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Nicholas Caine
Aughenbaugh
English 12
13 March 2015
Pro Legalization of Marijuana
For cancer patients going through chemotherapy and radiation death like pain is just
another normal day, marijuana can help decrease the symptoms obtained from radiation and
chemotherapy such as regaining of appetite, decrease in pain, slowing down tumor growth,
helping with dizziness and sleep. In 1973 Oregon and twelve other states, including local cities
like Washington DC have altered their laws to concave the penalties for marijuana. At this point
in time marijuana laws in some states and cities make it legal to use medical and or recreational
marijuana, the problem is that the federal government has not legalized any form of marijuana
yet in the United States. This means that the federal government can discipline you for marijuana
possession even if it's legal in the state you live in. Marijuana attracts people who need this
beneficial plant such as the elderly and people with troubling pain but it also attracts teenagers
who want to become part of the clique, experiment and or need a "get away".
One thing that could be a deciding factor on whether marijuana should be legalized or not
is comparing it to alcohol. Alcohol is an intoxicating component found in things such as beer,
liquor, wine and other drinks. The immediate effects of both marijuana and alcohol are similar,
they both "impair judgment, slow reaction time, affect coordination, motor skills, increases risk
for accidents, and changes behavior and mood" (Smith). It also may increase chances for cancer
and pregnancy defects. Both marijuana and alcohol can take a toll on the body. However, alcohol
has been linked to 88,000 deaths per year (Brownstein). Marijuana has not been linked to those
types of numbers. Research into marijuana's health effects is still in its infancy, compared with
the rigorous studies looking at alcohol and human health (Brownstein).
The short term health consequences on alcohol are that drinking too much can kill. The
inability to process alcohol as quickly as it is consumed can lead to a buildup of alcohol in the

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brain that shuts down areas necessary for survival. The short term health consequences on
marijuana is that it affects the cardiovascular system, increasing heart rate and blood pressure,
but a person can't overdose on pot like they can with alcohol. You can die binge drinking five
minutes after you've been exposed to alcohol. That isn't going to happen with marijuana,
according to Ruben Baler, a health scientist at the National Institution on Drug Abuse
(Brownstein). Subtle effects don't equate with no danger, as in the case with smoking cigarettes,
which is linked with 440,000 deaths per year in the United States (Brownstein). Alcohol is more
likely than marijuana to interact with other drugs. Still, both drugs can affect health in different
ways.
The long term health consequences on alcohol is that drinking can lead to alcoholic liver
disease, which can progress to fibrosis of the liver, which in turn can potentially lead to liver
cancer. Chronic marijuana use are not well established, evidence marijuana can worsen
psychiatric issues for people who are predisposed to them or bring them on at a younger age. Can
bring on bronchitis, coughing and chronic inflammation of the air passages. It is still unclear why
marijuana smoke does not have the same result as tobacco smoke on the lungs, but perhaps some
beneficial compounds in the marijuana smoke cancel out the ill effects.
In 1970, United States Congress placed marijuana in Schedule 1 of the controlled
substances act because they considered it to have no accepted medical use (Medical). Since
then, 23 of the 50 states and Washington D.C. have legalized the medical use of marijuana.
(Medical) Proponents of medical marijuana argue that it can be a safe and effective treatment for
the symptoms of cancer, aids, multiple Sclerosis, pain, glaucoma, epilepsy, and others. Usually
when you think of alcohol you wouldn't normally think that it has any benefits, but it indeed
does. Moderate drinkers can have lower rates of cardiovascular disease and fewer colds. In
marijuana, there is ample evidence that beneficial compounds can be found in the plant. "Once

