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Zach Davis
Professor Hellmers
ENG 1201
18 October 2015

Devils Lettuce
A well-known man by the name Abraham Lincoln once said, Prohibition goes beyond
the bound of reason in that it attempts to control a mans appetite by legislation, and makes a
crime out of things that are not crimes (Lincoln). Marijuana, whether its for getting high and
socializing with your friends, escaping depression, or for medical reasons is frequently exploited
by adults and teens nationwide. Even though marijuana is unjustly classified as a Schedule I
drug, it doesnt stop numerous people from obtaining it. There is only so much law enforcement
officials can enforce. A good saying states, history repeats itself and it goes to show that
prohibition of marijuana is soon going to come to an end. It is time to stop the prohibition of
marijuana to citizens. Should marijuana be illegal to citizens based on potential profits to the
country, medicinal benefits, health effects and federal opposition?
Cannabis, also known by the slang term marijuana, has been around for thousands of
years. It dates back to as early as 3000 B.C. as a powerful medicinal plant (Ghose). There are
three species: Cannabis sativa; Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis (United). They can
grow to a height of 16 feet producing leaves, stems, and flower buds (Ghose). Marijuana soon
made its debut in America in the 1800s as a popular medicinal drug as well (Ghose). The plant
consists of the chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which is known for getting you
high. Then there is Tetrahydrocannabinol Acid (THCa), Cannabidiol (CBD),

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Cannabichromene (CBC) which are all non-psychoactive chemicals to treat immune-system
disorders, ADD, depression, epilepsy, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and many more (Ghose).
The most popular way of using marijuana is through smoking. Marijuana can be smoked through
hand-rolled cigarettes, water bongs, vaporizers and emptied cigars known as blunts. There are
also healthier ways to use marijuana known as, marijuana extracts and vaporizing. Marijuana can
be extracted into hash oil and wax which is used to make edibles such as brownies, candies, and
even teas (DrugFacts).
Cannabis being the most widely used illicit drug has a huge impact on our economy.
According to the FBI, nearly 43.3% of all Arrests for Drug Abuse Violations are of people who
are in possession of marijuana and an additional six percent of violation arrests were for sale and
manufacturing of marijuana (Papastrat). So in other words, 49.5% of all drug-violation arrests
are connected to marijuana. This means that half of our population that are in correctional
facilities for drug charges is for marijuana- related crimes.
In 2014, at least 620,000 people were arrested for marijuana possession which is 1,700
people per day, or more than 1 per minute (Ingraham). In marijuana possession arrests alone,
excluding costs of adjudication and detainment, it costs the states and people $750 per arrest
(Ingraham). This is equivalent to half a billion dollars in 2014 arrests alone. If you were to add in
imprisonment for this petty crime for one year, it would cost $15 billion (Papastrat) and you, as a
tax payer will be affected by, whether you support it or not.
Since marijuana has been legalized in recent states, there has been an increased interest
on the affects marijuana will have on society as a whole, according to the author Sydney
Sarachan. Legalizing marijuana would rejuvenate our economy. In the state of Colorado
recreational marijuana sales produced $69,527,760 and medical marijuana sales produced

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$132,950,930 (Baca). The first 40 million dollars in taxes that were made off this went towards
their schools and education system (Sarachan). The state of Colorado also dedicated state grants
to research and clinical trials in the amount of $9 million for five years (Baca).
Decriminalization is a step in the right direction as it allows our criminal justice system
to focus on the more violent crimes that matter most. Marijuana being decriminalized would curb
drug related violence. When you have a legalized regulation of marijuana, it hurts the
underground drug trade. People will start buying from legal markets that are regulated. Once
people start purchasing through legal systems the illegal drug trade will slowly disappear.
Marijuana being legal means that we wont waste our limited resources on this drug. It will allow
us to generate taxes off of it, which will in turn to allow sources to generate treatment, prevention
centers, and programs that will help the fight against harmful drugs such as heroine (Sarachan).
Sydney also brought up the point that many people were asking. How or what would
help the decrease of drug use, and many people said, making it legal. Just like the prohibition of
alcohol, it didnt stop until it was legal. During alcohol prohibition, having the personal
possession and use of alcohol was essentially decriminalized. It wasnt until the prohibition on
manufacture and sales of alcohol was lifted that mobsters stopped killing each other and law
enforcements gained control over black market alcohol profits (Sarachan). Due to this, legalizing
and regulating a product means people will buy it through regulated manufacturers. Therefore,
the remunerative illegal market will disappear. Having legal, regulated manufacturers opens the
door to medicinal benefits to those in need.
An 8 year old named Maddie suffers from a rare and severe form of epilepsy called
Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS).

