Alcohol or Marijuana: Is One More Dangerous Than The Other?
Tell me, if somebody asked you whether you believed marijuana or alcohol was the more harmful substance, how would you respond? It’s certainly a hot topic that has been debated amongst society for decades, but one has to wonder, why is one of these substances legal, while the other remains an illegal substance? In various cultures around the world, drinking alcohol has become a normalized activity, with many seeing getting intoxicated as a rite of passage into our adolescent years or as a celebration of reaching the legal drinking age. On the other hand, many individuals still view marijuana in a negative light, so what exactly makes the two different? Both substances are associated
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Using these emotions, the author makes an effective argument that convinces the reader of just how marijuana is less harmful than other legal and socially acceptable behavior altering substances. To do this, the author brings in a factor that every person is affected by or has an opinion on, which is money. The article states that alcohol consumption results in an annual cost of one-hundred and sixty five dollars for the user, as opposed to only twenty dollars per marijuana user (Para 10). Using these statics, the article reaches out to the reader by fixating on their emotions because no individual in their right mind willingly enjoys spending large sums of money. Likewise, the author also plays into the reader’s feelings on another topic: sickness and death of either our own selves or a loved one. The article points out how in recent years, long-term alcohol consumption has been linked to a variety of different cancers, such as cancer of the esophagus, stomach, colon, lungs, and liver just to name a few (Para 12). With cancer diagnoses’ and cancer-related deaths being on the rise in modern times, using statics that link …show more content…
For instance, the author provides data directly from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that estimates that between twenty-five and thirty-percent of violent crimes and around three to four percent of property damage related crimes are linked to the intake of alcohol, with U.S. Department of Justice reporting “nearly 5,000,000 alcohol-related crimes occur each year (Para 14).” On the other hand, the article makes sure to mention that use of marijuana has never been directly linked to violent crimes or behavior, and instead has been linked to more mellow and passive behavior after use. Furthermore, the organization also continues appealing to the readers’ emotions and sense of justice by continuing to show what violent and harmful situations that alcohol has actually been linked to, such as in cases of male-to-female violence, studies have shown the odds of severe abuse taking place were found to be eleven times higher when the abuser had been consuming alcohol (Para
In the society we live in, everybody wants to be right. People will have their own unique stance on any controversial subject, and marijuana is no different. Marijuana is a very important topic of discussion especially in the current election season. The drug is discussed on television, social media, and virtually everywhere on the internet. In the article “This Is Why Marijuana Should Be Legal Everywhere” associate viral content editor for The Huffington Post, Renee Jacques, challenges traditional notions of the prohibition of marijuana by brilliantly using rhetorical appeals to persuade you to join the majority. Contrary to Jacques, John Hawkins, writer for www.townhall.com, takes a different stance in his article “5 Reasons Marijuana Should Remain Illegal” holding tight to the traditional, negative view of the drug by using a mixture of logos and pathos to make you question why any human with a brain would smoke cannabis. Although both writers use rhetorical strategies to persuade you to their respective side of the argument, the differing degrees the authors use those strategies renders Jacques’ article much more persuasive to a general audience.
Alcohol and marijuana are two drugs commonly used and abused in the United States. Alcohol is the number one abused drug, while marijuana is number one among illegal drugs. While alcohol remains legal, and marijuana illegal, this does not necessarily mean that alcohol is better for you. There have been many arguments where people suggest that marijuana should be legal because alcohol is more deadly. On the other hand, there are alcoholics who would tell a pothead that smoking weed is bad for you. Both substances are very bad for your health and should not be heavily used by anyone.
The statement “marijuana is a lot safer than alcohol” cannot go unchallenged and should be debated. One important subject is the risk that marijuana use (especially in young adults) can lead to some kinds of mental illness. “Studies support findings that risk of schizophrenia doubles in young abusers” (U.S. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 2009). According to Joseph Califano Jr., CASA founder and chairman of Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) “If we were to make marijuana legal and taxed it, for approximately every dollar of tax revenue, there could be as much as seven dollars incurred in medical costs”.
Marijuana is a drug that is an ongoing issue in the United States for many years debating about whether it should be legal, so in 2010 the state of California proposed the “Tax, Regulate, and Control Cannabis Act” for voters to vote on which would make marijuana illegal. Charles Stimson, a former assistant U.S. Attorney specializing in crime, had strong opinions about what he thought about the issue and was paid to write an article by the Heritage Foundation where he could voice his opinion about legalized marijuana. In his article “Legalizing Marijuana: Why Citizens Should Just Say No,” Charles Stimson tries to persuade his audience, voters of California, that they should vote against legalized marijuana. He tries to persuade his audience
Drinking alcohol is also much more harmful for you than marijuana is, and it too is legal. Alcohol damages your internal organs like your liver, kidneys, and circulatory system. Alcohol also has a much higher dependency than does marijuana. Tens of thousands of people are dependent on alcohol everyday sometimes ruining one’s personal and family life. Alcohol also causes you to lose your inhibitions which could get
Many people from all around the world believe that marijuana is an addictive drug that has ruined the lives of millions. The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that more than 37,000 annual U.S deaths are the effects of alcohol alone. Alternatively, there is not even a category for the deaths caused by marijuana. Many of us think that marijuana kills brain cells but studies show teens that use marijuana as well as alcohol suffered significantly less damage to the white blood cells in their brains. Alcohol use contributes to aggressive and violent behavior while marijuana will only make a person feel more comfortable. “Alcohol is clearly the drug with the most evidence to support a direct intoxication, violent relationships, whereas cannabis reduces the likelihood of violence during intoxications” (Shuette, 2013). The government does not even track violent acts specifically related to marijuana use. Marijuana and alcohol should be switched where marijuana is legal and alcohol is not because it will benefit people more than alcohol will.
