debate paper cons for legalizing marijuana

Running head: CONS OF LEGALIZING MARIJUANA 1

Cons of Legalizing Marijuana

Karena Busch

BCOM/275

July 30, 2012

Dr. Wayne Brock

CONS OF LEGALIZING MARIJUANA 2

Cons of Legalizing Marijuana

There is a big debate on whether marijuana should be legalized or not and although the

U.S. classifies marijuana as a Schedule l controlled substance (which means it has no acceptable

medical use), the glaucoma patients claim that smoking marijuana helps them to deal with the

pain and relieves the symptoms of glaucoma, AIDS patients claim it helps with the loss of

appetite that accompanies AIDS, and cancer patients claim it helps them with their nausea that is

caused by their chemotherapy (acde,2010), but in no way shape or form should marijuana be

legalized for recreational use!

I will be arguing, “why marijuana should not be legalized” and back up my argument

with facts that marijuana is a gateway drug that leads to other illegal drug usage and how it

contributes to criminal behavior, the many health disadvantages such as physical and mental

health disadvantages associated with smoking marijuana, along with the impact marijuana has on

one’s daily life, and the increased traffic accidents and DUI’s while drugged driving.

Used as a gateway drug: Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug worldwide

and has been around for a long time. The source of marijuana is the hemp plant called “cannabis

sativa” that for more than 2,000 years ago, was being cultivated for psychoactive properties and

contains 400 different chemicals, with the main ingredient being THC (delta-9-

tetrahydrocannabinol) which is a mind-altering chemical (acde,2010).

According to the American Council for Drug Education: Basic Facts about Drugs:

Marijuana, “ sophisticated cannabis cultivated today produces more higher levels of THC and

marijuana and is far more potent than pot from the past with the THC content of marijuana

being less than 1% in 1974 and rose to 4% by 1994.” The form of marijuana called sinsemilla,

which is made from the flowering tops and buds of female plants contain “THC content of 7.5%


and ranges as high as 24%.” The form of marijuana called hashish, which is resin that is made

from the flowers of the female plant and “THC levels are 5 to 10 times higher than crude

marijuanas.”

Marijuana is used often as a gateway drug that leads to other illegal drug use such as

cocaine, heroin, and meth. According to studies made by institutions such as the National

Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), “marijuana users use it thinking it is harmless, but it causes a

high and then a bigger high is needed to have an effect, so people turn to harder drugs, such as

the one’s mentioned above” (NIDA, 2010).

More potent and disabling substances are more likely to be used by individuals with

marijuana being used as a gateway drug and was found by The Center on Addiction and

Substance Abuse at Columbia University, “claim that adolescents who smoke marijuana are 85

times more likely to use cocaine, than adolescents that do not smoke marijuana, and 60% of

younger peers use marijuana before they turn 15 and later go on to use cocaine” (acde,2010).

This gateway drug contributes to one’s criminal behavior because of their impaired judgment,

altered decision-making, increased paranoia and hallucinations by contributing to the crimes of

theft, burglary, and robbery.

Health disadvantages of one’s physical and mental health and effects marijuana has

on one’s daily life: With physical health concerns, marijuana affects a person’s heart and lungs.

When a person uses marijuana, their heart rate goes up by 20-100% after smoking marijuana and

the effect of marijuana can last up to 1-3 hours. The effect on a person’s lungs “the smoke from

marijuana contains 50-70% more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke and

marijuana users inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than tobacco smokers, which


increases the lungs’ exposure to carcinogenic smoke and smoking marijuana shows dysregulated

growth of epithelial cells in one’s lung tissue, which could lead to cancer” (Tashkin DP, 2005).

According to one study, “it is estimated that marijuana users have a 4.8-fold increase in

the risk of a heart attack in the first hour after smoking marijuana” (Mittleman MA, Lewis PA,

Maclure M, Sherwood JB, Muller JE, 2001), which is due to one’s heart rate being increased as

well as the effects of marijuana on one’s heart rhythms causing palpitations and arrhythmias,

which is greater in the more older, aged population and in individuals that have cardiac

vulnerabilities.

