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Danielle Burch
Life, Society, and Drugs
12/11/2014
Paul Roberts
Marijuana is a hot topic lately, as it has been legalized in some states for recreational use, and in
others for only medical use. However, most states still classify marijuana as an illegal substance. After
seeing how my father died of mesothelioma asbestos related lung cancer, I say that marijuana should be
used for cancer patients as it could have saved my father a lot of suffering. Although it should be
legalized for medical use, its recreational use should be limited.
While my father was sick with cancer and dying of starvation, the doctor suggested to him the
use of marijuana as a way to control his appetite. He refused due to personal beliefs. Any time he smelt
food he would become sick and his appetite would vanish. He would eat flavorless foods that had little
to no odor. Additionally, he had trouble sleeping and would stay up for days at a time. He was always in
pain, although he tried not to show it. The doctor said that marijuana would help relieve all of these
symptoms.
Marijuana could have lessened his suffering and given him enough time to see my little sister
graduate from high school. Watching him wither away was worse than his actual death. We didnt want
to see him suffering, and at the very least wanted see him to die in comfort. In the end his refusal left us
wanting him to die, because the pain it caused him was more than we were willing to pay to keep him
with us. I do believe that had my father been willing to smoke marijuana, not only would his final
months been easier on him, but on the rest of my family as well. It was hard to see my father, a
normally heavy man, shrink from 300 to 100 pounds. Its one of the guiltiest feelings a person can have,
to wish their father was dead rather than to see him suffer.

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One in eight felons in The United States was convicted for marijuana use; thats 1 million dollars
a year to put marijuana users in prison. While in Denver, Colorado, violent crimes went down by 2.5 %
in the three months after it was legalized. Reports of robberies went down by 6.2 %, stolen property
went down 13%, and criminal mischief went up by .5% (NORML 2). The amount of crimes going down
vs. the amount going up makes it seem that legalization would do good for our economy by saving tax
dollars as well as reducing the amount of felonies making drug users more likely to get hired and
contribute to our economy (Mcbride). Additionally, it would reduce the number of prison inmates.
While marijuana is blamed for driving accidents, the facts to prove this are absent. Many claim
that drivers who are high are more likely to be in a car accident, but they are aware of their impairment
and over compensate for it. Drivers who are high drive slower, give themselves more time, and are
hyper vigilant while driving. Only 4.3 percent of crashes can be blamed on marijuana and that is
because the driver had THC in their system, not that they were high at the time, which cannot be proved
(NORML). Because it is difficult to judge whether someone is high or not is part of the reason why the
outright legalization of marijuana is difficult to justify; we would need the ability to test for THC levels
the same way we test for sobriety.
Marijuana is also blamed for accidents at work, and can bar workers from getting compensation
from time off work because of an injury. People who smoke are less likely to act out as they get
paranoid. Paranoia comes with the high. People know that getting high is a felony in most states and
do not want to get. As with driving, they over compensate for this by making sure to do nothing that
would be called out of the ordinary. When the workers are hurt, as with driving, a test will only prove
that they have smoked, and not that they were high as the time of the accident, however because they
test positive, they are still barred from compensation.
Studies show that marijuana is linked to workers being 75% less likely to show up for work (Is
Marijuana). This is the difference between showing up for and missing work. Without a job you

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cannot afford your next fix, or your rent. Drug users do not go back to work for their next fix, many will
skip on rent and become homeless. In the United States 68% of cities called drug use the leading cause
of single adults being homeless (Substance Abuse). Many homeless standing on street corners
begging for money gave up on work and paying their rent. They became obsessed with their next fix.
While a small percentage of those are because of marijuana itself, most report that they started with
marijuana.
Another issue with the paranoia that comes with smoking is that smokers will begin to suspect
friends and family. They are so worried about getting caught that they will push away the people who
care most about them. They will claim that their family does not understand, and that marijuana is not
hurting them. Smokers become defensive because they do not want to believe that they are hurting not
only themselves but their friends and family. Once the people around them begin to give up and move
on the smoker is now alone which plunges them into depression.
Most of experimenting and using of other drugs begins when a smoker is not being closely
watched and feels that they can get away with using other drugs. They high the user was so fond of
because it masked a problem fades and when they come back to reality the problem is worse. This is
when they turn to other drugs because marijuana no longer works (Is Marijuana).
Marijuana is called the gateway drug(Is Marijuana). Its easy to start on marijuana
because it seems like it will not cause harm. Many begin smoking because they are pressured by friends
and want to seem cool. When the high is not as strong, kids will move on to other drugs such as
methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroine. This process often begins with lacing marijuana with
hallucinogens such as PCP. Many users will even get marijuana that they do now know has been laced.
Once they begin to lace it with other drugs, its easier to move on from hallucinogens to other drugs.
In studies to see if pregnant mothers smoking marijuana had a negative effect on babies, there
was no evidence saying that the drug could be linked with birth defects. However, the mother is