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When doctors couldn't stop her daughter's life-threatening seizures, Liz Gorman made a
radical choice to pursue a highly controversial, totally untested new treatment, says Ginny
Graves.
Her parents have tried everything from surgery to many medications to decrease her pain
and seizures. Unfortunately, their attempts in helping her daughter failed until they turned to
medical marijuana. Instead of the traditional way of using marijuana which is smoking, Maddie
receives marijuana through an oil extract called Charlottes Web. Charlottes Web consists of
mainly CBD, and very little traces of THC too tiny to produce a high (Graves). Now that
Colorado and other states have legalized medicinal marijuana, many parents of ill children like
Maddie are catching wind of its miraculous outcome and are moving to these states in hope for a
break. Maddie is now having less and less seizures and is able to make developmental strides and
attend school (Graves).
Legalizing marijuana doesnt just help with epilepsy, but also helps with the dreadful
disease known as cancer. Marijuana helps treat terminally ill patients daily. This kind of
treatment is called palliative care, which can be described as comfort care and compassionate
care for improving the overall quality of life for a patient by relieving their symptoms and pain
(Philipsen). Terminal cancer patients use marijuana to help with nausea and appetite loss related
to chemotherapy (Cancer). There have been numerous clinical trials that have been done to
support the cannabinoids in marijuana for a variety of cancers. Cannabinoids have been proven
in helping prevent the spread of tumors and their cells. These also act as a stimulant in
programmed cell deaths (Cancer).
As you can see there is scientific evidence that marijuana provides medicinal use that the
federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) says doesnt.

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A supporter of marijuana legalization MD, Marcia Gillman says, As a palliative-care
physician I have been prescribing medical cannabis with very good results In addition to
managing pain, medical marijuana has helped alleviate other troubling symptoms in my patient
population, such as anxiety, insomnia, nausea and lack of appetite.
It is morally wrong to prevent ill people from receiving treatment they need due to the
federal government. They are standing in their way of accessing a medication that works for
them due, to their hypocrisy.
When it comes to talking about marijuana and the health effects that are proposed, it is
often compared to alcohol and tobacco. However, when compared to their recreationally usage,
legality and long-term effects, difficulty sets in. Alcohol is linked to some 88,000 deaths per year
due to short and long-term effects (Brownstein). Drinking alcohol too fast and too much can kill
someone quickly. Drinking quickly, also known as binge-drinking, can cause death five minutes
after consumption. In 2010, in the United States, there were nearly 22,000 deaths caused by FDA
pharmaceutical drugs and nearly 9,500 deaths from unknown drugs (Philipsen). The addicting
habit of smoking cigarettes is linked to 440,000 deaths per year in the U.S. (Brownstein).
Marijuana total deaths: zero. There has never been a reported death or overdose of marijuana.
Marijuana side effects, effects the cardiovascular system, heart rate and blood pressure of
traditional smoking. Marijuanas short-term health consequences can hinder coordination and
balance. How much you consume and are impaired depends on the person just like any other
medication. When talking about long-term health effects, studies find that it is unclear why
marijuana smoke doesnt have the same results as tobacco smoke on the lungs according to
Baler. Maybe some of the beneficial compounds in the marijuana smoke cancel out the ill effects
or other health habits of marijuana smokers are different from those of tobacco smokers. It is also

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said that long-term use can lead to brain impairment and is most significant 20 to 40 minutes
after using marijuana, then it declines after an hour or so according to Nazario. This impairment
can lead to hazardous situations just like pharmaceutical drug, but it depends on each persons
tolerance levels and if its used correctly. If marijuana was legalized, regulated and treated like
pharmaceutical drugs, we could avoid these situations.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Controlled Substance Act
(CSA) a Schedule I drug is a drug, substance or chemicals with no currently accepted medical
use and have a high potential for abuse that are the most dangerous of all schedule drugs
(Drug). Some of the drugs that follow under this description are heroin, LSD, marijuana, ecstasy,
methaqualone, and peyote. There is no known medical use for alcohol or tobacco consumption,
so why arent either of those considered a Schedule I drug or substance? The THC and CBD
chemical that is found in marijuana used for treating cancer, epilepsy and a plethora of other
horrible diseases is also found in a drug called Marinol. This drug is a FDA approved drug that is
prescribed daily for people with the above illnesses. If marijuana contains the exact same
chemicals as this man made drug, then why is cannabis considered a Schedule I drug? This man
made drug also has the same side and health effects as marijuana, if not more.
The reason for this contradiction is that if cannabis was legalized, then it would cause
competition with pharmaceutical companies.

