Opposing Arguments Against Marijuana Essay Example

Opposing Arguments against Marijuana

There are many people in this world that feel that marijuana is an evil and sinful drug. They argue several points against marijuana that would support their position. Most of these have no relevance to what in general, and they can be easily disputed. Others have some basis, and they can be considered valid arguments. However, the facts remain that the positive aspects of marijuana far outweigh the negative aspects. One such argument, and the major point of view for most anti-drug supporters, is that marijuana is a gateway drug. This means that marijuana leads to other more harmful narcotics. Although this is the case in some situations, there are many people in the world that view all other drugs as being bad while, at the same time, smoke marijuana on a daily basis. One such group is Rastafarians. To Rastafarians, marijuana is a substance placed on earth by God. They believe that it is a way of being closer to God. At the same time, they view other narcotics as being man-made, unnatural, and altogether evil. While it is true that the use of marijuana could eventually lead to the use of other narcotics, this is not always the case, and at the same time, the same could be said about tobacco and alcohol. Another argument is that marijuana is just as harmful as cigarettes when smoked. This is not completely true. Although marijuana has many of the same chemicals which include carbon monoxide, tar, and carcinogens, marijuana also has chemicals such as THC (Tetra Hydro Cannabinol) which is the major psychoactive drug in marijuana. This drug affects the autonomic nervous system which in turn causes the heart to swell through capillary enhancement. This provides the heart with more oxygenated blood causing it to have greater expansions and contractions which cause increased blood flow throughout the body. This increased blood flow increases respiratory function, relaxes muscles and increases the flow of oxygenated blood to