Some have this notion that marijuana is an extremely dangerous drug that causes many deaths and irks them to believe that marijuana should be illegal. First of all, making a substance illegal doesn't solve all the problems associated with the drug. In fact, many would argue that it causes far more problems. However, before going into that, let's discuss if marijuana really is so harmful.
Part I: What distinguishes marijuana from tobacco? Is marijuana really so harmful?
I'm going to make a few seemingly crazy claims, but I will provide a solid study to support my claims. These claims do not mean that marijuana does not cause lung problems, just not the killers associated with tobacco smoking.
1) Marijuana does not appear to cause lung cancer http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729.html Although there is one other correlation study that was smaller that shows a connection, it has never been replicated. This study is the largest, most well controlled study on lung cancer and no connection was found.
2) Marijuana does not appear to cause emphysema (but does cause other lung problems). http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/health/feeds/hscout/2007/02/21/hscout601877.html
3) In general, marijuana is less addictive than tobacco or alcohol.
"In summary, although few marijuana users develop dependence, some do. But they appear to be less likely to do so than users of other drugs (including alcohol and nicotine), and marijuana dependence appears to be less severe than dependence on other drugs." [p. 98] http://books.nap.edu/html/marimed/
4) Marijuana does not cause overdose deaths. "No acute lethal overdoses of cannabis are known, in contrast to several of its illegal (for example, cocaine) and legal (for example, alcohol, aspirin, acetaminophen) counterparts." (9/20/03) --British Medical Journal http://www.bmj.com/
Part II: Marijuana prohibition does not solve the problems associated with the drug and in fact marijuana legalization would have many benefits.
1) It is currently easier for kids to get ahold of marijuana than alcohol according to CASA surveys. Regulating marijuana for adults would curb youth access to marijuana.
2) Marijuana would bring in 10-14 billion dollars in savings and government revenue every year that could be used for noble purposes rather than criminal ventures. http://www.prohibitioncosts.org/
3) Marijuana legalization would free up law enforcement time that would normally be used to arrest an adult marijuana user.
4) Marijuana legalization would free up space in jails and prisons to make room for more violent offenders.
5) Marijuana legalization would increase the liberty that adult citizens have in our society.
6) Marijuana legalization would separate marijuana from harder drugs thus reducing the exposure to other substances hampering the "gateway" effect.
7) Marijuana's potency, purity, and type could be regulated and labeled making it even safer.
8 ) Marijuana usage is not necessary connected with how harsh a marijuana law is. For instance, after Nevada lowered its penalties for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana from jail time to a fine, teenage usage actually went down. This does not mean marijuana decriminalization or legalization causes lower usage rates, but it does suggest that the law has little effect on usage and other factors play a more primary role.
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There are many questions and perhaps objections that people will bring up, but I am prepared to answer and argue them all. Feel free to comment.
there is a reason y it is eligal. I hope it never gets legalised.yamum2
The reason it's illegal today is the majority oppose legalization, but that is changing. Since 1986, support has doubled from 20 to 40%. Marijuana possession is already legal in Alaska.
Your arguments will go unnoticed by the anti-drug people on here. Nice try though, unfortunately its only a matter of time before this topic gets the lock. I'm not insulting you by the way, I favor its legalization.
I'm in favor of it's legalization. I don't smoke weed, but I don't think it's that harmful. The way I see it, alchohol is legal, and that causes many more deaths than weed, so it makes no sense to me why weed is illegal.
long term effects of marijuana use are still unknown and like any other psychoactive drug it can cause schizophrenia if there is a history of that in your family but other than that the drug is much less harmful then alcohol
Why should the topic be locked? It doesn't insult anyone and is a political argument.Lothar121_basic
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Dude, I don't think it should be locked. I'm just telling you that is what happens to every thread debating the legalization of marijuana in OT.
Here is what happens in legalization threads...Â
Stoners give good reasons for legalization, conservatives spin their webs, somebody insults jesus, a quote chain war ensues, and the topic gets locked.Â
long term effects of marijuana use are still unknown and like any other psychoactive drug it can cause schizophrenia if there is a history of that in your family but other than that the drug is much less harmful then alcoholhalfnaked
The long term effects of marijuana on the lungs and brain have been studied some (you can see some studies in this very thread). Mental illness studies have widely concluded that in otherwise healthy adults, marijuana does not appear to cause mental illness. In those that have a history of mental illness in the family, that still doesn't necessitate that they will get a mental illness if they use marijuana contributing little to the overall harm caused by the drug.
[QUOTE="Lothar121_basic"]Why should the topic be locked? It doesn't insult anyone and is a political argument.Weapons_Free
Dude, I don't think it should be locked. I'm just telling you that is what happens to every thread debating the legalization of marijuana in OT.
Here is what happens in legalization threads...
Stoners give good reasons for legalization, conservatives spin their webs, somebody insults jesus, a quote chain war ensues, and the topic gets locked.
Well, fair enough. I have no intention of insulting anyone, I'm just trying show some folks that they may need to rethink this topic. I see marijuana legalization as consistent with a fiscally conservative position and infact William Buckley Jr. and Milton Friedman both supported marijuana legalization for adults.
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