Tang 1 Mark Tang Professor Ellen Harcourt WRT 1010, Section 09 December 3, 2013 The Green is Grasser at Mary

Janes The debate over legalizing Marijuana has raged on for decades. In the 1930s, the government portrayed marijuana users as dangerous and irrational. The banning and illegalization of marijuana was in full effects with propaganda campaigns using movies like Reefer Madness to show the harms of marijuana. At the time, marijuana was an unknown substance that caused people to act abnormally. It frightened the general public and is easy to see why it was banned. However, more than 80 years have passed and marijuana is no longer an unknown substance to be scared of. We now have a better understanding of the drugs properties and abilities. Weve learned the benefits and consequences marijuana grants users and have learned its not as dangerous like other illegal drugs such as crystal meth and cocaine. Advocates for marijuana to remain illegal say that legalization with create a domino effect of problems that will hurt our nation. However, the current illegal status of marijuana is causing more harm than good. Failure to legalize marijuana results in greater harm to youths, strengthens the Mexican cartel, and creates limitations for medical advances. Advocates for marijuana to remain illegal argue that legalization will put children and teenagers at risk, become a gateway for harder drug usage, and increase crime. Marijuana is the most common illicit drug used by adolescents in the United States. A third of those who try it more than once will use it regularly. Marijuana is a drug of dependence, and the earlier a youngster tries it, the greater the risk (Teen Drug Use Katel). Andrea G. Barthwell, a firm

Tang 2 believer of keeping marijuana illegal, discusses how the portrayal of marijuana in media, entertainment, and on the internet is promoting youths to experiment with marijuana. Studies by the Office of National Drug Control Policy found a relationship between illicit-drug use by young people and exposure to popular music lyrics and music videos, which often portray drugs as exciting and fashionable (Teen Drug Use Katel). She goes on to say that if we legalized marijuana, we are essentially giving permission to adolescents to use marijuana (Teen Drug Use Katel). Advocates also argue that by allowing recreational marijuana use, we are creating a scenario where marijuana will no longer be good enough for users and theyll eventually look towards using harder and more dangerous drugs. Advocates also say that the demand for drugs is the source of many criminal activities and by legalizing marijuana; we are only promoting more drug related crimes (Drug Legalization).When discussing the increased crime caused by the Mexican cartel and the high demand for marijuana, advocates blame the demand by saying If marijuana and other drugs were not bought so frequently by U.S. consumers, the Mexican cartels would not be able to collect enough revenue to fund their operations (Would Legalizing Marijuana Prolong or End Mexico's Drug Wars?). We are seeing more and younger adolescences trying marijuana (Teen Drug Use Katel). This is a cause for concern. However, the legalization of marijuana would not directly result in an increase in marijuana consumption in youths (Teen Drug Use Katel). The increase of marijuana usage within adolescents is attributed by glorified portrayals in media, a lack of education and awareness, and peer pressure. The combination of curiosity and peer pressure are what tempt adolescents to try marijuana. Since its an illegal drug, youths are taught that marijuana is bad, but not why its considered bad. They only understand that they are not

Tang 3 allowed to have it. This results in temptation and desire which directly attributes to youths trying marijuana. Youths being very impressionable by their peers will influence others to try marijuana creating a peer pressure domino effect. Television programs, movies, actors, and adult figures glorify the usage of marijuana. These mediums are highly influential with youths and directly influence their decisions. Youths are being exposed to glorified portrayals of drugs at very young ages. The same can be said about alcohol. Alcohol is also introduced to children at a young age and heavily glamorized by the media and adults, more so than marijuana. However, the dangers of alcohol have much more exposure than the dangers of marijuana. Teens are taught that alcohol can be dangerous in the hands of someone irresponsible. That alcohol kills 75,000 people in the United States alone, and for that reason is restricted to individuals ages 21 and older who understand the associated responsibilities (Johnson). No such awareness is taught about marijuana except that its illegal. Legalizing marijuana would result in more education and awareness of the potential harms. Like cigarettes and alcohol, the FDA or another government administration would regulate marijuana. The government would set purchasing age restrictions and education of the product would follow. Proper education about the use of marijuana will allow youths to understand that using marijuana, like tobacco and alcohol, comes with responsibilities. The usage of marijuana is a personal choice that is decided by an individual, and the responsibilities of that choice are given to that individual. Adolescences that lack awareness and education about the effects of drugs are at risk. 18-year-old David Rozga, of Indianola, Iowa committed suicide last year after smoking the marijuana look-alike drug K2 (Teen Drug Use Katel). Teens often are not aware of the risk and associated dangers of drugs. Michelle Lipinski runs a school in Beverly, Mass., for teens

