Opposing views

     Although legalizing marijuana for recreational use is an ethically logical idea, many people still oppose such a thing. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, "Research clearly demonstrates that marijuana has the potential to cause problems in daily life or make a person's existing problems worse" (NIDA 7). However, one can make the same argument for the already legal alcohol which is clearly far more dangerous and much worse than marijuana. Heidi Stevenson states that "researchers did brain scans on adolescents before and after an 18-month period during which they used alcohol or marijuana, abstained, or consumed them minimally. Those who drank five or more alcoholic drinks two or more times per week lost white matter brain tissue, which is required for memory, attention, and decision-making". She then goes on to explain that "no changes in brain scans could be found in teens who used marijuana as much as nine times a week. Not even the heaviest users suffered any brain damage" (Stevenson 6). This is significant. If a substance (alcohol) can impair a person in such a way and still remain legal while marijuana which is far less harmful remains illegal, then what exactly is meant by the word legal?

     Marijuana users are treated as criminals while alcohol users are considered socially acceptable. According to Stephen Webster ,"755,000 people were arrested in 2011 for marijuana possession" (Webster 2). Now these people who were arrested have unnecessary blemishes on the record. In my personal life, many of my friends have been arrested for marijuana use and/or possession. They will now have a harder time getting quality jobs and getting into certain schools. If marijuana were legal these kind of insignificant things would not tremendously affect one's life.

     Prohibition was tried on alcohol (1920-1933) and failed miserably. The citizens did not agree with the government's decision on keeping alcohol illegal. The citizens had/have a demand for alcohol and the government respected it, the same needs to happen for marijuana. Marijuana needs to be made legal for recreational use so that the law enforcement can focus more attention to actual criminal acts that threaten society in America.

"DrugFacts: Marijuana." drugabuse.gov. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dec. 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana

 

Stevenson, Heidi. "Alcohol Kills Brain Cells, But Marijuana Doesn’t." gaia-health.com. N.p., 27 Dec. 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. http://gaia-health.com/gaia-blog/2012-12-27/marijuana-does-not-harm-brains-but-alcohol-does/

 

Webster, Stephen C. ""America’s 2011 drug war tally: One marijuana arrest every 42 seconds."." The Raw Story (2012). Web. 14 Apr. 2013. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/10/29/americas-2011-drug-war-tally-one-marijuana-arrest-every-42-seconds