The first law that regarded marijuana in America required farmers to grow hemp in the year 1619 for clothing, rope, and other materials, but “as early as 1840, doctors recognized the medical applications of marijuana, and the drug was freely sold in pharmacies for over a century.” (Rich and Stingl). In 1937, the use and possession of marijuana was made illegal, but “before 1937 marijuana was freely bought, sold, grown, and used.”(Rich and Stingl). In 1970 the congress decided to classify marijuana as a schedule one drug, which has made the legalization more difficult, “schedule one drugs are considered dangerous, addictive, and have no medical benefits.”(Rich and Stingl). Marijuana fits the schedule one drug classification because …show more content…
Doheny states that, “Smoking marijuana produces a nearly threefold increase of inhaled tar compared to tobacco, and for cigarette smokers who also smoke marijuana there may be an additive effect”. If there is more tar inhaled when using marijuana vs. cigarettes, why should marijuana be legalized for recreational uses if it is found to be worse than cigarettes? The level of carbon monoxide inhaled is three to five times greater in marijuana users vs. cigarette smokers. “Marijuana has been linked to lung infections caused by a mold called ‘aspergillus’, which can live on the marijuana plant. Infections from aspergillus can cause pneumonia and even death.” (Drake and Slatore). Aspergillus can live on the marijuana plant if the plant is not grown in the right setting, or molds are present in the place that the marijuana plant is grown at. Along with the negative effects marijuana has on the lungs, it also has many negative effects on the brain. Smoking marijuana causes negative effects on attention span, memory, and learning; which can last for days and even weeks after the acute effects of marijuana wear off.(“Marijuana Abuse”). Many people believe that attention span, memory, and learning are not import when they smoke marijuana. Attention span, memory, and learning are all very important in everyday life, school, and work. “THC (tetrahydocannabinol) produces
Marijuana can also hurt a person?s immune system. People who smoke marijuana are more susceptible to getting sick because their bodies are not as healthy. A person?s body is not fully capable of fighting off viruses, bacteria, fungi and protazoa (Fact Sheet). One of the main chemicals in marijuana is THC, or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. THC is what damages the white blood cells in a person?s body (Marijuana). ?Marijuana use suppresses the production of white blood cells (the cells that fight infection and disease)? (What to Teach Kids 4).
Whatever temporary changes marijuana may produce in the immune system, they have not been found to increase the danger of infectious disease or cancer. If there were significant damage, we might expect to find a higher rate of these diseases among young people beginning in the 1960s, when marijuana first became popular. There is no evidence of that.
Most college students cease to believe that smoking marijuana is just as harmful as tobacco or other illicit drugs. In actuality, marijuana has a high level of carcinogens, as well as carbon monoxide, which makes the heart work harder to deliver oxygen to deprived tissues. The same health issues that arise from smoking tobacco such as, emphysema, bronchitis, and other respiratory problems can also be brought on by smoking marijuana.
The legalization of marijuana has been a debated subject in America since the 1970's. The pro-marijuana society in America has made claims as to how marijuana can help cure or lessen the effect of some diseases and that by legalizing the drug; the use of pot will actually decline. The fact of the matter is that marijuana is a drug that can be placed into a similar category as cocaine or heroine. Like these other drugs, pot (marijuana) smoking carries with it serious side effects that can effect the user forever, and sometimes-even cause death. Marijuana was first cultivated in America during the colonial time period and was used as a fiber for rope and even clothing. The plant was not used for its psychoactive properties until 1910,
There currently exists a great debate concerning Legalization of marijuana. Many people are against the idea, but there are a number of people who fight for the idea to legalize Marijuana. The people that try to Legalize Marijuana use two major arguments in their effort to have marijuana legalized. First, which is by far the biggest argument is that marijuana has a significant medical use. The second is that marijuana does not cause harm to those that smoke it. Both of these arguments can be easily discounted by the numerous studies that have been done on the effects of marijuana both medicinal and recreational. Many well-intentioned leaders and members of the public have been misled by the well financed and organized pro-drug
Smoking tobacco is more harmful to your lungs than smoking marijuana. It only takes a couple inhalations of marijuana smoke to become high. Let’s say you’re addicted to cigarettes and smoke a pack a day, keeping in mind that cigarettes are legal. To get high off of marijuana it would only take about a fourth of the tobacco you inhale in just one cigarette, just to become high. When you smoke cigarettes you are continuously inhaling tar, nicotine, and many other chemicals that harm your lungs and may result in lung cancer.
Studies have proven that marijuana is no more harmful to a person’s health than alcohol or tobacco. Every year, tobacco kills roughly 390,000 people, alcohol contributes to 80,000 deaths in America and marijuana contributed to 0; no deaths from marijuana have ever been recorded in US history (Abovetheinfluence.org). When smoking tobacco, the user inhales tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, and 200 other known poisons into the lungs (Abovetheinfluence.org). All forms of tobacco, including cigars, pipe tobacco, snuff, and chewing tobacco, contain the addictive drug nicotine, and can also cause cancer. Alcohol alters a person's perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing. Alcohol plays a role in at least 50 percent of traffic deaths, about half of murders, and about 25 percent of suicides (Abovetheinfluence.org). Marijuana side effects include delusions, impaired memory, hallucinations and disorientation, which are no different from the side effects of alcohol alone.