Marijuana and alcohol are the two most threatening drugs used in America today. Marijuana is the most illicit drug while alcohol is the most abused. Both were illegal during the prohibition but when the constitution was ratified in 1933 alcohol was made legal while marijuana remained illegal. It does not mean that because alcohol is still legal it’s less dangerous than marijuana. Both drugs lead to serious risks and should be taken with caution if used.
In order to gain an understanding of marijuana's so called "harmful" negative effects; it should be compared to other drugs that are presently legalized in this country. In the pharmaceutical world, over-the-counter drugs are being prescribed for everything these days. Ritalin and Adderall are readily available for college students in the university health centers across the country. Kids are staying up all night studying, complaining that they can not pay attention, and are immediately referred to the prescription drugs which in many cases they do not even need. Along with the prescription drug problem in our nation, we have a serious issue concerning alcohol and tobacco. Alcoholism is killing people daily with liver malfunctions
Not only is Newhouse’s opening statement, “No one has ever died from simply using marijuana” an incorporation of pathos, but it is also an incorporation of logos, another very powerful rhetorical strategy (1). In his statement, he implies that of the many people who have used marijuana, not one person has died. Newhouse’s opening statement is subtle and appears to be numberless, but it is a statistic nonetheless. Throughout his article, Newhouse makes references to many different statistics, all referring to marijuana.
Every year, 400,000 Americans die of complications caused by tobacco products. Smoking kills more Americans each year than alcohol, crack, heroin, murder, suicide, car accidents, fires, and AIDS all put together. Every week, eight children under the age of eighteen die from alcohol related crashes. Alcohol abuse contributes to almost 50% of all traffic accidents, suicides, and homicides. However, despite the proven dangers of these "socially acceptable" drugs, they are still legal. Marijuana, a much less acceptable drug, is not legal however, despite the fact that research has yet to pin any specific dangers to this drug.
Growing up, everyone is told that, “Drugs are bad for you,” time and time again. Now as a kid you don’t really understand the reasoning behind it, but you listen to your authority figure regardless. I remember being told this my entire life and even to this very day. But as I got older I realized that people would still use drugs even though it’’s illegal. I could never understand why someone would go against the law and jeopardize their life just to use drugs? The drug that I am talking about is marijuana, and surprisingly it is all around us. Marijuana is even referred to in today’s media Mainstream media sources that people enjoy, like music, movies, and TV shows, do not even bother to leave the drug out of their system. Now being a young adult and having my own personal experience with the drug and knowing its effects on others, I wonder why it’s not legal. Why is it that this drug has become illegal all over the world? The debate to legalize marijuana in the United States of America has been fought over nonstop since the existence of the drug and its effects. Marijuana has been tested and proven to provide a very positive impact on the American society for many reasons. Some of these reasons are for America’s economy, health and even crime. These reasons could very well help America thrive in the future and that is why Marijuana should be legalized in the United States of America.
Cigarettes are a mixture of the most dangerous substances for humans to consume and yet they are legal and mass produced so that everyone can smoke them. Marijuana on the other hand is nowhere nearly as harmful as cigarettes but is illegal and looked at as if it were far worse than cigarettes. It is long overdue that society recognizes the fact that marijuana is better for people than cigarettes by a mile. Cigarettes are extremely more addictive than marijuana, the usage patterns for marijuana cannot compare to cigarettes, and dozens of lethal chemicals are put into cigarettes whereas marijuana is a natural plant and doesn’t contain nearly as many chemicals.
In the article “Marijuana Use and Alcohol Use Are Dangerous for Society”, Sven Olov Carlsson writes a letter to president Barack Obama informing him on the dangers of marijuana and alcohol use to societies. Carlsson is president of IOGT International, a politically independent organization that advocates for a world free of alcohol and other drugs; he is the international president of the World Federation Against Drugs. In his letter, Carlsson briefs marijuana as highly dangerous for the users mental health and well-being along with their community. He believes the thought of making cannabis regulated would lead to a disaster because alcohol is poorly regulated. And the fact that
Within today’s society, Cannabis is seen as a harmful substance of such negative controversy. Marijuana is a very prominent and controversial issue in society today. Despite many malicious allegations have been made regarding marijuana today, the truth of what marijuana’s real dangers are are beginning to come about again. Sadly, these facts have been held under considerable judgement because of what people stereotype a pot smoker as. This has been brought under heavy criticism due to the stereotypical view of what people view as the typical “pot smoker.” This image society has of a lazy and unambitious America has all been the result of almost one hundred years of false propaganda and stereotypes gossiped by certain private individuals trying to keep weed illegal for their own personal benefit.
The legalization of marijuana is a very controversial issue that is being debated across the United States. In the article "Going to Pot?," by Damon Linker, Linker attempts to persuade readers that legalizing of marijuana can cause more harm than help. This publication was released in November of 2001. Although two other writers, Richard Lowry and Andrew Sullivan, try to change readers beliefs Linker maintains his stance against marijuana. Without discrediting their facts he explains and defends why he feels they are wrong. The article is formal and although religion is not talked about, morals and society standards are questioned. Throughout the argument, Linker proves that effects of marijuana are detrimental to our society and