Introduction
Everybody has habits that they cannot or refuse to get rid of because they feel that the only ones that they are hurting is themselves, the bigger picture is often ignored in favor of people continuing to endanger the lives of those around them. However, it can be argued that if people had a habit that did not endanger their life or someone else’s, there would be no problem and people could live like they want. Most people fail to realize is that almost every habit in the world has a drawback, something that is likely to damage them little by little now then critically damage them later on like cause a stroke or something. Most bad things are illegal and that includes Marijuana. Ironically, marijuana is legal in only a few states, maybe more. However, people are making it their life’s work to take full advantage of it being legal in the few states that it is. Marijuana is illegal everywhere else outside of the few states that do legalize it, but let it be known that marijuana is illegal for several reasons and why the punishment for being caught with it is severe. Marijuana destroys the person’s body from the inside out, and it causes them to behave in a way that they would not normally. Marijuana has been many a death sentence for many people for many reasons, people think getting it medicinally will give them access to their twisted world of euphoria. Make no mistake, people who are caught with marijuana are not excused or freed. There are reasons why marijuana is illegal and why it should stay illegal, there is no love lost for those who do not expect to get caught smoking it.
No one is affected by it if I smoke it
Quite the contrary, marijuana is illegal for one of the simple facts that it can cause brain damage and damage to the person’s mental faculties. Case in point, Reggie is a guy who loves to smoke marijuana and he never passes up an opportunity to smoke with his friends whenever they are smoking it. Reggie used to be an A & B student, he got accepted into some of the most prestigious universities in the universe; Harvard, Yale, UCLA, Princeton. However, thanks to Reggie’s continuous use of marijuana, his entire future is gone; his GPA dropped. To make matters worse, Reggie’s brother, Kenneth is now trying to follow in his brother’s footsteps. It does not matter how many people are or are not near the person smoking marijuana, they are just as responsible if they stand by and do nothing. Hawkins (2014) points out that marijuana has been made illegal for several reasons and for several years, there are simply too many people who care about getting it legalized which it should never be; there are lives at stake (Hawkins, 2014, pg.1). Marijuana can take the lives of people who have everything and destroy it. Men in white collar jobs making anywhere from $54,000 to $105,000 a year being fired for smoking marijuana. The ironic part is that even getting a medicinal prescription for it still will not excuse the fact that if a person gets medicinal marijuana, they are still opening themselves up to the same amount of pain that they would put other people in. People will say things like “marijuana is harmless, it is not any more dangerous for the body than running is for the soul” or marijuana does not kill people, only people kill people. People seem a little too dismissive of the fact that legalizing marijuana could open doors to get other drugs legalized too, there is no excuse for people to risk their lives trying to feel good all the time or to be dismissive of their problems. The bottom line is that marijuana should never be made legal because it can not only destroy the lives of those around the smoker but it is expensive to acquire.
Kids are not in danger of smoking it
This is the absolute key reason why marijuana should never be legalized, kids. Every parent well knows that children are very impressionable, they do not forget something that they otherwise would if they were told to. Plus, with kids being impressionable, marijuana could destroy them early. Marijuana can utterly destroy a kid’s mental state, it makes a child very vulnerable to its effects. Another thing, there is not a kid alive that can fully withstand the overpowering stench of marijuana. Simmonds (2014) points out that kids who smoke marijuana are more times likely to give into urges of suicide and drop out of school, this is a trend that must stop, otherwise kids could be more at risk of dying early (Simmonds, 2014, pg.1). Kids who smoke marijuana are also more times likely to get in trouble more at school which means more time out of school. Marijuana is being chosen over important things such as education, future and present day job which keeps kids from learning independence. Ten times out of ten, kids who smoke marijuana for the very first time are likely to develop an addiction to it. Marijuana should stay illegal because there are way too many kids who can easily access it so they can either distribute it to their peers or smoke it themselves. Case in point, Gerald is a 10-year-old boy who was brought up in a Christian household. Gerald has been warned of the dangers of smoking marijuana and he has been good about not smoking it, until his brother left it out in the open in his closet on the floor. Gerald experiments with it and develops a taste for it as well as an addiction to it, Gerald is now spending a lot of his time smoking marijuana. Little does Gerald realize is that the marijuana has begun to affect his thinking and brain function, every time Gerald talks, his speech is a little bit slurred. It is scenarios like this that are the primary reason why marijuana should be illegal and stay that way. Argumentatively, a kid getting a hold of marijuana is technically harmless, but it is just the opposite. Kids stand to lose more smoking marijuana than adults.
Drugs stop at Marijuana
Not true, if people can acquire marijuana with ease then what is not to stop them from getting their hands on meth legally or crack cocaine for that matter. Having legalized marijuana would in theory lessen crime and prevent people from getting killed, it can even be said that people would not be as violent if marijuana was legalized. Arguably, that would also mean that people would be more likely to hurt each other over marijuana because of how it makes them feel; it becomes another form of heroin. Gitlow (2014) points out that marijuana is not good for anyone to have because it is dangerous and has been known to have dangerous effects on people (Gitlow, 2014, pg.1). Legalizing marijuana would indeed curb the obesity epidemic in America which can save a lot of obese adults from dying at an early age, of course those obese individuals would just exchange one addiction for another in which case, this would be an ongoing cycle where people will just use one addiction to supplement another. Case in point, Terran is a 43-year-old woman with a binge eating disorder which causes her to binge eat whenever she gets stressed out at work. Terran’s friend Artemis turns her on to marijuana to help her calm down, Terran is now addicted to marijuana and she smokes it every time she is stressed out; she even smokes it when she is not stressed. Coincidentally, if marijuana is legalized people are more likely to start growing their own marijuana plants which is more or less therapeutic but it will give them the motive to just light up anytime they get ready. People get stressed out from life so having marijuana would keep them happy, this can boost morale as well. Legalizing marijuana should never happen because there are too many people that would use it as a means of survival, to sell it and get money the easy way. This would of increase the amount of drug trafficking throughout the United States which would also make it easy for kids to start selling at an early age, this could have a dangerously monumental effect on their futures which no child needs.
References
Gitlow, Stuart. "Marijuana Legalization Is a Risk Not worth Taking." Cnn Opinion. 30 July 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/30/opinion/gitlow-marijuana-use/>.
Hawkins, John. "5 Reasons Marijuana Should Remain Illegal." Townhall.com. 21 Jan. 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2014. <http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2014/01/21/5-reasons-marijuana-should-remain-illegal-n1782086/page/full>.
Simmonds, Dustin. "Marijuana Should Not Be Legalized." The Peak. 22 Sept. 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2014. <http://www.the-peak.ca/2014/09/marijuana-should-not-be-legalized/>.