In any case, people who smoke marijuana have the same respiratory problems as

someone who smokes cigarettes, such as phlegm production that comes from daily coughing,

acute chest illness and soreness becomes more frequent, and the risk of lung infections is greatly

increased (drugabuse, 2010). With this in mind, we need to ask ourselves, “How can our

government justify the legalization of marijuana that has clearly been shown to be harmful to our

bodies, for recreational use?”

Mental health disadvantage: The effects on one’s mental health when using marijuana

is that one develops impaired short-term memory, which makes it hard for an individual to learn

and retain information, especially with regards to complex tasks, one has a more slower reaction

time and impaired motor coordination, which can throw off the performance of an athlete, impair

one’s driving skills, and greatly increases the risk of injuries, one’s judgment is altered along

with their decision making, which could lead to committing a crime or lead to sexual behaviors

becoming high risk by leading to the spread of STD’s, and can alter one’s mood from euphoria to

calmness and in higher doses causing anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations (NIDA, 2010).


Effects on one’s daily life: According to research, marijuana causes problems in one’s

life and/or makes one’s existing problems worse by exhibiting increased tardiness and absences,

increase in accidents, increase in claims for workers’ compensation, and increase in job turnover

and according to one study, “ heavy marijuana abusers reported that the drug impaired many

important measures of life achievement, such as physical and mental health, cognitive abilities,

social life, and career status” (Gruber AJ, Pope HG, Hudson JI, Yurgelun-Todd D, 2003)

Increase in the traffic accidents and DUI’s due to drugged driving: As individuals,

parents, and a society as a whole it is our responsibility to recognize and address the dangers that

come from smoking marijuana and getting behind the wheel of a vehicle, which is called

drugged driving! Marijuana is the most illicit and illegal drug that is being used and detected in

drivers that are impaired, detected in fatally injured drivers, and detected in the crash victims of a

motor vehicle, that is why our concern for drugged driving, which is driving under the influence

of ANY drug that acts on the brain could impairs one’s motor skills, reaction time, and

judgment, is so important and crucial! (NIDA, December 2010)

According to Iowa law, where I reside, “it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle if there is

ANY detectable level of a prohibited drug, or its metabolites, in the driver’s blood” (NIDA,

December 2010). There have been many studies examining illegal drug use in drivers that are

involved in reckless driving, vehicle crashes, and/or accidents that are fatal. According to NIDA,

“studies conducted that 4-14% of drivers that were hurt or unfortunately died in a tragic

accident, were tested positive for the active ingredient in marijuana, which is THC.”

Additionally, according to Stephen J. Heishman, PhD, Research Psychologist at the

NIDA “ Driving and marijuana does not mix; that the bottom line. The data from these

laboratory studies show that marijuana impairs balance and coordination-functional


components important to driving-in a dose related way. These effects may be related to reported

marijuana-induced impairment of automobile driving” (Stephen J. Heishman, 1995) and

according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), “Marijuana affects many skills

required to for safe driving: alertness, the ability to concentrate, coordination, and reaction

time. These effects can last up to 24 hours after smoking marijuana” (U.S. Drug Enforcement

Administration, December 19, 2005).

.


References

American Council for Drug Education. (2010). Basic Facts About Drugs: Marijuana. Retrieved

from http://www.acde.org/common/Marijuana.htm

Gruber, A. J., Pope, H. G., Hudson, J. I., & Yurgelun-Todd, D. (2003). Attributes of long-term

heavy cannabis users: A case control study. Psychological Med, 33(8), 1415-1422.

Heishman, S. J. (1995). Does marijuana use significantly impair driving ability even when not

under the immediate effects of the drug? Retrieved from

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000233&print=true

Mittleman, M. A., Lewis, R. A., Maclure, M., Sherwood, J. B., & Muller, J. E. (2001).

Triggering myocardial infarction by marijuana. Circulation, 103(23), 2805-2809.

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). (2010, December). Drugged Driving. Retrieved from

http://www.drugabuse.gov

Tashkin, D. P. (2005). Smoked marijuana as as cause of lung injury. Monaldi Arch Chest Dis,

63(2), 92-100.

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). (2005, December 19). Exposing the Myth of

Medical Marijuana. Retrieved from

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000233&print=true

debate paper cons for legalizing marijuana

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