The Dangers Of Marijuana And Alcohol

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 U.S Centers For Disease Control and Prevention said that there's a big amount of people who have died from the use of alcohol but not from marijuana. (37,000 annual deaths in the U.S). Alcohol also damages the brain and causes serious problems. It is also proven that alcohol can give you a variety of cancers (stomach, lungs and liver) but on the other hand, marijuana helps to deal with it.

Legalizing marijuana would mean that it would be easier for the drug to get in the hands of kids. According to CASA findings “Despite reported declines in teen marijuana use in 2007, almost eleven million teens report using marijuana. Marijuana is a major substance that is being abused among teens in America. More than five times the increase in such findings for all other substance abuse.” With marijuana becoming so popular again with teens most people believe that we should keep the drug illegal.

First and foremost, majority of society is uneducated and unaware of the many benefits legal marijuana can bring about. These benefits are for us as individuals, for our economy, and for our government as a whole. You can have thoughts and opinions, criticize ones who use marijuana, say that they are a drug attics or bad people, but you would clearly be uneducated having said that. The plant, cannabis, “marijuana”, has a class of

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

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 the 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.

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.

Long term risks of alcohol include liver disease, heart problems, digestive disorders, neurological disorders, etc. There are no known (and proven) long term effects from marijuana currently to affect humans. There are no known medical uses for consumed alcohol, but marijuana on the other hand has plenty of medical benefits as I listed above.

Other proponents of cannabis claim that it’s not as dangerous as alcohol, and that it’s a peaceful drug: It has a calming and relaxing effect that must be associated with decreased anxiety. A new study highlights the drug’s potential anxiety relief effects. Alcohol kills 26,729 each year. The total deaths from marijuana annually is 0, so marijuana is safer than alcohol.

As you can see alcohol has a drug specific mortality. This means you can have alcohol SPECIFIC deaths. This is important because people always hear about marijuana not causing any deaths and according to this study does not produce any drug specific mortality. Another interesting thing when looking at the chart that alcohol has a huge area that would cause overall injury, whereas cannabis does not have such a large area. The overall most dangerous drug when compared side by side is an alcohol with a rating of 72 out of 100 making it the most dangerous drug. This was not even close with heroin and crack cocaine listed as 55 and 54 respectively. Going through the list and we can see that tobacco as a harm index of 26 and then you have cannabis coming in at a 20. The large areas of concern with tobacco, according to this chart is the Drug Related Mortality, drug specific damage, high levels of dependence and a rather substantial economic costs. Marijuana on the other hand only has an economic cost as one with a significant amount of damage. This chart also lets you see where other schedule one drugs are and most of them are at the bottom with LSD and mushrooms. Even with those the only concern is the amount of impairment. Cannabis appears to be pretty evenly distributed throughout the danger section. No one thing really sets cannabis apart. Cannabis is just as or no more dependent than alcohol and

If I had a choice between alcohol being legal and marijuana being legal, although as stated both are legal in certain states especially in California the state I reside in, I would choose alcohol. I choose alcohol for several reasons. One, Alcohol with the exception during the Prohibition, have been legal as far as I have been alive and of course well before my existence. Per the text alcohol dates to approximately 8000 B.C. with the fermented drink called mead and beer specifically dates to Ancient Egyptian times of 2700 B.C. ( Levinthal, 2013, p. 194). As a result of historical data, alcohol is a drug that is probably more well-researched. I would say most people who are of legal age to consume alcohol know to some extent what alcohol is

“Marijuana is typically smoked in hand rolled cigarettes (i.e. joints) or in a water pipe 9i.e. bong), inhaled through a vaporizer, ingested in food or applied topically as a balm” (Seamon 1038). However the drug is used, the result is that the THC is absorbed through the blood stream and affects the user’s bodily functions in different ways. The way people act while under the influence of marijuana, like alcohol, depends on the individual. The side effects are going to depend on the person and their genetics, not everyone is going to experience the same result; there is no set way someone is going to act until they have tried it for themselves. Having said that, if marijuana becomes legalized in all of the United States, it doesn’t mean that people have to run out of their house and go try it; it is ultimately everyone’s choice and “within the individuals control” (Elliot 234). The reason marijuana consumption is often compared to alcohol consumption is because the outcome of using these products are very much the same; both effect the mind and body of a person’s actions and decisions. In present day, the retail, purchase and consumption of alcohol is legal in the United States for those who are over the age of twenty one, yet, the same rules do not apply for marijuana. This hardly seems fair considering the results are nearly the same.