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Exploring Marijuana’s Controversial Status
Everyone is familiar with the recreational drug marijuana. It is one of the most used drugs among Americans today. Even though it is legal in some states, the government still debates whether it should be legal in all states.
Debunking Misconceptions: Marijuana’s Potential Benefits
While most people feel like marijuana is bad for your body, there is a good percentage of the population who feel like marijuana can be used for some good. Many people just want to focus on the negative when it comes to marijuana, but they fail to realize that it can help the body in numerous ways. The main problem people seem to have with marijuana is that they seem to think that it kills your brain cells when it has been scientifically proven that it does not. People have to come to realize that all drugs have their side effects, but marijuana is one of the better recreational drugs.
Balancing the Scales: The Positive and Negative Effects of Marijuana
Marijuana can be used for many other things other than the average person “getting high.” Marijuana has relaxing effects that can help people who are battling depression, social anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and many more health problems. These are just some of the more serious health problems. People who are battling with these disorders are seeking help and want a way out. Marijuana has been legalized in some states for medical uses only. But what about the people who live in the states where it is not legalized? What about the people who can’t afford the proper insurance they need to get a license for medical marijuana? If the United States would go ahead and legalize weed, there would be a decrease in health problems.
Just like any other recreational drug, marijuana does have its negative effects. Smoking marijuana can lead to problems with coordination; hence, people should not operate a vehicle under the influence of weed. It can cause one to have difficulty with problem-solving and thinking. Your brain is not processing the situations at hand as quickly as it should because you are in a state of relaxation. Those are just a few short-term problems. The main long-term problem some people have is that marijuana can affect how the brain develops if it is not used for the right reason. It can affect the way the brain works to connect all the pieces together, such as your learning functions, your memory, and your thinking. Even though these side effects are not really minor, these effects only come if you abuse the drug.
Comparing Marijuana’s Impact to Other Drugs
If you were to compare the negative side effects of marijuana to the side effects of other drugs, you would see that marijuana is harmless compared to them. You have heard of many people dying in car crashes under the influence of alcohol, but you rarely ever heard of people dying under the influence of marijuana. Marijuana does not cause one to act out as alcohol does because marijuana helps the body go into a stage of relaxation. Alcohol is one of the leading causes of death, but it is legal.
The government just tells people not to drive under the influence of alcohol, but what is that stopping? People are still dying almost every day from car crashes while under the influence, especially young adults and high school teenagers. It has been said that marijuana can help cure cancer, whereas tobacco is one of the main causes of lung cancer. The side effects of marijuana just do not seem to compare to the side effects of many other drugs.
Many people always use marijuana for their own personal reasons. People use marijuana to help them go to sleep at night, eat during the day, and sometimes just to relax their bodies. Marijuana can cause an increase in your metabolism, causing them to eat and snack more throughout the day. People should still watch what they eat when they are under the influence because weight gain is a possible outcome. It can also cause drowsiness. This is one of the main side effects. Some people know that their bodies can not fight the drowsiness that comes with smoking marijuana, so it is possible for them to sleep through the night under the influence of weed.
Current Legal Landscape
Out of all 50 states, 10 states have legalized the use of marijuana for recreational use to adults over the age of 21. Thirty-three other states have legalized medical marijuana for the time being.
References:
- Volkow, N. D., Baler, R. D., Compton, W. M., & Weiss, S. R. B. (2014). Adverse health effects of marijuana use. New England Journal of Medicine, 370(23), 2219-2227.
- Hasin, D. S., Saha, T. D., Kerridge, B. T., Goldstein, R. B., Chou, S. P., Zhang, H., … & Grant, B. F. (2015). Prevalence of marijuana use disorders in the United States between 2001-2002 and 2012-2013. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(12), 1235-1242.
- National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2020). Marijuana Research Report: What are marijuana’s effects on lung health? Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/what-are-marijuanas-effects-lung-health
- Center on Addiction. (2021). Marijuana Use Increases Among Adults, but Remains Stable Among Teens. Retrieved from https://www.centeronaddiction.org/addiction-research/reports/marijuana-use-increases-among-adults-remains-stable-among-teens
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Impaired Driving: Get the Facts. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving/impaired-drv_factsheet.html
- National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2021). Marijuana as Medicine. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana-medicine
- National Cancer Institute. (2021). Cannabis and Cannabinoids (PDQ®)–Patient Version. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/patient/cannabis-pdq
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2021). Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt29393/2020NSDUHFFRPDFWHTML/2020NSDUHFFR1PDFW090120.pdf
- ProCon.org. (2021). Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC. Retrieved from https://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/legal-medical-marijuana-states-and-dc/
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