JD Dibrell

PSY 342
Debate Outline
Debate Topic: Recreational Marijuana, should it be legal and allowed to the general public?
Side: Yes it should be.
My area of exploration: comparison of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana for known long-term
health effects.
Arguments
Argument #1
Marijuana, like any other recreational drug, does need to be used in moderation. However, when
used in moderation it can have some positive effects on the cardio system:
Bradycardia slowing of the heart rate (Sachs, McGladel, & Yurgelun-Todd (2015) p.756)
Hypotension lowered blood pressure. Ibid

Argument #2
Marijuana has not been to shown to have any statistically significant impact on increasing
depression than alcohol or tobacco.
Recreational marijuana use is not more likely to lead to a depressed state than any other legal
recreational substance. (Moore, Neale, Silberg, Verhulst, (2016))

Argument #3
Marijuana has a significantly lower death rate from use by comparison to its two primary
competitors: tobacco and alcohol.

Alcohol 3.3 million deaths last year according to the World Health Organization
Tobacco 8 million deaths last year according to the CDC
Marijuana annual deaths almost non-existant. 279 over a 9 year period of tracking by the CDC
from 1997-2005

Argument #4
Cancer rates resultant from marijuana use are minimal by direct comparison to alcohol and
tobacco. Admittedly, there is not a lot of data on this yet. However, alcohol is known to have a
direct impact on breast cancer.
Alcohol consumption increases the risk of breast cancer by 7.1% per every 10 grams consumed
per day (Kotepui, (2016) p.15).
This is cause by alcohol increasing the Intracellular estrogen levels which promotes tumorous
growth in breast tissues. Ibid.

Counters
Research has shown (insert health issue here)
-

Research has shown a direct link between tobacco use and several forms of cancer. Its
legal, widely available in many forms, is something most people are exposed to daily, and
can be purchased at the age of 18, 3 years younger than marijuana. Easier to acquire than

marijuana
Research has also shown a direct link between alcohol consumption and numerous health
issues, not the least of which include Korsakoffs syndrome and cirrhosis of the liver.
Available in every gas station, grocery store, and corner market to 21 and older. So far
easier to acquire than marijuana.

Additionally, much contradiction exists among the various research regarding health risks
of marijuana use. Until conclusive research is done, this is all questionable.

DUIs
-

Alcohol, OTC and prescription drugs all can cause DUI/DUII but are more readily
available than marijuana so this isnt a unique problem to marijuana.

Stoned on the job

-

Why should marijuana not be treated the same as alcohol on the job? Stoned or drunk

should incur the same consequences

Legal doesnt automatically equal a lack of rules or regulation.

Gateway Drug
-

Alcohol has actually been deemed to be the true gateway drug and not marijuana.
Published in Journal of School Health (Kirby, and Barry, 2012)

References
Castillo, S., (2015) Marijuana vs. alcohol: The effects psychoactive drugs have on physical and
mental health. Medical Daily: Vitality. Retrieved from:
http://www.medicaldaily.com/marijuana-vs-alcohol-effects-psychoactive-drugs-havephysical-and-mental-health-332094
Centers for Disease Control (2015) Fact sheet: Health effects of cigarette smoking. CDC.
Retrieved from:
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_cig_smokin
g/index.htm
Enzi, B., Lissek, S., Edel, M., Tegenthoff, M., Nicolass, V., Scherbaum, N., Juckel, G., Rosser,
P., (2015) Alterations of Monetary Reward and Punishment Processing in Chronic
Cannabis Users: An fMRI Study. PLOS ONE. March 23, 2015. 1-13.
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0119150
Kirby, T., Barry, A.E., (2012) Alcohol as a gateway drug: A study of U.S. 12th graders. Journal
of School Health. Volume 82, Issue 8, 371379, DOI: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2012.00712.x
Kotepui, M., (2016) Diet and risk of breast cancer. Contemporary Oncology (Pozn) 2016; 20 (1):
1319. DOI: 10.5114/wo.2014.40560
Lachenmeir, D. W., Rehm, J., (2015) Comparative risk assessment of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis
and other illicit drugs using the margin of exposure approach. Scientific Reports: 5: 8126.
1-7. DOI: 10.1038/srep08126
Moore, A. A., Neale., M. C., Silberg, J. L., Verhulst, B., (2016) Substance Use and Depression
Symptomatology: Measurement Invariance of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II)

among Non-Users and Frequent-Users of Alcohol, Nicotine and Cannabis. PLOS ONE.
April 5, 2016. 1-13. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0152118
Sachs, J., McGladel, E., Yurgelun-Todd, D., (2015) Safety and Toxicology of Cannabinoids.
Neurotherapeutics (2015) 12:735746. DOI 10.1007/s13311-015-0380-8