Problems with Legalization

If marijuana were to be legalized, consumption of it would likely increase. Along with that would likely come health and community costs: increase in accidents due to motor impairment, increase in associated illnesses such as cancer, as is the case with cigarette smoking, as well as the multiple hospitalizations and surgeries often accompanying those addicted to nicotine. Marijuana is not harmless; it is addictive, and it does affect the brain. Do you want to be on the road with a bunch of stoned drivers? Think about it....

No, no legalization!
Sorry, I do not agree with legalizing it. What are the effects of second-hand marijuana smoke? Contact high? Come on, go to high school. You can esily distinguish the pot smokers from the non-pot smokers. Marijuana kills brain cells. Maybe not all at once, but they do die. People who smoke it tend to be slower and not do as well academically. I have never met a valedictorian who smoked pot/weed. I really don't see what it could possibly do medically, really. Some doctors have actually said the same thing. Sometimes, they prescribe it just to get rid of the patient because it's what they want. Dentists, doctors, other MD's do this with "normal" meds as well. Would there be a separate section in restaurants as well? "Smoker or non smoker? Weed or tobacco?" There's enough wrong in the US; teenage pregnancy, obesity, diabetes, cancer. Let's fix what's wrong before making new problems! There's no good reason to ban marijuana, but there are seven bad reasons to ban marijuanaand so far, for almost a century, they've worked. 1. It is perceived as addictive. Under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug on the basis that is has "a high potential for abuse." What does this mean? It means that the perception is that people get on marijuana, they get hooked and become "potheads," and it begins to dominate their lives. This unquestionably happens in some cases. But it also happens in the case of alcohol--and alcohol is perfectly legal. In order to fight this argument for prohibition, legalization advocates need to make the argument that marijuana is not as addictive as government sources claim 2. It has "no accepted medical use." Marijuana seems to yield considerable medical benefits for many Americans with ailments ranging from glaucoma to cancer, but these benefits have not been accepted well enough, on a national level. Medical use of marijuana remains a serious national controversy. In order to fight the argument that marijuana has no medical use, legalization advocates need to highlight the effects it has had on the lives of people who have used the drug for medical reasons. 3. It has been historically linked with narcotics, such as heroin. Early antidrug laws were written to regulate narcotics--opium and its derivatives, such as heroin and morphine. Marijuana, though not a narcotic, was described as such--along with cocaine. The association stuck, and there is now a vast gulf in the American consciousness between "normal" recreational drugs, such as alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine, and "abnormal" recreational drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Marijuana is generally associated with the latter category, which is why it can be convincingly portrayed as a"gateway drug." 7. Advocates for marijuana legalization rarely present an appealing case.

To hear some advocates of marijuana legalization say it, the drug cures diseases while it promotes creativity, open-mindedness, moral progression, and a closer relationship with God and/or the cosmos. That sounds thoroughly unconvincing to people who don't use the drug themselves especially when the public image of a marijuana user is, again, that of a loser who risks arrest and imprisonment so that he or she can artificially invoke an endorphin release. A much better argument for marijuana legalization, from my vantage point, might go more like this: "It makes some people happy, and it doesn't seem to be any more dangerous than alcohol. Do we really want to go around putting people in prison and destroying their lives over this?"

1. Marijuana is highly addictive. Theres a reason marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug in the world. People cant stop using it once they start. Proponents of legalizing pot have tried to dismiss this argument. But clinical studies have proven that people who used marijuana several times a week found it almost impossible to quit. People who tried to stop smoking it reported feeling moody, tense, anxious and unable to sleep. 2. Marijuana can ruin your future. There is a reason marijuana addicts are sometimes called potheads. The drug sucks the life out of people. Those who use it regularly are more likely to drop out of school, have accidents, quit jobs, lose interest in life and feel generally demotivated. Some studies also have linked pot to suicidal thoughts. The National Institute on Drug Abuse notes that regular marijuana use can result in a 40 percent increased risk of psychosis, and the drug also can lead to schizophrenia, depression and anxiety disorders. 3. Marijuana can ruin your kids lives. It should come as no surprise that marijuana use among American teenagers is rising at an alarming ratejust as efforts to decriminalize it are accelerating. There has been an 80 percent increase in marijuana use among teens since 2008. Do you want your children to make good grades in school? Then you should know that one study proved that teens who smoked pot regularly lost as much as 8 points in their IQsand they did not recover the intellectual ability when they became adults. Parents should also filter through the hype about how marijuana is not that dangerous. An article published last year in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology showed that adolescents who smoked pot were at risk of brain damage. (MEMO TO YOUTH PASTORS: Please devote some time to educating your teens about drugs in 2014.) 4. Marijuana causes serious health problems. The main ingredient in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, has a powerful effect on the brain. Initially it creates in the user a sense of euphoria the infamous high that includes bright colors, hallucinations and even laughter. But after the high comes a wave of anxiety, fear and depression. And memory can be affected permanently. But thats not all. Smoking pot causes a 20 to 100 percent increase in a smokers heart rate. Some marijuana users are five times more likely to have a heart attack after they use it. Pot is not good for the

lungs either. One study found that smoking one joint gives as much exposure to cancer-causing chemicals as smoking five cigarettes. (And you cant help but wonder how second -hand marijuana smoke will affect those of us who are breathing the nearby fumes.)

5. Marijuana can ruin your sex life. Proponents of legalizing marijuana push the idea that pot is an aphrodisiac. But science tells another story. Men who smoke pot regularly can experience impotence as well as infertility. And some studies have found a link between marijuana use and an aggressive form of testicular cancer in young men. Not to mention that pot causes really bad breath. Marijuana is h. Marijuana is definitely not sexy! I should also mention that seven percent of drivers involved in accidents tested positive for THC in a recent survey. Thats because smoking weed impairs motor skills and increases the risk of car crashes. So if marijuana use becomes widespread after its legalization, we need to be concerned about an increased number of drugged drivers on our roads. Welcome to Americaland of the free, home of the stoned. Please spread the word. Marijuana is called a weed for a reason. Its bad for kids. Its bad for adults. When I look at the crazy laws being passed in the United States today, I cant help but wonder what our leaders are smoking.

No debe ser legal por Problemas de salud Problemas Psicolgicos y emocionales Problemas sociales