Crt 205 Mapping an Argument

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States that is widely accepted as a social drug that is rarely looked down upon by many people. Many people think that marijuana should be legalized and the process has already begun “nevertheless, some medical practitioners and lawmakers continue to argue against legalization;” Marijuana treats serious diseases such as aids, glaucoma, cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and chronic pain. One of the main arguments against legalization of marijuana would be that is contains carcinogens and may increase the risk of lung cancer and other respiratory tract cancers. The real issue here is rather or not marijuana should be legalized. There are both pro’s and cons with legalization of marijuana, many would argue that alcohol is more dangerous and damaging to the body that marijuana is while others would argue that marijuana is an addictive drug, and a gateway to other more serious drugs. The pros of medical marijuana seem to outweigh the cons being how more and more states are starting to legalize the use of it. Also, it was found that it does help with serious medical issues.

The premise would be the fight for legalizing marijuana, and the unstated premises would be medical marijuana. The federal government says that marijuana has a high potential for abuse and has no medical value but “As of 2012 sixteen states, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana”.

The bottom line is that a large group of Americans support the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes and many Americans support marijuana for recreational purposes as well. In fact, the state of Colorado was the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes therefore