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exposed to carbon monoxide, as well as tar which can stay in the lungs for months and deplete oxygen
the for the baby developing in the womb. This leads many mothers to smoke while pregnant, thinking
that the baby will not be harmed. I have known several mothers who smoked while pregnant, some say
only a little, some say as much as you want. The story varies on how much the mother likes to smoke.
This is a real problem because studies have linked marijuana smoke while pregnant to early births and
low birth weights as well as babies being put into intensive care. From my experience, mothers will
make excuses to keep using while pregnant even though they are potentially harming their child
(Alvarado).
The phrase, clean and green, has attributed to users thinking that marijuana is not harmful,
and as long as one does not use anything else (other than mushrooms), no harm will be done. Drug
dealers have cleverly disguised marijuana, which is likely the least harmful illegal drug, as something safe
to use. With this thinking, and lack of facts, kids and pregnant mothers are more likely to take the drug.
The drug is advertised as unaddictive, which is not true. Being able to quit at any time seems safe, it
seems harmless. This is the argument of many children and pregnant mothers. I can quit anytime I
want to, this will not harm my baby. Little do these people know that they are slowing and even
stopping their own growth, and to a pregnant mother, possibly causing a miscarriage because the fetus
will stop developing.
Marijuana has harmful effects for recreational users, but incarcerating legal offenders for purely
marijuana is a waste of resources. Many of what people think are facts are here say, taken as truths by
people who want to think that the facts they hear are true, and could be fixed by educating people.
Marijuana should be used for purely medical reasons. Not only can marijuana treat cancer, but many
other conditions such as chronic pain, and illness. Incarcerating for drug use is wasteful and drug
offenders should be charged with community service and fines which would help the economy rather
than draining it.

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Works Cited
Alvarado, Sonia. "Baby Blog: Clearing The Smoke About Marijuana Use During
Pregnancy."MotherToBaby California. Mothertobabyca.org, 7 Feb. 2014. Web. 11 Dec.
2014. <http://www.mothertobabyca.org/high-times-for-marijuana-clearing-the-smoke-aboutmarijuana-use-during-pregnancy/>.
"Is Marijuana Bad for You? Health Effects & Dangers of Smoking Weed - Drug-Free World."Is
Marijuana Bad for You? Health Effects & Dangers of Smoking Weed - Drug-Free World. The
Foundation For A Drug Free World. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/marijuana/behind-the-smoke-screen.html>.
Mcbride, Kailey. "Utah News | KSL.com." Utah News | KSL.com. KSL, 14 Apr. 2014. Web. 11 Dec.
2014. <http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=29478930>.
"NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws." Marijuana and Driving: A Review of the
Scientific Evidence. Norml. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. <http://norml.org/library/item/marijuana-anddriving-a-review-of-the-scientific-evidence>.
"NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws." Nearly One In Eight US Drug Prisoners Are
Behind Bars For Pot. Norml, 12 Oct. 2006. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
<http://norml.org/news/2006/10/12/nearly-one-in-eight-us-drug-prisoners-are-behind-barsfor-pot-taxpayers-spending-over-1-billion-annually-to-incarcerate-pot-offenders>.
"Substance Abuse and Homelessness." Nationalhomeless.org. National Coalition for the Homeless,,
1 July 2009. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/addiction.pdf>.