Arroyo 1

Jovany Arroyo
English 115
Professor Lawson
28 November 2016
Final Draft Research Paper
Word Count: 2019
Medicine or Poison
The media portrays marijuana to be a harmless drug through various movies and
T.V. shows worldwide. Throughout the years many people have been fighting to keep marijuana
illegal; however, as of November 8, 2016 proposition 64 was passed allowing the recreational
use of Marijuana to be legal for those over the age of 21. This drug has been given the title of a
gateway drug because once you start using it your body gets accustomed to the amount one
intakes making you want to increase your intake amount to get a greater high. There are many
stereotypes that come when one hears the word marijuana. Some being that marijuana is harmful,
it makes you do unintelligent acts and that if you smoke one time you will become addicted.
Most of these stereotypes are true there might be a few exceptions but that is only a few. There
are many more stereotypes that make the drug seem harmless. Many of those stereotypes are
started by the person doing the drug to make it seem to himself and others that it is completely
harmless.
When we start accepting marijuana into our culture and start promoting it for people to
buy that is when we know something went wrong. There is now a magazine called leafly and is
the world's largest information resource about cannabis"(Wolff) showing that the media
accepted marijuana already and is going to influence other people into doing the same thing.

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Once the drug starts to be commercialized many people that havent used the drug will go out
and try it. Necessarily its because we are all human and we all have curiosities; some people
dont fall into that but others do. Not to mention the fact that there is already a culture called
Pot, or pot style, could become part of what is now called content marketing -- using your
content to create a symbiotic marketing environment (Wolff), this comes to show that anyone
can participate in making this culture bigger because people can now create what they want
related to marijuana and market it. Marijuana shouldnt be glorified as a drug, that isnt addicting
or harmless in the media. The media should let people know what they are about to do and let
them choose for themselves. People are just harming other people because if one doesnt go out
and do the research to stay informed they just try it because they dont know any better. Now if
the media commercialized it but gave health facts on how it harms your body over time many
people arent going to want to do it; this is because they are now informed and educated on how
this drug affects you.
Marijuana is harmful to your body and your brain especially since the brain and the body
are still developing and doesnt stop until about age 25. In the short film Keep Off the Grass a
mother is vacuuming her sons room as she comes upon a joint. She later confronts her son
about it but he denies it, so him being curious he decides to go where all the weed heads hang
out and try it for himself. The son says to his father, Theres not a shred of evidence that
marijuana is any worse than nicotine or alcohol (Son) when he is confronted by him. This
shows how the media they influence you on how marijuana is not as harmful as people say it is.
The son is making it seem like smoking marijuana is as harmless as drinking a beer or smoking a
cigarette when it is not. Marijuana is highly more addicting than the cigarettes and alcohol. In a
study done by the National Institute on Drug Abuse there was proof that Contrary to common

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belief, marijuana is addictive. Estimates from research suggest that about 9 percent of users
become addicted to marijuana; this number increases among those who start young. (NIODA)
The son will most likely become addicted to it because he started smoking marijuana while he
was young, making it harder for him to quit as he gets older.
In a study done by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, studies show how marijuana is
harmful to your body and mind. Marijuana damages the brain since it over activates the
endocannabinoid system, causing the high (NIODA) this causes problems for the one doing
the drug while and after they finish using the drug. Tobacco is legal everywhere but the harmful
effects that accumulate from this substance, is what people arent okay with but they continue to
do it because they are addicted. Marijuana is seen a cool harmless drug (thanks to the media) but
it is just as bad as tobacco because Marijuana smoke is an irritant to the lungs, and frequent
marijuana smokers can have many of the same respiratory problems experienced by tobacco
smokers as stated by the National Institute of Drug Abuse. People that smoke marijuana as
opposed to tobacco believe that tobacco is a harmful drug that they will never do. They probably
dont know that marijuana harms one just as much as tobacco. This is a very controversial topic
because there are a lot of people who now that partake in smoking marijuana, they dont want to
believe that what they are doing is harmful. So, they just choose to believe what other people tell
them in the hopes to try and make themselves feel less guilty.
It is also illegal to sell, a single gram of marijuana found on you without a medical card
will most likely get you jail time just for possessing it. If they find out, you are a dealing
marijuana you will most likely add to the years that one would already get for possessing it.
There are many rules to be able to use this drug for medicinal purposed because it the drug is
part of mostly every culture. I know for a fact that my uncles put marijuana in rubbing alcohol

