Illegalization of marijuana
Illegalization of marijuana
The efforts of the organizations that are devoted in the fight for the illegalization of marijuana have experienced a major boost in the recent past as a result of several factors. These include development of laws aimed at restricting the use of marijuana. To add on to that, the Obama administration refused to legalize the use of cannabis even for medical purposes. The administration has affirmed that it would defer to state a law regarding legislation and enforcement of marijuana. President Obama clearly stated that he is against the legalization of marijuana. Everyone in the society has an opinion regarding the use of marijuana whether they smoke or not. The use of marijuana is a major threat to the moral and physical uprightness of the society. It has got very deteriorating effects to the abusers as well as the society.
There are numerous reasons that support the illegalization of marijuana. The adverse health effects associated with abuse of marijuana without doubt exceeds the medical benefits that it is claimed to have. Scientific research from the national institute of health has doubtlessly illustrated the negative effects of marijuana to the human brain especially for the young people. Excessive abuse of marijuana is associated with extensive damage to the brain. It causes disrupted development of the neural system in the brain thereby negatively influencing the areas of the brain that deal with attention, memory, and decision making.
The initial short term effects of inhaling marijuana include distorted perception, loss of memory, and lack of reasoning. Long term effects of the abuse of marijuana include adverse withdrawal symptoms such as lack of sleep, irritability, increased aggression and bad feelings as well as disruption of the normal functioning of the neurotransmission system. The active chemical in marijuana leads to the production as well as release of dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that leads to the development of a feeling of excitement and pleasure. Those who abuse marijuana feel elated for a moment and then after its effects are over probably after a week or so, the abuser feels depressed and sleepy. Abuse of marijuana causes intense anxiety, depression, and suicidal thinking. Social behavior of a marijuana abuser is adversely affected. An abuser loses hisher ability to learn and grasp new things. Communication is greatly deterred as abusers tend to talk slowly and their response is affected. Abuse of marijuana causes panic fears and distrust (Abel, p. 55).
The use of the drug causes extensive stress to the heart. It increases serum triglycerides thereby increasing the risk of coronary heart disease. It also decreases the oxygen carrying capacity of blood thereby adversely affecting the heart rate and blood pressure. Abusers of marijuana are at a high risk of developing a heart attack. The drug is a severe respiratory tract irritant. It produces more carcinogenic hydrocarbons as compared to tobacco smoke. Marijuana smoke activates and initiates enzymatic changes that lead to development of malignant cells that are highly responsible for lung cancer. Stwertka and Stwertka (p, 154), states that the use of marijuana impairs the immune system thereby increasing the dangers of other infections and ailments. If a pregnant mother smokes marijuana, the effects of the drug will doubtlessly get to the fetus. It may result to premature babies and a low birth weight. Babies born of mothers who abused marijuana during pregnancy have adversely affected neurological responses. A child displays lapses in memory, poor problem solving skills and lack of attention. If a nursing mother smokes marijuana, the drug gets into the milk and then to the baby. The smoke of marijuana is more harmful than the smoke of tobacco.
Abuse of marijuana has got very adverse reproductive system effects. The chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocanabbinaol for example is linked with the formation of a mutant sperm in human beings. The sperms become degenerated as a result. The sperm count in males is also lessened. The process of hyperactivation of sperms is severely altered. Sperms of marijuana smokers swim very fast in the initial stages of swimming, but burn out even before fertilization takes place. This causes temporary infertility. In females, the process of ovulation is suppressed. Menstruation cycles are disrupted and eggs damaged. Abuse of marijuana by a young person close to puberty causes physical and sexual development problems.
Healy (para, 9), states that it is the mandate of the government to protect its people from adverse health effects caused by marijuana. Legalization of marijuana would be turning a blind eye to the health problems associated with the use of marijuana. The other reason why the state cannot take chances and legalize the drug is that, instead of rescuing the current abusers, it will be creating new ones. People, who are currently not abusers of marijuana due to the fear of being incarcerated, would start smoking immediately the ban is lifted. This would lead to an increase in the number of people who smoke rather than decrease it.
The state cannot engage itself in the distribution of substances that are considered morally unacceptable in the society. The society considers the drug as a morally wrong thing to take. It would be a betrayal of the moral rights of the society if the government were to legalize the use of marijuana. The drug is also considered unhealthy by the medical fraternity. The government therefore, cannot risk in distributing a substance that will risk the life of millions of people. The state is supposed to do everything that ensures the health of its citizens is protected.
Though it is claimed that the drug is not addictive by many, the drug has got a considerable extent of addiction. Psychological dependency is one long term adverse effect of abuse of marijuana. It robs the user of free will. Abusers cannot make rational decisions to stop their habit as the drug robs them of their ability to make logical decision. The state, if it were to legalize and distribute the drug, would be developing a society of very many people who are bound by the drug and cannot make rational decisions to stop their habit.
The drug is not only harmful to the abuser, but also to the general population. In case an abuser develops health complications, the health costs are directed to the family members as well as the society. Abusers of the drug who become aggressive direct their violence to other people within their vicinity. Drug addicted parents tend to neglect their children.
