Assignment 7

            The debate over the legalization of marijuana has been widely publicized in the past couple of years.  The public is extremely polarized either for or against legalization, and both sides are very passionate about their stance.  In “Legalize Marijuana?  A Conversation with the Experts”, six professionals discuss different pros and cons of marijuana legalization.  This essay will present the two sides of marijuana legalization based on their arguments.

There were many reasons against the legalization of marijuana.  First off, it is feared that there are a lot of different negative health consequences from the use of marijuana.  It was mentioned that research found negative consequences from marijuana use that included, but were not limited to, anxiety, psychosis, early-onset schizophrenia, and paranoia.  Another health risk from use of marijuana was the potential for cannabis addiction, which is recognized by the DSM-V as a dependence disorder with a high potential for abuse.  This is especially problematic for people with addictive personalities.  When people get addicted, the addiction becomes a burden emotionally, physically, and financially for the users and their families, especially while trying to detox.  The process of breaking an addiction could be further complicated by marijuana withdrawal, which exists for some people.  If legalization of marijuana leads people to see it as a safe drug, more people will take the drug, leading to more addicts around the country, creating a public health epidemic likened to the recent prescription drugs epidemic.  Furthermore, in addition to the gateway drug theory (which states that users who try marijuana will be more inclined to try more hard-core drugs), studies on lab rats showed that male rats who were given THC regularly at a young age had offspring who actively searched for heroin, rather than offspring from rats who had no THC, who did not seek out any drugs.  Unfortunately, despite knowing all of these possible effects, it is hard to determine how a person will react to a drug, especially when potency increases.

            The idea to legalize medical marijuana also poses a problem.  First of all, there isn’t enough data to prove that marijuana has medical use to FDA standards, and legalizing medical marijuana based on a public vote will allow the drug to circumvent scientific safety testing, creating a public safety risk.  It is often thought that medicalization is just an excuse to people to commit fraud and fake pain to get medicinal marijuana for recreational use, which also makes individual states appear to be much unhealthier than they are.  Legalization of medical marijuana would call for the implementation of public policies which prevent this type of fraud from happening.  Furthermore, intoxicating drugs that keep people from functioning at their normal cognition level can hardly be called medicine, and with no known dose range, marijuana should not be voted on as a medicine to smoke.

            Finally, legalization of marijuana in the states contradicts federal law, which declares it an illegal Schedule I drug.  This discrepancy could cause tension between not only the state and federal government but also between states with differing laws on the drug.  If marijuana were to be made legal, a huge overhaul of national and state policies would be necessary, and it would be difficult to make everyone agree and to come up with a system that would work for everyone.

            However, there are many arguments that are made for the legalization of marijuana.  First off, it was argued that it can be used medically, and in fact has been used for hundreds of years as a pain reliever and relaxant.  It can also be used for many other purposes, including as a drug to increase food intake in people who have illnesses that cause them to not be hungry, such as cancer.  It was argued that after hundreds of tests, effects of the drug can indeed be predicted, especially when tolerance to the drug has been developed, and that marijuana usage does not cause cognition problems.  Though the drug may be intoxicating, it is not to be intended for use during working hours, but is intended for times of relaxation and sleep.  Other legal drugs can be intoxicating, yet are still legal.  The main key to control this is dosage, and because THC concentrations are rising, less marijuana must be smoked, leading to smaller doses and less intoxication.  You can get addicted to or take too much of any substance.  However, it was suggested that marijuana has a lower abuse potential than other drugs.  Regardless, simply saying that the drug is safe will not encourage people to smoke more.  This is merely a correlation and correlation does not lead to causation.

            Marijuana has been historically demonized, giving the public a skewed perception of the drug.  Aversion to the drug initially stemmed from racial bias, as usage of the drug was related to Mexican immigrants around the impoverished times of the Great Depression.  Now, unfounded claims about marijuana and detrimental health effects keep the public wary of this drug.  However, legalizing marijuana could lower the stigma around the drug, which could help out many people.  For example, it could minimize the pasts of people with illegal marijuana convictions, and could give them and their families the chance to start over without the record of a petty drug charge.

            Finally, legalizing marijuana would be beneficial because it would put an important decision into the hands of hopefully educated voters.  Once it is legal, different public policies can be experimented with to find out which work for society.  After a bit of experimentation a policy can be put into place that works best over time, and that produces the most good for everyone.

            In conclusion, the debate about the legalization of marijuana was heated in the video that we watched.  It will most likely be a very pressing subject in society for years to come, and though different people will think of different solutions, hopefully the solution that best benefits society will be put into place.