Health Disparities In The United States

Legalization of Marijuana The benefits from the legalization of marijuana could benefit consumers, owners of dispensaries, and the government. Advocates of medical marijuana believe it should be covered like any other drug. Marijuana could help people get what they need at a cheaper price because a joint may only cost you $2 or $3. As far as paying for it, it could take the price of other medications that group benefits would pay for (Paterson 3-4).

Following this further, Recreational marijuana should not be legalized in all fifty states because it worsens a person’s medical and physical health through out their lifetime. Robert Margolis states in his article, “Legalizing Marijuana Would Harm Teens”, that Marijuana also contains more carcinogenic material than cigarettes and has been statistically linked to cancer. It also impairs the immune system 's ability to fight off diseases and infections. It increases the risk of a heart attack fourfold for the first hour after smoking it. Students who smoke marijuana get lower grades and are less likely to graduate from high school than their nonsmoking peers.

Legalizing marijuana can make the state some money and there are many benefits to it. Legalizing marijuana won’t benefit at all for the big corrupt pharmaceutical companies, if the cannabis is passed as a drug for health issues. Maybe that’s why lawmakers haven’t maybe won’t pass the law to legalize Marijuana. Yes the companies can get involved but then somehow it will get corrupt and won’t benefit the citizens.

If legalized, marijuana could cause societal problems in many areas. First of all, the easy access to legal marijuana would mean that more of it would get into the hands of kids and teens. Police officers worry that we will see increased crime on the streets as marijuana lowers inhibitions and users will do whatever is necessary to feed their addiction. There are also problems with people who use marijuana and drive.

Even worse, ideas that the use of marijuana fuels the involvement of the user into other heinous crimes has even been argued. According to a Human Rights Watch report, 30,000 New Yorkers who were arrested for possession never had prior convictions or felonies (New York Times, 2014). Legalizing marijuana would be beneficial because it can be controlled. The government has controlled alcohol and tobacco exceptionally well. With the use of underage drinking laws and tobacco taxation, the number of underage drinkers and smokers has dropped.

This subject has been debated numerous times over the past few years. People’s points of view and researches about the topic have varied greatly. Some people believe that marijuana should be legalized, while the rest feel should stay prohibited. Proponents of marijuana argue that there are numerous medical benefits and that the drug is not more harmful than tobacco or alcohol. On the other hand, opponents argue that marijuana is too dangerous; its legalization would increase the chances of the drug falling into the hands of teens and that marijuana use often progresses to the use of more dangerous drugs like heroin and cocaine.

Starting from the beginning, I will tell you what marijuana - also called grass, ganja, pot, and various other slang terms - is. Marijuana comes from the Indian hemp plant and is the greenish-brown mixture of the dried flowers of cannabis sativa. When I was younger I used to believe that speaking positively about Marijuana, makes you look like a bad personage or either worse, a criminal. This opinion was based on the false information media produced and on the government laws of my country. However, by enhancing my knowledge, I have decided that cannabis offers so much to humanity, that not only it has many benefits, it has to be legalized.

These points are the following; Cannabis kills brain cells in developing brains, it can cause addiction, and it is a gate-way drug, meaning it leads to other drugs. These arguments would be left obsolete if Marijuana was legalized. If Cannabis was legal, the American government would be able to regulate the dosage, the actual substance, and the age at which Cannabis is bought. Cannabis does not cause addiction; the reason why there are various cases that claim addiction is because the Marijuana bought today in the underground market and in insecure places mix Marijuana with other substances. Today when you buy Marijuana on the streets, you do not know exactly what you are buying, and this is what causes most of the problems with Cannabis.

It was made illegal in the 1930’s for the same reasons as alcohol, because it was believed that it was going to do harm to society. As years have gone by, it is obvious that a mistake was made. The fact that marijuana was made illegal has created numerous problems for the United States that on the long run could have been easily avoided. Countries in different parts of the world and some states within the United States have already legalized marijuana and they have all shown positive outcomes out of their decisions. Although marijuana is illegal in majority of the states, legalizing marijuana for recreational use would bring about social and economical reforms that would help deter crime in the country, increase the amount of money the government makes, and also help people that are medically in need of the drug.

If marijuana is regulated and taxed properly, it can generate millions of dollars that can help pay the debt of the US and/or help cities rebuild a better infrastructure. Marijuana has become the third most popular drug in the US behind alcohol and tobacco. It is a renewable resource and is not just used for smoking; it can be used to make paper, oils, and cloth. Every year millions of tax dollars are being spent to enforce marijuana laws. If these laws were repealed and marijuana was legalized, we would not only make money from the marijuana, but we would also be using a lot less money to enforce marijuana laws.

Even though cannabis is a drug, there have never been any accidental deaths as one cannot overdose (Caulkins, 2014). Lastly, another important beneficial factor that comes from legalizing cannabis would be the decreased cost that courts, and police officer would have to face by not having to chase those who are trying to posses the illegal drug, in different ways, the amount of money that is spent caught the individuals that are doing cannabis because it is so easy to access but still illegal (Caulkins,

Pros and Cons of Marijuana Legalization Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit substance in the United States. More than half of American adults have tried using marijuana at least once in their life. You may have read or heard stories on how marijuana use was mostly linked to people who were very vocal with their opinions. Seeing their favorite performers during a live concert may have been the start of the spreading of this illegal drug which has caused so many lives. When experts found out about the ill effects of marijuana, people who were found to be using them were put behind bars.

It would create thousands of job opportunities, decrease the crime rate and open up cell space. It it could help people with physical, emotional, and psychological problems (“Drugs”). The prescription drugs people get from doctors are addictive where marijuana is non addictive. There has been cases of overdose from prescription pills where there has never been one case of overdose on marijuana. This is the safest option to head towards.

Imagine having an incurable disease and no way to cope with the pain, well this is the case for many Americans and their problems can be solved with marijuana. Now that marijuana is legal in Colorado it has decreased the amount of opioid related deaths. Medical marijuana has many great attributes such as its ability to safely and effectively help people with symptoms of cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, and epilepsy. There are many non smoked ways to consume marijuana, such as in cooking oils, butter, foods, and from vaporizers. If the marijuana is regulated by the FDA it will be safer because there is no chance of it being laced with anything.

Marijuana has been used for thousands of years. Similar to alcohol, most adults who use marijuana continue to function through day to day life without exhibiting any serious problems. Millions of people have used the plant for pleasure, and there is evidence that plant may have huge medical benefits. It is for these and other reasons that most states have petitioned to legalize marijuana. In Colorado’s first year of legalizing the plant for recreational use they have seen a decrease in crime and vehicle accidents, as well as generating huge tax revenues for the state.