Gabriel Viana

Writing 1010
Tamara Webb
15 April 2016

Should Cannabis be legalized?

Can a plant popularly used to get high really be used to save lives? Are
we solving a problem with another problem? In the world there is a huge
debate on whether cannabis should be legalized or if they should crack down
on the usage of it. Cannabis or its more popular name marijuana, is
commonly known as a way to get high. Recently the argument has arisen
that it can actually be useful. In this paper I will be talking about how
legalizing cannabis can be good for the world.
People argue that cannabis can help with medical problems. But are we
content with the positives that we dont see the negatives. There is clear
evidence the regular marijuana smokers have an increased risk of heart,
lungs and mental issues. Author Stephanie Baggio wrote an article,
Patterns of Cannabis use and Prospective Associations with Health Issues
among young males. In this article Baggio brings to light the health that
arise from young men using cannabis. Did you know males thirteen through
twenty one who use cannabis tend to acquire mental issues? Marijuana
exposure during development can cause long term or possibly permanent
adverse changes in the brain. The National Institute on Drug Abuse
conducted a study on rats. The rats were exposed to marijuana. Rats

exposed to marijuana before birth, soon after birth, or during adolescence

showed notable problems with specific learning and memory tasks later in
life. Studies of marijuanas impact on humans showed the same results.
Some studies showed that regular use in teens thirteen through twenty one
can cause specific regions of the brain to reduce in volume. Regions like
memory, learning, and impulse control. So would legalizing cannabis really
be beneficial that we are willing to sacrifice our teens health, and learning?
Marijuana contains more than 400 chemicals, including sixty that can
interact with the bodys nervous system. Some side effects may include a
happy, relaxed or high feeling, slower reactions, dizziness, trouble thinking,
learning and remembering, confusion, anxiety, panic or paranoia, fast heart
rate, increased blood pressure, less interest in normal activities, hunger, dry
mouth and red eyes. One plant can change so much. Why allow something
that can alter your body so much?
Small sacrifices have to be made in order to solve bigger problems.
This is something that is well known in the medical field. If you have a
headache or pains pop in an Advil to make it go away. But by taking this
Advil you might have abdominal pains, bloating, cloudy urine, diarrhea,
heartburn, itchy skin, etc. So would you risk your teens mental health for a
chance to cure another health issue? Studies show that cannabis can be
used to cure glaucoma, improve lung health, help control epileptic seizures,
decrease anxiety, slows progression of Alzheimer, relieves arthritis, and
treats inflammatory bowel disease, and even helps stop cancer from

spreading. As amazing as this sounds I was not fully convinced until I read
the story of Charlotte. CNN did a documentary on Charlotte Figi. Six year old
Charlotte is the miniature miracle who suffered from an untreatable form of
epilepsy and used medical marijuana to cure herself. By the time she was
two years old her parents had literally tried all medications to cure her, some
which nearly ended in her demise. Enduring some fifty seizures a night, her
parents managed to get her a medical marijuana card from Colorado. After
her first dose of high CBD oil her seizures immediately stopped, her parents
claim. She emerged out of catatonic state and her parents got to meet her
for the first time. For Charlotte and her parents the risks were worth the
benefits. Another case was reported a bowel cancer patient told he had just
18 months to live claimed he was cured by cannabis oil. David Hibbitt was
diagnosed with the disease in July 2012 and underwent chemotherapy,
radiotherapy and surgery to remove his large bowel. Doctors told him the
cancer was terminal so he decided to try cannabis oil as a last resort. After
David researched cannabis he decided to give it a try. After going to
treatment at the Christie Hospital in Manchester. The cancer returned and he
had another operation in July 2013 followed by more chemotherapy. David
explains, 'In July, after doing a lot of research, I got some cannabis oil. I was
having chemo, and I was getting to a point where I couldn't really do much, I
had no energy. In August I decided I'd had enough and I was going to stop
the chemotherapy. In October, he had an operation to remove the affected
lymph nodes at the Royal Stoke University Hospital. David decided to keep

taking the cannabis oil. Following a scan in January he was given the allclear. For David the risk was worth being able to have another day to live. So
why ban a drug that will give a seizure patient their life again, and a cancer
patient another day to live?
Medical problems is not the only thing that cannabis is solving. Crime
rate in Colorado has gone down by 95 percent since they legalized
marijuana. In 2010 Colorado experienced over 35,000 court cases involving
the possession, cultivation and distribution of marijuana. In 2014 after the
legalization of Colorado has experienced less than 3,000 court cases
according to the Washington post. On top of the crime rate going down
Colorado has peaked in their tax revenues by over 60 million dollars. With
spending less money on punishing people for using cannabis and getting
more taxes Colorado has decided to build more schools. With more schools
and the focus going towards education I feel that it will benefit the people of
Colorado. By keeping people out of prisons and building more schools it will
help people make better choices instead of getting stuck as a criminal.
According to US Today 71 percent of released prisoners are convicted of a
serious crime within three years, and that 68 percent return to prison for at
least one day. Why? Because once they have been in prison they get treated
like criminals for the rest of their lives. By spending more on educations it
will allow these people to have better lives. So it shows that the legalization
of cannabis effects more than just the medical field.

The biggest difficulty with legalizing marijuana is that people say that
more people will be influenced to try it. With so much proof showing that
cannabis can be helpful for medical purposes how can we control people
from only using cannabis for medical purposes? Studies show that cannabis
is harmful for anyone under twenty one. So how do we keep them from using
this product? Many say that by having a legal age for recreational use that it
will help stop abuse. I on the other hand disagree. Alcohol is a substance that
has many restrictions. Yet out of 8.7 million people that are ages 12-21
twenty five percent are abusing alcohol. I believe that this is because of how
easy it is to get it. The same problem will be with cannabis. Forbes published
an article that stated, Marijuana use among teenagers has mostly remained
steady, though its the most popular illicit drug among U.S. kids. One in three
high school seniors has reported smoking weed in 2012. That year was the
first time the survey asked about how teens acquired the drugs. Only 6
percent had their own prescription; about a third acquired marijuana using
someone elses prescription precisely what worries some legislators.
Even though statistics right now say nothing has changed for the survey it
shows that teens will start using their friends prescriptions.
In conclusion the legalization of marijuana would be very helpful. By
legalizing it we would be able to do more studies and find all the beneficial
aspects of it. So that we can start saving lives. Even though I am for the
legalization of cannabis I am against recreational marijuana. We need to find
a way so that our teens do not get involved with this drug. By doing that our

test scores will go up, and we will be able to give the next generation a
better life.