in support of its legalization (Newport). Still, the people that compose this 50% that are in support of legalization have their money being used to pay for anti-marijuana campaigns and prison fees. How much money is actually spent by our government on this failing battle each year? Although many people in the U.S., now support the legalization of marijuana for recreational use, the US government continues to spend massive amount of money each year on the war against it. This spending of tax dollars, which amounts to $7.7 billion a year, could instead be put toward investment into alternative energy sources and the development of new technologies (“Milton Friedman, 500+ Economists”). The spending on the war against marijuana only further contributes to the massive budget deficit of the U.S. Government, and its legalization could not only reverse the spending of the government but turn marijuana into a major profit-generating crop through taxation. In fact, according to a 2005 report by Dr. Jeffery Miron, a professor of economics at Harvard University: Replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of taxation...would produce combined savings and tax revenues of between $10 billion and $14 billion per year.
To put this into perspective, the web page citing this information goes on to explain that $14 billion in annual combined annual savings and renues would cover the securing of all “loose nukes” in the former Soviet Union (estimated by former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb at $30 billion) in less than three years. Just one year 's savings would cover the full cost of anti-terrorism port security measures required by the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (“Milton Friedman, 500+ Economists”).
In other words, the money currently used to support the prohibition of marijuana in opposition to the viewpoints of many taxpayers could instead be used to prevent terrorism and promote national security. If marijuana were legalized, it could not only generate useful government revenue, but, if regulated through doctor or government prescribed “weed cards” that would permit the purchase of marijuana only for the people that are of proper age, could keep marijuana out of the hands of our children as well (“A Weed Card”). If current trends continue, support for marijuana legalization will soon take a majority, and, as the new generation of increasingly supportive politicians is ushered in to power, it is very likely that we will see the end of the prohibition of marijuana in the U.S. In the not-so-distant future. When considered from an objective standpoint, the arguments for marijuana legalization are very strong.
If alcohol and tobacco, drugs that can have devastating effects on their users and have no medical benefits whatsoever, can remain legal, then marijuana, with its less devastating effects and clear medicinal value, should be considered for legalization as well. In addition, it can clearly be shown through statistical data that the war on marijuana has been ineffective in reducing marijuana use and that has only caused unnecessary government spending over the years. The US Government has been spending useful resources on marijuana prohibition that could instead be used for the development of new alternative energy sources and the securing of our nation against terror and other threats.
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