Most of the countries including the developed ones face the problem of drug addiction in teens. This is increasing every year after year at an alarming rate and various new types of drugs are trafficked in the market. These drugs are mainly supplied and produced by developing or undeveloped nations . One such drug is Marijuana or Cannabis. This drug is becoming popular than alcohol and tobacco after 2008. According to National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law, this drug is very popular among teens even in countries like USA or European nations. This plant is easily available and can be cultivated in any place. This drug is consumed like smoking , drinking tea, used in cooking etc. But there are adverse effects of this drug. This plant contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol(CBD) which causes short term memory loss and the reduces the ability to focus , learn and coordinate. High consumption of the drug leads to psychosis and reduces intelligence in many individuals.
There is ongoing debate of marijuana being legalized or not as his drug has some medicinal benefits. There are some alleged benefits of the plant like it helps in losing weight by regulating, insulin, prevent diabetes as it regulates the body weight, fight cancer., fights depression, helps to reduce disorders like autism, the CBD heals broken bones, acts as a medicine for children suffering from ADHD( Attention deficit Hyper activity Disorder) and can be treated to individuals suffering from addiction of other drugs like heroin, cocaine. It also helps in treating Glaucoma, chronic lung problems, anxiety, arthritis, eating disorders, nausea and AIDs or HIV. Though this drug is mainly used for recreational purposes but there are many people who are fighting to prove that this pant is having medicinal benefits and lawmakers are rejecting of the use of this plant for a good cause of the society.
Most of the countries consider marijuana as a drug that causes various disorder in individuals specially in teens if consumed from a very young age. There are some short term effects and some long term effects of this drug. The short term effects include panic , anxiety, unlace to coordinate, those who consume high feels sleepy and depressed and also increase the heartbeat. The long term benefits include problems in growth, reduction of the sex hormones specially in males, mood swings, damage to the brain, problem in the immune system, unable to retain or learn things.
Decriminalization of the marijuana has been tried in many countries and also in US. This step is taken to provide the society the medicinal benefits of the plant. The consumption if regulated in small quantity then this will be of greater use. The primary reason of the decriminalization is that the government spends a lot to punish the users of this drug. This expenditure will be reduced. The government can earn tax revenues . The law enforcement organizations can concentrate on other serious crimes rather than spending time on this drug. Illegal selling of this drug will reduce and this will decline the income of the street gangs. These illegal people are selling the drug with less knowledge about the quantity consumed for an individual which will decline if decriminalized. The business of this illegal crime will reduce.
After learning from the lectures in my class I think it should be legalized and decriminalized due to several benefits of the plant is consumed in right quantity. If proper information and knowledge is available then this drug will be beneficial for the society. As there are many medicinal benefits of this drug can be taken as remedy for some disorders. The illegal exporting of this drug to countries and the crimes associated with selling this drug will reduce. This will benefit indirectly many young individuals. Thus the crime rate will decrease.
So, we can conclude that this is a controversial topic and many advocate groups have come forward to decriminalize marijuana by changing the drug policy of the United states but few organization are against it. Different religious organization are also in favor of the drug stating that it does not harm individuals. But if this drug is consumed in high quantity will cause serious damage to the internal organs of the individuals.
Works Cited
"NORML.Org - Working To Reform Marijuana Laws - NORML.Org - Working To Reform Marijuana Laws". Norml.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 9 July 2016.
"Should Marijuana Be Decriminalized?". Debate.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 9 July 2016