Marijuana causes lapse in judgment thereby making the abusers commit even harder crimes such as rape and robbery. Currently, a very big number of those who commit crimes as a result of marijuana abuse are in jail. Legalization of the drug would mean the release of those people thereby exposing the society to a very big risk. Drug abuse, crime, and violence go hand in hand. A lot of homicides committed in the United States are done by people who are under the influence of drugs, marijuana being the major one. Legalization of marijuana would increase the number of crimes committed as people who engage in illegal drugs trade are also involved in other crimes. The society is safer with marijuana offenders imprisoned. Legalizing marijuana would be like giving criminals a green light to continue with their criminal activities. They would stop worrying about what would happen to them if they were caught smoking and concentrate on other issues may be planning for tactics to avoid being caught after committing bigger crimes.
Messerli (para, 3), states that the use of marijuana acts as a gateway to the use of other hard drugs. Marijuana is often perceived by many as a harmless drug. It is usually used to experiment the use of other drugs. Drug addicts use marijuana as a stepping stone leading to the use of other substances such as heroin and cocaine. These harder drugs pose an even greater risk to the society. Marijuana is also abused concurrently with other illegal drugs. Legalizing its use would lead to an increase in the use of these drugs as well.
Drivers who are under the influence of marijuana have a higher risk of causing accidents than those who are under the influence of alcohol. Operating heavy machinery under the influence of marijuana is also very dangerous.
Religious organizations as well as humanitarian organizations consider the use of marijuana morally wrong. Moral ethics restrict the use of intoxicating substances. Marijuana is an intoxicating substance and therefore fits well into this category. Marijuana is often associated with morally unacceptable lifestyles. It is taken as a drug for use by losers in life who are trying to escape from realities of life. As stated by Cameron and Williams (p, 117), supporting the legalization of marijuana by comparing its effects with those of other drugs such as alcohol and tobacco is wrong. The society cannot be exposed to adverse health effects of whatever level on the basis that another comparable drug has more adverse effects and has been legalized. Alcohol as a drug is something that has been morally accepted by the society. Marijuana on the other hand is not.
Though marijuana has numerous medical benefits, it has no accepted medical use. The use of marijuana for the treatment of various ailments such as glaucoma and cancer are beneficial, but have not been accepted. It would be very wrong for the government to legalize marijuana when its medical use remains a major controversy.
Cermak (p 213), asserts that if marijuana was to be legalized, dealers would sell it to any one including children and the youth. Companies dealing with marijuana would sprout after its legalization and start advertising it everywhere on bill boards, radio stations, as well as televisions. This would send a wrong message to children who would think that the use of marijuana is acceptable. The government after legalization of marijuana would not restrict a company that deals with it from sponsoring sport activities in schools.
The dangers of making young people aware of the drug would even be worse than advertisements on the billboards and radios. It would also increase the chances of marijuana getting into the hands of children. If the children, whose brains have not yet fully developed, consume the drug the effects are very severe. The concentration capacity of such a child would be adversely affected. At one time or another, kids and teenagers get their hands on alcohol and cigarette it would be very bad if the same were to happen with marijuana. Young people should be reared in a drug free environment.
Excessive use of marijuana in public places would increase the risks of secondhand smoke damage to the rest of the people. It is also morally wrong for marijuana smokers to expose nonsmokers to its smoke. If the drug was to be legalized, it would mean that parents who use it would start smoking it in front of their children, workers in front of their employers, and teachers in front of their students. The health damage to the society would therefore become exponential. It is the role of the government to protect the public and especially children from such adverse effects. The government would look unstable if it were to legalize marijuana. It would loose its credibility in the eyes of many. The government is supposed to make rules and be ready to stand by them no matter what kind of pressure is directed towards it regarding these rules. It would be bad if the government makes a rule today and tomorrow it is abolishing it due to coercion by various groups.
Advocates for legalization of marijuana have never presented a concrete case. Some of the reasons they present cannot properly defend the legalization of marijuana. Considering the adverse effects of marijuana, it does not make sense for somebody to support its legalization arguing that, it promotes creativity, moral development, open mindedness and takes one closer to God. They also argue that illegalization of marijuana is infringement of the rights of an individual to make decisions. It would be very wrong if the government was to allow people to make decisions that would adversely affect their health. It is for the benefit of the society that, the minds of young people be protected from damage by the toxic drugs. Advocates also argue that legalizing the use of marijuana would reduce the number of criminals arrested in the United States. This however, would be like solving a problem by creating others. A very big population of marijuana abusers would sprout, posing a very grave medical risk to the future of Americans as well as America itself.
Legalizing the use of marijuana would expose the United States to global criticism. Very many people in the world view the United States as a morally upright nation. People in other nations adopt American values in their day to day life. The government would be sending a wrong message not only to Americans, but also to the whole world about the use of illegal drugs.
Conclusion
Marijuana is a psychoactive drug obtained from a plant known as cannabis sativa. For centuries, it has been used as a medicinal herb until it was banned in the United States. Various organizations have been in the forefront in the fight for the legalization of marijuana, but their efforts have been fruitless due to the governments stand on this issue. The use of marijuana should not be legalized due to the adverse health effects associated with it. Marijuana adversely affects the psychological wellbeing of an individual as well as the society. Marijuana abusers constitute the largest percentage of criminals. Legalization of the drug would expose it and even make it easily accessible to School children as well as the youth. The government would loose its credibility in the eyes of the people as well as the international community.
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