This effect can last up to several hours after the drug has been smoked (National Institute on Drug Abuse ). The brain is another thing affected by smoking marijuana, leading to loss of memory in the brain. The nervous system also is affected when using this drug (National Institute on Drug Abuse). Loss of memory and the effects it has on the nervous system alone should raise concern for the American people. Continuing on with heath issues associated with the use of marijuana, it is proven to impair the immune system and can also promote tumor growth (Taylor). The immune system is essential to keep healthy because this is what fights off other illnesses within the body. Increased risk of lung cancer, and cognitive difficulties all can be associated with the use of marijuana (Wilbur). Research has proven smoking marijuana affects health several ways; even though most have been discussed take a look at the following chart, it will help visualize some health issues that are associated with smoking marijuana.
Many could argue that marijuana is destructive physically as well as mentally. “The National Institute on Drug Abuse says marijuana can cause heart irregularities, lung problems, and addiction” (Welch). “One joint can be just as damaging to [the lungs] as smoking at least
Marijuana continues to be the most widely used drug in the Western Hemisphere, its cognitive effects robustly revolve around memory. There have been many studies done on the chemical effects that marijuana has on the brain centers concerned with memory and learning. There are more productive studies relating to the effects of cannabis on short-term memory that show different memory processes effected by this drug. Though there is not much knowledge on the effects the drug has on long-term memory due to suspected confounds that temper with the process of collecting proper data, there have been studies showing lasting effects in adolescents and chronic users (Schoeler and Bhattacharyya, 2013). More research should be done on the long-term processes in order to better understand the lasting effects of cannabis use. Marijuana causes these adverse effects on memory by first altering chemical processes in the brain.
One issue that only seems to be getting worse and worse is the illegal use of marijuana. Marijuana comes from a naturally grown plant called cannabis sativa that you can dry out and smoke. More and more kids are smoking and eating this dried up plant to obtain the euphoric feeling marijuana gives you. Marijuana has been around for thousands of years but the strength and concentration of the THC (the main cannabinoid in marijuana responsible for the high feeling) has been increasing at a very fast pace. THC is the main psychoactive ingredient out of about 400. With the help of science and advancing technology, marijuana growers have been able to use chemicals, fertilizers, and other techniques to increase THC levels. The main problem with weed is that people are starting to think that it has no negative effects on your health. A recent survey suggested that 60% of seniors think marijuana is not harmful. However, this is far from the truth. Marijuana is harmful to not only your body, but your brain.
Marijuana has become one of the most controversial drugs in America. Ever since its cultivation began around 1611, marijuana has puzzled people with its effects. Many question marijuana?s classification as a schedule one drug. A schedule one drug is one that has a high potential for abuse and no medicinal value. Some argue that the war on drugs, in particular marijuana, has cost taxpayers billions and is wasting funds that could be used on more important tasks such as improving transportation or education. As drug arrests rise, so do the populations in state prisons. This has become an immediate problem with no real solution. The legalization of possessing small amounts of marijuana can contribute positively to the medical and
Marijuana was treated as drug and was forbade to use in the past. However, people’s mind has changed. They believe that legalization of marijuana can bring many benefits. Therefore, recreational marijuana was legalized in four states including Washington, Colorado, Oregon and Alaska in the US. In fact, legalization of marijuana will brings many problems. In my essay, firstly I will talk about the health, usage, suicide problems brought by the legalization, secondly I will mention the counter-arguments of economic interest and black market. My thesis is that marijuana should not be legalized in the US.
The following is a proposal for a public policy that would legalize marijuana and have the drug be treated as alcohol. This is necessary because the current policy is detrimental to society and the legalization of marijuana would be beneficial. The prohibition of the drug is unfounded because tobacco and alcohol, legalized substances, are more dangerous than marijuana. Also, the legislation regarding the drug was created on racist sentiments, reducing the law’s credibility. The current policy also creates a dangerous black market and renders our prison system ineffective. The legalization of cannabis would bring undeniable medical and economic benefits to society and the government. Varying degrees of marijuana legalization have
My best friend used to smoke marijuana on a regular basis. Over time, he developed many obvious bad habits and changed his life style tremendously. He started getting lazy with schoolwork, and did not show much interest in anything at all. His parents noticed all these side effects that had been occurring but were unaware that their son smoked marijuana. After the grades fell so much, they decided to take him to get checked out because they were afraid he had developed some sort of ADD. They come to find out that because of him smoking so much marijuana it had led to brain problems, memory problems and affected his thinking skills. He was unable to stay concentrated on something and constantly was out of breath when any physical activity