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because it makes it stronger. As long as they arent smoking it then thats fine because once they
start they might not be able to stop. In the T.V. show Weeds Nancy Botwin is a marijuana
dealer, she is upper class but must resort to selling marijuana due to her husbands recent death.
Nancy describes herself by saying Im not a dealer, Im a mother who happens to distribute
illegal products through a sham bakery set up by my ethically questionable CPA and his crooked
lawyer friend (Botwin) showing how easy they make it seem to sell this drug. She seems like a
harmless person and says what many people might say, that it is just weed there is nothing bad
about it so it is okay to sell it. It is not which is why it is illegal, except for medical marijuana
that can be obtained at the marijuana shops but only with a green card. This may sound
complicated but, obtaining a medical marijuana license in Venice, California, has long been
rumored to be remarkably easy (taking no more than 15 to 20 minutes to get approved) (Drake)
as a reporter went to try and get one to find out just how easy it was. Doctors do not even ask
you for medical records and most people give them the excuse that they have insomnia. This is
how easy medical marijuana cards are to obtain. Lets say she were to get caught she would
most likely do a lot of time in prison because now a days murderers get less time than people
dealing marijuana, but thats another topic.
What a great job since it never goes out of business right? Marijuana will always find a
way to be sold illegally because now it is legal for those over twenty-one. So how will the kids
that are under twenty-one get their drugs now? They must resort to a person like Nancy Botwin.
As said by Charles Stimson it would most likely result is that the drug will not be sold in
legitimate stores at all, because while the federal government is currently tolerating medical
marijuana dispensaries, it will not tolerate wide-scale sales under general legalization statutes.
(Stimson) So he is basically saying that it is legal to buy in the medical marijuana shops but for

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the people that cant access the drug it must be sold to them illegally. This will always exist
maybe until they make marijuana legal for everyone, this means that there will always be a
market for marijuana, legal or illegal. There will never be a time soon in which marijuana is legal
for everyone meaning that every teenager can buy it in the shops. This is where the illegal market
comes in you can sell it to a kid like this for an extra three dollars and then you would make
money off all the kids you sell to.
Marijuana is already a problem because cartels exist and there is trafficking present
across the borders. Even if marijuana was legal it wouldnt weaken the cartels according to
Sylvia Longmire from the New York Times If marijuana were legalized, the cartels would still
make huge profits from the sale of these other drugs so even if this malignant drug is legalized
the violence and trafficking wont stop so it doesnt make a difference. Also, marijuana isnt the
only drug that they traffic so the cartels wouldnt lose at all. Marijuana shouldnt be legal
because then there is going to be even more problems in the cartels and may result in cartel wars.
Since they are now limited to selling a few drugs and maybe these drugs arent as easy to
transport as marijuana so there would be problems.
These claims might be problematic though due to the reason that some people might say
that there is research showing that the media portrays marijuana as a bad thing. There might be a
couple of films or T.V shows that do that, but for the most part, it is all pro-marijuana and how it
is harmful. Teenagers or even adults from whichever age range will watch these movies or T.V
shows and think to themselves that it is not that bad so they will partake in the drug. The media
might be a reason why a kid would use marijuana as a recreational drug since they saw a cool
person do it in a movie so if they do it, it will make them cool as well. As much as one would

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like that it is typically not the case. Melissa Fyfe conducted a study and found that many
students are smoking simply to promote an image. Matt Handcock, 17, started when he was a
street kid because of "nerves" but said teenage smoking was mainly about looking and
feeling cool. (Fyfe) This shows how people just do it to look cool but after they do it they cant
stop and they want to keep on doing it until they do other worse drugs. Teenagers all want to be
cool so for a hit of marijuana one can be cool, this shows how the generation has changed not
only that but how it establishes cool people. No matter what the circumstances are people will
always be doing marijuana not because they want to but because they want to prove something.

