The Debate on Marijuana Legalization
The debate whether marijuana or pot (as is commonly known around the streets) should be legalized or not is a debate as old as the drug itself. People for years have battled it, and it looks like, despite their efforts, the drug is flourishing, maybe even more than ever before. Youth have embraced it to the point that in Holland, it has become legalized for some years now so as to prevent the youth from being sucked in into more dangerous drugs like heroin and opium. But, despite the drug being popular, why do the folk around despise it that much? In this paper, I will seek to address why marijuana ought to be legalized despite its backlash from society.
Statistics and the Perception of Marijuana
Statistics show that deaths caused by the drug are not as frequent as those caused by car crashes or by other drugs so why are people ever so on the front line against it? Research also goes to compliment on the fact by showing people only die of marijuana not because of the drug itself but rather the activities they conduct when under its influence (Wilmot, 2017). In this paper, I will seek to address why marijuana ought to be legalized despite its backlash from society. If you are one individual who has always wished to see marijuana legalized, then you are not the only one on the boat.
Increasing Popularity and Comparison to Cigarettes and Alcohol
At the time, marijuana is getting more and more popular in the world, and people are clamoring for its legalization. In fact, research done in America showed that the percentage of people who wanted it to be legalized was only 29% in 1979, but as from last year, the number shot up to 65% (Jennifer De Pinto, 2017). So the belief that marijuana ought to be legalized has reached an all-time high now not only in America but in many other countries. But why is that the case? The first reason as to why it ought to be so is that despite the drug being demonized everywhere, it is actually less harmful than cigarettes. And since cigarettes are legal, why should marijuana be any different?
Cigarettes cause a plethora of ailments from lung cancer, mouth cancer, and various other cancers and while marijuana does cause the occasional deaths, none of the reasons are as lethal as those of cigarette smoking (Wilcox, 2017). The other reason is that apart from cigarette smoking, another vice in society worse than taking marijuana is alcohol consumption. Alcohol has been said to cause more deaths in the long run, more so than many of the violent diseases present. Taking alcohol continuously over the years has always led to death, a fact proved by the numbers (Brownstein, 2014). This is because metabolism after consuming alcohol to large extents is often slowed down to the point that the areas necessary for survival in the brain are shut down.
A health scientist studying the effects of alcohol in the National Institute of drugs says that one cannot die after smoking marijuana all day, however, for alcohol, even binge-drinking for a mere five minutes can cause instant death (Brownstein, 2014). While the effects of marijuana are far-reaching, those of alcohol are more instant and lethal. Marijuana will cause one's heart rate to increase and blood pressure to rise but other than this, nothing will come out of constant usage, unlike alcohol where one can instantly overdose and die. It is also noted that unlike marijuana, alcohol will most likely interact with other drugs ingested in the body thereby leading to fatal results.
The Medical Benefits of Marijuana
Marijuana, studies report, can also be good for your brain (Sanger, 2017). Before its usage outside the hospital, marijuana, medical cannabis at the time, was known to cure anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Apart from this, it can also help one relax and not only is that it also a good stress reliever. However medicinal experts say that despite all the excellent benefits associated with it, in the long run, not enough research about its long-term effects medically have been studied and hence its role is still murky in medicine. The problem is not so dire though as successful results from its usage have been noted and even doctors know that the impact of marijuana on mental and brain health is important. Marijuana for a long time has been used by people to manage their health symptoms.
However, concerning the same, there has not been enough research to prove whether at the end of the day the depression marijuana helps cure comes back in two-fold, or it is completely cured in its entirety (Farmington, 2017). After all, is said and done, getting a little peace and tranquility does not sound so bad, and although marijuana may not have much to its long-term benefits by just helping people stay grounded, it portrays its crucial role in medicine. Research has again come to back up marijuana by saying that smoking it regularly, people can counter the effects of diabetes and obesity and not only that but also help in reducing pot bellies.
Positive Effects on the Body and its Role in Fighting Cancer
Most people may argue, debating on the fact that taking marijuana causes one always to be hungry and seek constant food satisfaction. However, a doctor after having conducted a study from Yale found out that lab mice that had been privy to consuming cannabis had their hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons suppressed. What this does is that the brain is told that more food should be ingested to quell hunger. And while most people may not know, obesity is not caused by just eating but also as a result of variant factors such as environmental, social, cultural and many other systems present in society. But marijuana does not confirm to these social constraints.
In fact, a study done on the effects of marijuana showed that most women who took marijuana daily scaled 3.1% lower on the BMI index scale than their fellow counterparts who did not (Lee, 2016). In addition to this, studies have also found out that people who take marijuana usually have smaller waist sizes, higher levels of ADL that is usually good cholesterol and have better insulin levels than people who do not make the drug. The other reason marijuana shouldn’t be shunned so much by society is the fact that it is key in the fight against cancer. To be more specific, it inhibits cancer cells.