Tang 4 trying to overcome addictions. We have people walking past school every single day getting high. she says, Its just weed. If I hear, It's just weed one more time, I'm going to stick a fork in my eye (Teen Drug Use Katel). The drug-related crimes of the Mexican cartel continue to grow, as a result, so has their power. The Mexican cartel has been engaged in a seven year drug war resulting in kidnappings, torture, public displays of violence, and over 50,000 deaths (War on Drugs Katel). Experts estimate that the trafficking of illegal substances across the U.S.Mexico border is worth tens of billions of dollars annually. Because the border is so long, drug enforcement agents find only a small percentage of the drug shipments illegally entering the U.S (Would Legalizing Marijuana Prolong or End Mexico's Drug Wars?). California officials say that the market for marijuana in California was large enough to make a dent in the drug cartels' business, depriving them of the profits they needed to operate and buy weapons (Would Legalizing Marijuana Prolong or End Mexico's Drug Wars?). Making the buying and selling of marijuana a legitimate industry would diminish the reasons and opportunity for violence in drug-producing countries like Mexico. As Ruben Aguilar, a former spokesperson for former Mexican President Vicente Fox, told the Los Angeles Times, "People in California will be in their supermarkets and their Walmarts with their legal pot, and down here we'll be killing each other. Things will have to change here. It makes no sense for us to keep killing" weapons (Would Legalizing Marijuana Prolong or End Mexico's Drug Wars?). While legalizing marijuana would not end the Mexican cartels drug war or cease all drug-trafficking, it would at least limit both the cartels purchasing power and the U.S as a source of revenue.

Tang 5 While many states are legalizing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, many states are still against the idea. So long as such resistance is meet, the advancement of medication utilizing THC properties are going to be limited. For example, trials being conducted to discover the medicinal properties of marijuana were shut down by the government (Koch) The government has control over the trials because they alone control the legal supplies of researchquality marijuana (Koch). Currently, medicinal marijuana is used to manage pain, nausea, vomiting, aiding cancer patients, and aiding patients with multiple sclerosis (Koch). Medicinal Marijuana is government controlled. Some states are cautious about medicinal marijuana and limit the uses of prescriptions and qualifying illnesses (Koch). This shows that the government can successfully regulate the buying and selling of marijuana. Skeptics claim that the healing properties of marijuana come from a sense of euphoria; a patient only feels better because they think they are better. However, Bill Zimmerman, executive director of the San Diego-based Americans for Medical Rights (AMR), argues that when hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of patients come forward, all describing the same phenomenon in more or less the same terms, it is time to put scientific rigor aside and accept the obvious truth (Koch). In addition, Tim Smith, a 35-year-old computer specialist diagnosed with Hodgkins disease found salvation in medicinal marijuana. Tim began smoking marijuana after his chemotherapy treatments. It would relieve the dull throbbing pain and would calm me down, he says. Then I'd start eating like a horse. (Koch). The healing abilities of marijuana have helped tens of thousands of people and have provided an inexpensive and safe alternative to other medications. The legalization of marijuana could result in the medical aid of millions of people, along with the development of new methods, practices, and technologies for medical advancements.

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Works Cited "Drug Legalization." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 5 Jan. 2001. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. Johnson, Vernon. I'll Quit Tomorrow: A Practical Guide to Alcoholism Treatment: HarperOne, 1990. Print. Katel, Peter. "Teen Drug Use." CQ Researcher 3 June 2011: 481-504. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. Katel, Peter. "War on Drugs." CQ Researcher 2 June 2006: 481-504. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. Koch, Kathy. "Medical Marijuana." CQ Researcher 20 Aug. 1999: 705-28. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. "Would Legalizing Marijuana Prolong or End Mexico's Drug Wars?" Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 25 Apr. 2011. Web. 11 Dec. 2013