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Fig. 1. Pharmaceutical companies care about what meds. are good for them and the money they
make. (Marijuana Policy)

Having a natural drug out there with no cost and substantial benefits is a huge competitor for
regulated drugs, with high cost, that fight the same symptoms that bring on additional pain. In
reality, pharmaceutical companies oppose legalization, because it would be a loss to the FDA due
to not being able to profit off of it. In the year of 2013, Americans spent more than 280 billion
dollars on prescription drugs, doctors have written 259 million prescriptions for painkillers, and
an American dies from an unintentional prescription drug overdose every 19 minutes which is
200,000 a year (Snyder). When it comes to your health effect and safety, you have better odds for
using cannabis. Opponents of marijuana believe marijuana is a gateway drug to more serious
drugs. They also believe if marijuana was legalized it would provide easier access to teen drug
use. Another reason people might oppose marijuana legalization would be, it affecting people in
different ways. Just like any medication, it is going to affect people different ways, which is why
marijuana isnt for all people. A frequent point that is also made by opponents of marijuana is
that is addictive, arent all pharmaceutical drugs addictive as well? If we worried about drug

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users abusing narcotics, all pain medications, and other forms of amphetamines and sedatives
should be banned as well.
All in all, marijuana is becoming more normalized in society and the prohibition is going
to end. It is time to stop imprisoning people who use marijuana to better themselves medicinally
or using it recreationally. The truth is, opponents have outdated information based on false
evidence and a nation-wide stigma. As we are approaching the 21st century, it has become more
and more evident that marijuana is no more harmful than cigarettes or alcohol, if not better.
Evidence that has been proven by science is showing marijuana is becoming less and less
harmful. The billions of dollars spent on marijuana alone in the drug war is cataclysmic. The
legalization would profit back to the United States helping our indebted economy. The innocent
patients who are terminally ill need this the most, to have relief from their terrible diseases
without having to worry about being charged, arrested and imprisoned amongst murderers, crack
heads and rapists. Legalizing marijuana, is taking one step in the right direction into making this
world a better place to live, in the 20th century.

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Works Cited
Baca, Ricardo. $202M in pot sales?!- 10 Colorado facts from six month into 2014.
TheCannabist. 27 Jun 2014. Web 24 Sept. 2015.
Brownstein, Joe. Marijuana vs. Alcohol: Which Is Really Worse for Your Health?.
LiveScience. 15 Sept. 2015. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.
Cancer. Leaf Science. n.d. n.p. Web. 24. Sept. 2015.
Drug Facts National Institute on Drug Abuse. Sept. 2015 Web 25 Sept. 2015.
Drug Scheduling. United States Drug Enforcement Administration. United States Department
of Justice. N.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.
Ghose, Tia. Marijuana: Facts about Cannabis. LiveScience. Purch. 23 Jan. 2015.Web Sept. 25
2015.
Graves, Ginny. HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO SAVE YOUR CHLD? Good
Housekeeping April 2015: Vol. 260 Issue 4, p75-79. Print.
Ingraham, Christopher. Every minute, someone gets arrested for marijuana possession in the
U.S. The Washington Post. 28 Sept. Web. 24. Sept. 2015.
Marijuana Policy Political Cartoons. N.p. 21 Dec. 2013. Photograph. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
Nazario, Brunilda. Recreational Marijuana: Are there Health Effects? WebMD. WebMD 2012.
Web. 23 Sept. 2015.
Papastrat, Anthony. This is How Mch Marijuana Prohibition Costs You, the Taxpayer.
Policy.Mic. 18 July 2013. Web. 25 Spet. 2015.
Philipsen, Nayna, Robin D. Butler, Christie Simon-Waterman, and Jylla Artis. Medical
Marijuana: A Primer on Ethics, Evidence, and Politics. Journal for Nurse Practitioners.
Oct 2014, Vol. 10 Issue 9, p633, 8 p. 2014. Print.

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Sarachan, Sydney. Legalizing Marijuana. PBS. PBS, 19 Nov. 2012. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.

Snyder, Michael. Making Money from Addiction: 30 Million Americans on Antidepressants.

Global Research. Global Research, 4 Sept. 2014. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.
The Lincoln Quote. Schaffer Library of Drug Policy. N.d. Web. 24. Sept. 2015.
United Patients Group. 22 April. 2014. Web. Sept. 2015.