Rudra Patel

Professor Whittener

EH102

3/30/21

Why Marijuana Should be Legalized in the United States

Marijuana is a drug that can be used to feel psychoactive effects and senses of relaxation.

It has been seen as an illegal drug in the United States since 1937 when the first federal U.S. law

was passed to criminalize it. Despite it being an illegal drug, marijuana use in the United States

has been present since the early 1900s. Aside from the negative connotations, legalizing the drug

would have helpful properties such as being used in medicine to treat different conditions,

legalizing the drug would decrease teen marijuana use, on the other hand, the black market and

organized crime would benefit from the drug becoming legalized.

Marijuana has been used in medicine since 1850. Marijuana is specifically used for the

active chemicals found in it. The main compound used from Marijuana is THC which is the

psychoactive ingredient found within. Now we may be wondering how marijuana helps with

medical problems and the solution to that are cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are the active

chemiacls found in medical marijuana and are similar to the chemicals the body makes that are

involved in appetite, memory, movement and pain. Marijuana can be used to treat many different

health conditions, for example, Parkinson’s Disease. The science that lies behind it’s help is in

the endocannabinoid system which is located in the brain and is made up of cannabinoid

receptors that are linked to neurons that regulate thinking and some bodily functions. A study

done in Madrid, spain explored what would happen to Parkinson’s symptoms such as

ataxia/dyskinesia when in contact with marijuana. The scientists used mice and injected them
with a mouse modeled strain of Parkinson’s, and then proceeded to inject them with different

concentrations of Delta9-THC. After performing this test, the mice underwent behavioral

analysis and then finally the scientists harvested their brains for a chemical analysis. The results

of this experiment showed that following the treatment with THC, the mice showed increased

tolerance to pain, they showed reduced motor skills, and the tremors were reduced due to the

activity of the THC.

In addition to its health benefits, the legalization of marijuana leads to decreased teen

marijuana use. Studies done at Washington University School of Medicine found that “the rates

of marijuana use by young people are falling despite the fact more US states are legalizing or

decriminalizing marijuana use and the number of adults using the drug has increased” They

showed that the marijuana use among 8th graders in the state of Washington dropped from 9.8%

to 7.3% in 2012 following the legalization of the drug. Another study from the Centers for

Disease Control (CDC) found that past-year drug use decreased from 17% to 15.8% in 2002 and

then to 13.1% in 2014 among kids from ages 12 to 17. With marijuana being illegal, the only

way to obtain it would be through somebody else, which tends to be a dangerous drug dealer. If

teenagers that smoke marijuana come in contact with these drug dealers their safety becomes a

risk as well. The Marijuana Policy Project which is an organization that leads marijuana

legalization campaigns said that “Study after study has confirmed that marijuana policy reforms

do not cause rates of youth marijuana use to increase…” Therefore, legalizing marijuana in the

United States proves to keep the drug away from the youth and more focused towards adults.

However, marijuana has its downsides as well. For example, taking marijuana before

driving or attempting to handle machinery is not a good idea because of it’s psychoactive effects.

These effects may make you feel tired, dizzy or even loopy at times. Because of the way that the
drug affects your body, I believe that restrictions should be put into place before fully legalizing

it. Despite it’s effects, when being compared to alcohol, people who have taken marijuana

previous to driving show little to no difference in their driving style while with alcohol on the

other hand, almost everyone that consumed alcohol before driving failed their tests. Another

reason that legalizing marijuana in the United States could not benefit the greater good is that

The black market and organized crime benefit from it. According to law enforcement, legal

marijuana has increased the opportunity for the black market. They have more opportunity

because they can undercut the licensed sellers. In Colorado, an increase in marijuana related

charges were filed after the state legalized marijuana. The Colorado Attorney General’s office

stated that the legalization “has inadvertently helped fuel the business of Mexican drug cartels.

Cartels are now trading drugs like heroin for marijuana, and the trade has since opened the door

to drug and human trafficking.” In addition to this, legalizing marijuana would clear it from the

term of being a “gateway drug” because it removes the negative connotation from the name. The

legalization would separate marijuana from other “hard” drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

In conclusion, the legalization of marijuana in the United States can lead to many benefits

to society, but on the other hand there are some downfalls that are seen. Being used in medicine

fairly often, marijuana helps many people with treating symptoms like pain from chronic

diseases. The legalization would also help control drugs from getting to the youth with more

restrictions. Even though the drug helps many, the downfalls and the ties to gang violence and

cartels may never vanish.

References

“Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Legalization.” Marijuana: A Short History, by JOHN

HUDAK, 2nd ed., Brookings Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 2020, pp. 191–218. JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/10.7864/j.ctvwh8fk7.18. Accessed 30 Mar. 2021.

ProCon.org, "Recreational Marijuana." ProCon.org. 13 Nov. 2018, marijuana.procon.org/

, Parkinson's Foundation. “Medical Marijuana.” Parkinson's Foundation,

www.parkinson.org/Understanding-Parkinsons/Treatment/Medical-Marijuana.