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Alyssa Hilliard
Professor Stanger
College Writing
Marijuana has been used for various reasons for thousands of years. For instance, in first-
century China, “Surgeon Hua Tuo reportedly performed painless surgery using an anesthetic made
from cannabis resin and wine” (Wanlund). Today, it is used to reduce the symptoms of many
ailments and it can help with stress through recreational use. Even though studies have proven the
benefits and medical properties that marijuana has, it is still illegal to use in the United States of
America. However, some states have utilized one (21 of 50) or both (8 of 50) purposes ("State
Marijuana Laws”). Marijuana should be legalized for medical and recreational use at the federal
level.
Marijuana has many resources that can help heal people. In the past, it was used to help
treat “menstrual fatigue, malaria, rheumatism, gout, boils, constipation and ‘absent-mindedness’”
(Koch). As time went on, different people found new medical uses for marijuana, such as to
“increase appetite, mental cheerfulness, and to help with depression” (Koch). Eventually marijuana
was replaced by “more chemically stable drugs for pain relief, including aspirin, chloral hydrate,
barbiturates and opiates administered with hypodermic syringes” (Koch). Even though these drugs
replaced marijuana, they are not necessarily safer. According to International Business Times,
“Prescription drugs kill about 100,000 people in the world each year” (“Medical Marijuana”).
Whereas “Marijuana,.…, medical or not, is not only non-lethal, but likely beneficial” (“Medical
Marijuana”). One leader of marijuana research, Dr. Paul Hornby, said “I've heard you have to
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smoke something like 15,000 joints in 20 minutes to get a toxic amount of delta-9
marijuana is legalized, it is used to help alleviate the symptoms of “Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy,
multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, arthritis, depression, anxiety, hepatitis C, morning sickness, cancer,
HIV/AIDS and chemotherapy” (“Medical Marijuana”). Obviously, marijuana has many medicinal
Marijuana should also be legalized for recreational use because it alleviates stress and is
not as unhealthy as tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs. In one study, twelve teens that smoke
marijuana to help with stress were interviewed. They found that these teens smoked to help with
“dealing with bullying at school, heavy demands of school work, taxing shifts at work, and just
"giving as much as you can" alongside difficult relationships with parents or guardians, and
receiving threats from neighbors” (Bottorff, Johnson, Moffat, & Mulvogue). By smoking, the teens
were able to manage these situations better and “helped them feel "not so nervous" and "not so
uptight about everything"” (Bottorff, Johnson, Moffat, & Mulvogue). Facts and studies show that
marijuana is safer than tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. Marijuana has never killed anyone, while
alcohol kills about “88,000 people” ("Alcohol Facts and Statistics") every year, tobacco kills about
“480,000 deaths per year” ("Fast Facts"), and “during 2014, 47,055 drug overdose deaths occurred
in the United States” (Rudd). Also, if recreational use was legal, it could possibly help reduce
crime rates and generate more revenue for the state government (Dills, Goffard, & Miron).
According to The National Academy of Sciences, “chronic marijuana users, THC — the active
ingredient in pot — actually causes a decrease in “aggressive and violent behavior”’ (Ferner).
Legalization could also help states collect more revenue from taxes. For instance, “Colorado made
$135 million from recreational marijuana taxes in 2015, or more than $10 million per month. In
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Washington, the state collected double the forecasted amount with $70 million during the first year
of sales. Oregon, which began taxing recreational marijuana in January, has collected $14.9
million in taxes so far, far more than the predicted $2 million to $3 million.” (Summers). That’s
only three states, if it was legalized federally it could bring in a lot of money for the economy.
While some studies show recreational use could help decrease crime rates and make more money
On the other hand, some argue that legalizing marijuana will lead to use/abuse of harder
drugs and/or alcohol, evade laws, and increase use among young people. In 2009, John Lovell said
“medical marijuana has virtually nothing to do with medicine and everything to do with attempting
to evade controlled-substance laws” (Katel). Others also argue that “younger users are more likely
to become addicted to marijuana, and are at a higher risk of developing mental and physical
problems, than are older users” (Foerstel). However, The Denver Post said “One out of every five
Colorado teens say they have used marijuana in the last month, but that rate has not increased since
pot was legalized in the state and is in line with the national average, according to a new report
from the state Health Department” (Ingold). Advocates of legalization said that “prohibiting
marijuana has done nothing to stop teenagers usage,” which was backed by a study “by the
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment found that teenage use had dropped
slightly in the years since the state legalized marijuana” (Foerstel). Some people who do not want
marijuana to be legalized, have said that using marijuana can lead to harder drugs and/or alcohol
abuse. On the contrary, the Institute of Medicine said “Marijuana “does not appear to be a gateway
drug to the extent that it is the cause or even that it is the most significant predictor of serious drug
abuse”’ (Boffey). Another argument made is that marijuana kills people. Bruce Mirken stated that
“about 7 million Americans illegally use prescription drugs in a given month” and in correlation to
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that, said “there has never been a system devised by humans that someone won't manage to cheat”
(Katel). Finally, marijuana does not kill people and has “never been the direct contributor to a
Although, some might say marijuana is just a way to cheat the system or harmful to the
people who use it, marijuana has never directly killed anyone. It has many medicinal purposes and
could be a better option for people instead of prescription drugs. Recreationally, there are many
benefits that can help people manage stress and is a safer option than other drugs, alcohol, or
tobacco. Marijuana should be legalized for medical and recreational use at the federal level,
because the benefits and medical properties marijuana has outweighs any kind of drawbacks it may
have.
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Works Cited
International Business Times 08 Aug. 2012: Regional Business News. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.
Katel, Peter. “Legalizing Marijuana.” CQ Researcher 12 June 2009: 525-48. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
Wanlund, William. “Marijuana Industry.” CQ Researcher 16 Oct. 2015: 865-88. Web. 17 Nov.
2016.
Foerstel, Karen. “Marijuana Legalization.” CQ Researcher 23 Aug. 2016. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
Koch, Kathy. "Medical Marijuana." CQ Researcher 20 Aug. 1999: 705-28. Web. 6 Dec. 2016.
Dills, Angela, Sietse Goffard, and Jeffrey Miron. "Dose of Reality: The Effect of State Marijuana
Legalizations." Cato Institute. Cato Institute, 16 Sept. 2016. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.
"State Marijuana Laws in 2016 Map." Governing Magazine: State and Local Government News
Bottorff, Joan L., Joy L. Johnson, Barbara M. Moffat, and Tamsin Mulvogue. "Relief-oriented Use
"Alcohol Facts and Statistics." National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and
"Fast Facts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and
Rudd, Rose A, et al. "Increases In Drug And Opioid Overdose Deaths--United States, 2000-
Ferner, Matt. "Legalizing Medical Marijuana May Actually Reduce Crime, Study Says." The
Summers, DJ. "Study Says Legalized Marijuana Does Not Affect Crime or Economics." Alaska
Ingold, John. "Marijuana Use Remains Flat among Colorado Teens, Survey Finds." The Denver
Boffey, Philip M. "What Science Says About Marijuana." The New York Times. N.p., 30 July