Cannabis usually by cannabinoids suppresses growths or rather inhibits the tumors from spreading and this causes the cells infected to be blocked or even result in their ultimate death. While this may look and sound bad to the human body, it is not. These cells often do not affect the human body in any wrong way because they are infected by cancer anyway. Therefore by causing the non-development of blood vessels that are important in the growth of tumor cells, they help fight cancer (Minton, 2015). Cannabinoids have also been shown to reduce the spread of colon cancer by protection against its inflammation in the cells thereby making cannabis assist in the frontlines against protection of the body against its spread.
Another study also shows that in addition to killing or damaging cancer cells, cannabinoids have also been known to assist in chemotherapy, the treatment taken against cancer, making it more effective and not having any effect whatsoever to normal cell bodies including breast cells (Minton, 2015). After all, is said and done, governments may still make marijuana illegal however that has not managed to stop anyone from consuming it. Contrary to that, however, the fact is that now more and more people are being drawn into using it. Somebody once said that it is not good to make people feel bad about things that make them happy.
Legalization: Profits, Personal Freedom, and Practicality
This is ever so true even more when you look at the fact that once marijuana is legalized in all the countries if it ever will be, there will be more profitability in taxes to the nations (Head, 2018). The fact is people will be willing to pay up when it comes to their own happiness and marijuana to many people is just that, so why not legalize it already? Besides, governments can be guardians of culture only so much as to know that enforcing draconian rules on its people will not prevent the people from continuing with their will because unless people can learn that what they are doing is fatal, then there cannot be any change.
Ronald Reagan once said that the government’s duty should be to protect the people, not run their lives. And the government has also known that by making marijuana illegal, it does not end well for its youth who are not only forced to use it secretly but now have to find shady underground connections to do so. By making it illegal, criminal cartels are born to ensure it is still supplied, and legitimate justice goals are impeded when crimes start cropping up related to the people who deal in its peddling but will go unnoticed by the veil cast as marijuana drug peddling.
Conclusion
Despite marijuana being demonized in a lot of places due to its effect on societies, there will factors that still support it. The media being one of them since it is another constant reminder that even if weed remains illegal, there will always be a free advertisement of it in the movies that emanate from Hollywood and the popular songs hitting the airwaves, and more and more people will continue joining the train that is consumption of the drug. However, the governments of the people need not be concerned with it if they find out the benefits associated with the drug.
Sure it may lead to people doing stupid things when under its influence but it is also said to cure cancer. It may lead to death in the long run, but it also reduces stress levels and helps people cope with the harsh realities of life. Delete the positive and accentuate the positive is a mantra most people should go by. It is not an issue of good vs. bad (though it has been made to look that way over the years) but rather the effects of good vs. bad.
References
Brownstein, J. (2014). Marijuana vs. Alcohol: Which Is Really Worse for Your Health? Retrieved from livescience.com: https://www.livescience.com/42738-marijuana-vs-alcohol-health-effects.html
farmington, T. (2017). Ways Cannabis Helps People Better Their Mental Health. Retrieved from herb.co: https://herb.co/marijuana/news/whisper-mental-health
Head, T. (2018). Reasons Why Marijuana Should Be Legalized. Retrieved from thoughtco.com: https://www.thoughtco.com/reasons-why-marijuana-should-be-legalized-721154
Jennifer De Pinto, F. B. (2017). Marijuana legalization support at all-time high. Retrieved from cbsnews.com: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/support-for-marijuana-legalization-at-all-time-high/
Lee, B. Y. (2016). Can Marijuana Really Reduce Pot Bellies And Obesity? Retrieved from forbes.com: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2016/09/19/can-marijuana-really-reduce-pot-bellies-and-obesity/#615b601949ac
minton, B. (2015). Marijuana Kills Cancer Cells, Admits the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Retrieved from naturalsociety.com: http://naturalsociety.com/marijuana-kills-cancer-cells-admits-the-u-s-national-cancer-institute/
sanger, B. (2017). Legit Reasons Why Weed Should Be Legalized Right Now. Retrieved from herb.co: https://herb.co/marijuana/news/reasons-weed-legalized
wilcox, A. (2017). Weed Smoke VS. Cigarette Smoke: Which Is Worse? Retrieved from herb.co: https://herb.co/marijuana/news/weed-smoke-vs-cigarette-smoke
wilmot, R. (2017). Marijuana Suppression Lead to Increased Experimentation " Legalization. MOJ Addiction Medicine " Therapy, 13-19.