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such chemicals are in a pure form, and researchers understand their effects on the body, then they
could be put in clinical trials for use in cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, glaucoma and other
diseases" (Brownstein).
One concern is that decriminalizing marijuana will result in greater use of the drug. If
true there could be associated increases in the non-criminal justice costs associated with medical,
mental health and even losses in worker productivity access to and use of the drug rises. One
would suggest that decimalization would result in significant increases in use? Marijuana despite
its criminalization is widely used by a large proportion of the United States population. A recent
national survey conducted by the United States Government reported that "twenty five point
eight million people or nearly once a year uses marijuana on a monthly basis" (Austin). And 47
percent of all adults have tried marijuana at least once. Another concern is that decriminalization
will lead to an increase in crime and therefore increase the need for criminal justice resources for
the rising crime rates. "This would begin with the well-known fact that a high proportion of the
seven million plus persons under the control of the adult correctional system have recently used
an illegal drug" (Austin). The logic of the drug use causes crime argument is that since so
many offenders have used illegal drugs than it must be the cause of criminal behavior
(Austin). One could also argue that the eating ice cream is a cause of crime since most criminals
have eaten ice cream. The problem with this assumption is that there are many other factors
associated with criminal behavior that are also associated with drug use. There is still very little
evidence of a direct link between marijuana use and criminal behavior. Marijuana is neither a
gateway drug nor one that pushes one to criminal activity with the obvious exceptions of either
possession or distribution of marijuana. Marijuana use has been increasing at a modest but steady
rate since the early 1990's but the crime rate has plummeted, if there was a marijuana-crime link,
one would expect crime rates to increase and not decline. "The number of arrests in 1970 was an

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estimated 188,682 for marijuana. By 2003 the number increased to 755,000" (Austin). Now it's
pretty clear that despite the decriminalization effort, the chances of a marijuana consumer being
arrested have significantly increased. The most powerful argument on legalizing marijuana is
that it would save a huge amount of government money that is being spent on the enforcement of
marijuana laws. Corrections, now allows a large portion of its budgets arresting, prosecuting,
sentencing and incarceration marijuana users, dealers and others involved in the illegal drug
infrastructure. If these behaviors would no longer be labeled as criminal, criminal justice
agencies would reduce the enforcement and processing tasks now associated with such crimes.
There is a direct relationship between the proportion of cases processed for marijuana crimes by
the criminal justice system and the amount of money expended by these same agencies. By
reducing or eliminating these marijuana related events, there would be a proportionate decrease
in the agency expenses. "Recent study conducted by Scott Bates in 2004 claimed Alaska was
spending 25-30 million per year enforcing marijuana prohibition laws" (Austin). Further, since
there is no link between marijuana use and criminal behavior, there would be no impact on
crime. And if the purchase of marijuana were to be taxed as a legal commodity, "tax revenues
would increase by about 10-20 million per year" (Austin).
It's now 2015 and the expectation of marijuana being legalized in more states and cities
are increasing. Eventually marijuana in some manner will be legal in the United States, whether
it's medical or recreational. In order to come to a conclusion on legalizing marijuana, researchers
must induct work, time and experiments into the outweighing benefits of medicinal and
recreational marijuana.

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Works Cited
Austin, James. The Decriminalization Movement. NORML.org. NORML, 2015. Web.
23 Feb. 2015. <http://norml.org/component/zoo/category/rethinking-the-consequences-of
decriminalizing-marijuana>.
Brownstein, Joe. Marijuana vs. Alcohol: Which is Really Worse for Your Health?
LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.livescience.com/42738-marijuana-vs-alcohol-health-effects.html>.
"Medical Marijuana ProCon.org." ProCon.org. 20 Mar. 2015. Web. 21 Mar. 2015.
<http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/>.
Smith, Michael. Marijuana vs. Alcohol: Compare Effects on the Body. WebMD.
WebMD LLC, 2015. Web. 25 Feb. 2015. <http://www.webmd.com/news/breakingnews/marijuana-on-main-street/marijuana-vs-alcohol>.
Zimmer, Lynn. Marijuana Should Be Decriminalized. Drug Legalization. Ed. Scott
Barbour. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2000. 137-141. Print.