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Introduction
Marijuana or marihuana is a well-known drug obtained from a hemp plant known as Cannabis sativa. In the contemporary times, marijuana is considered as one of the most commonly used and renowned illegal drug (Caulkins & Hawken 3). The United States of America is among the top producers of marijuana where a large proportion of population smokes this wonder drug. There has been a vociferous debate on the legalization of marijuana over the past few years in the country. There are many who consider marijuana as a harmless drug that can be used for medicinal purposes. On the other hand, there are a lot of people who oppose the legalization of this drug considering it dangerous. As far as my opinion is concerned, I believe that the use of marijuana must not be legalized as its negatives outweigh the few positives and may bring drastic negative consequences for the American society.
Argument against Marijuana Legalization
The policy to ban marijuana sale and purchase is of immense public interest (Thornton). During 1960s-1970s, there was a substantial increase in the number of middle-class marijuana users. The greater acceptance of the illegal drug made its supporters to demand the relaxation of U.S. marijuana-related laws. As a consequence, The Drug Abuse Prevention Act (1970) relieved federal fines and punishments. Moreover, eleven out of the fifty states in the country legally recognized marijuana possession. However, drug laws were rewritten by many of the states during the 1980s. Afterwards, more severe penalties were imposed against the use and possession of marijuana. People against the easing of marijuana laws emphasize that it is an intoxicant that is less controllable as compared to alcohol ("marijuana"). I am also a strong opponent of marijuana legalization because the already drug-using American society does not require a new commonly used intoxicant. It is exceedingly important for the United States government and authorities to not act to deteriorate the policies of United Nations which strongly oppose the use of marijuana for other than potential remedial reasons.
Marijuana must remain an illegal drug due to many factors. To begin with, its use has been known to cause several physical harms to the human body. Marijuana use lowers the sperm counts and testosterone levels in men. In contrast, it raises testosterone levels in women. Moreover, if pregnant women use marijuana, it can inflict several damaging effects on their fetus. As a consequence, the child development is poor. Evidence suggests that marijuana use also has a tremendous impact on teenagers and their normal development. In addition, users of marijuana may also suffer from short-term memory loss and intellectual competence. Marijuana is also a cause of lung damage. According to prohibitionists, “smoking marijuana exposes users to the unknown risks of ingesting the many other unknown substances commonly found in illegal marijuana” (Rahtz 92).
Owing to the harmful consequences of marijuana legalization, it must be opposed and discouraged at all levels. This is because the use of this harmful illegal drug is associated with addiction. Moreover, it causes several respiratory and mental illnesses as well as poor motor skills functioning. Marijuana use also weakens the immune system functioning in a proper manner ("Marijuana Legalization" 1). Marijuana dependency can also result in indistinguishable insight, problems in thought-processing, problem solving, learning and recalling. According to researchers, persistent marijuana use is also associated with increased nervousness, despair, misery, frantic feelings, and schizophrenia. Marijuana smoke is also found as having particular carcinogenic effect on the lungs. In fact, tobacco smoke is not as harmful as marijuana smoke as the latter contains more or less seventy percent more toxic hydrocarbons ("Marijuana Legalization" 2).
The other drawback of legalizing marijuana is its expected lower price that would ultimately result in its increased use. Due to the illegality of the drug, prices are higher in the current times as its use is sensitive to the asking price. Accordingly, expensive prices of marijuana help to keep the drug’s use and rates relatively low. The prices particularly make it difficult for adolescents and teenagers to have marijuana. It is also evident from the fact that the users of alcohol and tobacco (both of which are legal substances) are much more than marijuana users. This is a strong indication that laws facilitate the reduction to access and use such substances. Moreover, the legalization of drugs that are strictly regulated has widened their availability and exploitation ("Marijuana Legalization" 2).
The criminal justice system would also be burdened by the legalization of marijuana. This is because more and more people would start using it and ultimately get harmed. As a consequence, there would be more arrests of people who possess the drug. Drug violence control would not be possible after legalization. Furthermore, the criminal organizations involved in drug distribution, forced prostitution, human trafficking, and related criminal activities would be benefitted by gaining profits with the marijuana legalization. Legalization of marijuana can consequently increase its demand and such criminal groups could grow stronger with continuity of their illegal operations ("Marijuana Legalization" 3). The supporters’ claim that crime rates will decrease with the marijuana legalization is invalid as the users will increase and there would be more consumers fighting over the accessibility of the drug.
Legalization of this drug can also turn out to be a bad public policy because marijuana is an intoxicating substance that makes people addictive and weakens their mental and physical functions considerably. As mentioned, using marijuana on a regular basis can result in the loss of memory, development of cancer, poor fetus development, and birth deficiencies. Additionally, marijuana cannot be compared to alcohol that has many important advantages as well. Marijuana consumption reportedly results in an increase in heart attack risk as well as brain and respiratory damage. Legalization can also increase several predictable results including increased teenage usage, additional drug trafficking, and increase in rates of criminal activities (Stimson 1).
It is important to highlight that the marijuana legalization supporters claim that both alcohol and marijuana are mildly toxic. Therefore, they demand for equitable circulation and distribution of both drugs. However, this is a completely invalid assertion as almost every society has experienced that there are no similar effects of the mentioned drugs (Stimson 4). It is also important to highlight that marijuana use also results in poorer test scores as well as inferior educational acquirement. This is because intoxication by the drug has a great effect on learning ability of an individual who is not able to process information (Stimson 5).
Even though it is impossible to foresee the exact consequences of legalization of the drug, it is not surprising that the regions where restrictions were eased on the use of marijuana did not present a positive outcome. A lot of such regions have demonstrated increased crime rates, dislocation, and extended use of the drug. For that reason, it is not an untold secret that further law liberalization related to possession and consumption of marijuana will simply result in worsening of matters (Stimson).
Conclusion
Therefore, it is important for the federal and state authorities to make better measures and introduce effective drug policies for controlling the marijuana demand. It is also advisable for authorities to propose and implement smarter policies for drug prevention. It is the need of the time to realize the harmful consequences of marijuana. In short, it is exceedingly significant to not support marijuana legalization as it is a state’s goal to provide protection to its citizens against health hazards.
Works Cited
Caulkins, Jonathan P., and Angela Hawken.Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford ; New York: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.
Rahtz, Howard. Drugs, Crime and Violence: From Trafficking to Treatment. Lanham, Maryland: Hamilton, 2012. Print.
"Marijuana Legalization." whitehouse.gov. Office of National Drug Control Policy, October 2010. Web. 05 December 2014. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/Fact_Sheets/marijuana_legalization_fact_sheet_3-3-11.pdf>.
Stimson, C. D.. "Legalizing Marijuana: Why Citizens Should Just Say No.”. The Heritage Foundation, 13 September 2010. Web. 05 December 2014. <http://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/2010/pdf/lm0056.pdf>.
Thornton, M.. "Prohibition versus Legalization: Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Drug Policy?." Independent Review 11.3 (2007): 417+.
