Why Marijuana Should Be Legal
“WHY MARIJUANA SHOULD BE LEGALIZED”
Since the 1930s, marijuana has been illegal in the eyes of the U.S. government. Its classification is a Schedule I drug, which is said to have a high potential for abuse, no medical use, and not safe to use under medical supervision. In this day and age, it’s being prescribed to patients of severe health problems to treat their pains, nausea, etc. Compared to logical reasoning, the government takes a very different stance on marijuana. Some say prohibition serves no purpose, and others say it is a violation of our liberty to ban something harmless to others. As you can see, misconceptions on marijuana are plentiful and reformation is necessary.
First and foremost, the classification marijuana is under is completely inaccurate. Schedule I classification describes a drug with no medical use and not safe to use under medical supervision. Research has been shown that it aids cancer patients and plenty of other terminally ill patients. Even recreational use has never been directly linked to any deaths (from the smoking, in itself) and when you compare it to alcohol and cigarettes, both of which are legal, it’s completely harmless. Imagine this: One day, you found out your mother was very sick. She was suffering and in an incredible amount of pain. Your doctor told you there was a drug that could stop her pain, but for political reasons, he couldn’t prescribe it. This drug is marijuana.
Another reason for the legalization is because prohibition has never been reliably shown to reduce drug use. If prohibition accomplished anything, it created an underground black market, created a new drug ring, and wasted valuable time for law enforcement. There is also the effect prohibition has on whether or not a person will even try it. When something’s illegal, it creates something called the “forbidden fruit effect”, provoking people to try it. Another unintended effect of prohibition is that it destroys all possible ways to regulate the
Since the 1930s, marijuana has been illegal in the eyes of the U.S. government. Its classification is a Schedule I drug, which is said to have a high potential for abuse, no medical use, and not safe to use under medical supervision. In this day and age, it’s being prescribed to patients of severe health problems to treat their pains, nausea, etc. Compared to logical reasoning, the government takes a very different stance on marijuana. Some say prohibition serves no purpose, and others say it is a violation of our liberty to ban something harmless to others. As you can see, misconceptions on marijuana are plentiful and reformation is necessary.
First and foremost, the classification marijuana is under is completely inaccurate. Schedule I classification describes a drug with no medical use and not safe to use under medical supervision. Research has been shown that it aids cancer patients and plenty of other terminally ill patients. Even recreational use has never been directly linked to any deaths (from the smoking, in itself) and when you compare it to alcohol and cigarettes, both of which are legal, it’s completely harmless. Imagine this: One day, you found out your mother was very sick. She was suffering and in an incredible amount of pain. Your doctor told you there was a drug that could stop her pain, but for political reasons, he couldn’t prescribe it. This drug is marijuana.
Another reason for the legalization is because prohibition has never been reliably shown to reduce drug use. If prohibition accomplished anything, it created an underground black market, created a new drug ring, and wasted valuable time for law enforcement. There is also the effect prohibition has on whether or not a person will even try it. When something’s illegal, it creates something called the “forbidden fruit effect”, provoking people to try it. Another unintended effect of prohibition is that it destroys all possible ways to regulate the