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The audience should be aware that marijuana is a drug that only leads to other worse

drugs. It is an addicting substance and while it may be used to treat medical problems it does not
negate the fact that it is harmful to your body. The media portrays this as a harmless drug which
is not addicting, and everyone does it so it is okay; it is not. It is the complete opposite as
research shows. Sandra Alters provides studies on the many age levels using marijuana. This is a
table showing how marijuana use has been increasing from the different generations that have
been using marijuana. As you can see as one gets older they start drifting away from the 30-day
mark and the bar of the lifetime starts going up. This is because they start using the drug and as
they get addicted to it they want more and more; this is when they start using it more because
being sober doesnt feel good to them anymore they are always searching for the high until they
achieve it.

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There might be people that doubt what I am trying to say, and what I would say to them is
to go look at the studies. The scientist from the National Institute on Drug Abuse addressed
questions on marijuana. When someone asked them if marijuana is dangerous or how is it
addicting they responded to it. They expressed that Scientific research has shown that marijuana
can be dangerous for teens because their brains are still developing. Regular marijuana use may
impact teens' ability to learn and even lower their IQs. (NIDA) This drug is harmful to
everyone, not just teenagers especially when one starts as young and doesnt stop until they are
old. Also, marijuana is proved to be addictive by the scientist at NIDA they stated that It affects
certain receptors in the brain, called cannabinoid receptors, which influence many functions,
including the brain's reward system so if your brain doesnt get what it needs it starts seeking it
more until you cant control this urge because it controls you. This is where one may start doing
criminal acts because they do not have any more money and they want this drug so bad they do
anything to obtain money.
In conclusion, marijuana is not what the media says it is, this drug is addicting and leads
to more dangerous drugs as research shows. It is certainly not cool either people just want to see
other people fall into their habits about abusing this drug and always needing it. The media wants
you to think that this is harmless and thats all they dont tell you anything more until one finds
out for themselves. Marijuana should not be used for anything other than medicinal purposes,
because this is the only reason marijuana is legal. Marijuana makes your body weak and more
vulnerable to lung cancer and other respiratory diseases. Not only that but mental problems may
start to develop in your life since marijuana makes your brain do things it regularly wouldnt.
This is now a legal drug but we should work to make this drug illegal again due to all the
harmful effects it has.

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Sources Cited
Alters, Sandra M. "Use of marijuana among persons aged 18-45, by time of use and age group, 2007."
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illicit Drugs. 2009 ed. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Information Plus Reference
Series. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
Botwin, Nancy. Quotes. IMDb, IMDb.com, 15 Apr. 2005, www.imdb.com/title/tt0439100/quotes.
Davis, Sid, director. Keep off the Grass. Davis Productions, 1970.
Drake, Daniela. "I Got a Weed License in Minutes24." The Daily Beast. The Daily Beast Company, 24
June 2014. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. "Marijuana Use Harms Health and Is Addictive." Drug Legalization.
Ed. Nol Merino. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2015. Current Controversies. Rpt.
from "Drug Facts: Marijuana." Vol. 1. 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Nov.
2016.
"Questions about drugs--answers from scientists." Junior Scholastic/Current Events 14 Dec. 2015: 20+.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
Stimson, Charles D. "Marijuana Trafficking and Use Are Linked with Crime." The Legalization of
Marijuana. Ed. Nol Merino. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2016. Opposing
Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Legalizing Marijuana: Why Citizens Should Just Say No." Heritage.org.
Vol. 5. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.

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"Teenagers getting hooked on an all-too-smoky image." Age [Melbourne, Australia] 7 Nov. 1995: 5.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 23 Nov. 2016.
Wolff, Michael. "Marijuana, a media miracle." USA Today 4 Aug. 2014: 01B. Opposing Viewpoints in
Context. Web. 23 Nov. 2016.