English Essay

Toan Nguyen

English II – 1

November 17, 2009

What Can Legalized Marijuana Bring To The Table? Could you imagine a world where marijuana was legalized? Many people debate each and every day over this issue. I am one of those people who believe marijuana should be legalized. It would give the marijuana users an ease of mind smoking the product without having to worry about the low and it would give the down economy a substantial boost in revenues marijuana brings in every year. But there are also people who are think opposite of me. There are the drug dealers who don’t agree marijuana should be legalized because of the lost of money they face. They will no longer be able to bring in any income greater than that of the marijuana trade. But there are also those people who agree with me, and those are the pot smokers and probably the very own city you live in. Millions of marijuana related cases are being filed every day. Shouldn’t the police being doing something else productive with their time? For instance they should be catching the real criminals who are the murderers and child molesters. So what would happen if marijuana was finally legalized? No one really knows until the day really comes. But I will provide you with information that may vote for the legalization of marijuana. As of right now, the U.S. federal government classifies marijuana as a “Schedule I substance-identifying it as having ‘a high potential for abuse’ and ‘no currently accepted medical use,’ and placing it in the same league as opium and LSD” (Williams). Because it is listed as a “Schedule I status,” (“Marijuana”) it is illegal to “buy, sell, grow, or possess marijuana” (Williams) in the United States, and people convicted of marijuana offenses face penalties that range from fines to life imprisonments. In trying to prevent the usage of marijuana, the federal, state governments, and local communities spent hundreds of millions of dollars annually on a program called “Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) in which police officers visit schools to teach young people to refrain from trying marijuana and other drugs.” Marijuana is also viewed as a “gateway” drug that can lead to the use of other dangerous and illegal substances, including “cocaine and heroin” (Williams). The “Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD), had a suit that was challenging marijuana’s classification as a prohibited drug and it was doing so specifically on the basis of marijuana’s medical utility” (Randall). Marijuana does have medical value. In 1839, “W.B. O’Shaughnessy of the Medical College of Calcutta observed its use in the traditional Indian treatment of various disorders and found that tincture of hemp was effective as an analgesic, and anticonvulsant, and a muscle relaxant” (Williams). Its other use was to a “hypnotic (sleep inducer), until the early 1900’s.” “Symptoms and conditions for which cannabis was found helpful included asthma, convulsions, dysmenorrheal, labor pain, neuralgia, rheumatism, and tetanus.” Cannabis has currently been found useful against some 30 symptoms and syndromes. “The American public would eventually learn that the harmfulness of marijuana was greatly exaggerated and its utility underestimated” (Williams). If people have mental health problems and

Toan Nguyen

English II – 1

November 17, 2009

continue to regularly use marijuana, it will make things worse for their health. THC can promote tumor growth and suppress the immune system. Marijuana use should be decriminalized. The bad thing to me about marijuana is the dealing of it because the government wants to make money off of it instead of people making their own money. We know that marijuana is relatively safe when used responsibly by adults. The current marijuana policy is a “dismal and costly failure” (Williams). “It wastes untold billions of dollars in law enforcement resources, and needlessly wrecks the lives and careers of millions of our citizens. Yet marijuana remains the recreational drug choice of millions of Americans” (Williams). In fact if marijuana smoking were dangerous, we would certainly know of it; “a significant segment of our population currently smokes marijuana recreationally, and there would be epidemiological evidence of harm among real people” (Williams). It is time to put to rest the myth that smoking marijuana is a “fringe or deviant activity engaged in only those on the margins of American society” (Williams). Like most Americans, the vast majority of marijuana smokers are otherwise law-abiding citizens who work hard, raise families, and contribute to their communities. “Congress needs to acknowledge this constituency exists, and stop legislating as if marijuana smokers were dangerous people who need to be locked up. Marijuana smokers are simply average Americans. Whether one smokes marijuana or drinks alcohol to relax is simply appropriate area of concern for the government” (Williams). Arresting and jailing law-abiding citizens that smoke the plant, wastes money and the resources of the policies. The government needs to attend to more important matters instead of marijuana like oil, the economy, and how we are struggling as a nation. And also they need to stop inviting themselves in our private lives because it frequently destroys the lives, careers and families of genuinely good citizens. In conclusion, marijuana is not harmless until the government makes it harmless by adding laws and dumb policies that restrict the use of marijuana. What it is a gateway or an escape from reality. It’s a stress reliever for some, an enjoyment of relaxation for others, and a big money maker for many. If we were without marijuana, then people would be even more stressed about how their life is and depression would be a concern and even more without money making the jobless even more jobless. Marijuana grows from Mother Nature so let it be what it is and worry about more important matters that concerns our lives and our lifestyles.