It is a common topic in politics, among kids, and doctors: the legalization of marijuana. Prior to the sixties marijuana was used freely, however after the sixties the liberty of marijuana quickly turned to the regulation of marijuana. As a community we see marijuana as a negative image; it evokes a negative connotation. We know marijuana to be the "gateway drug", the drug that leads to more drugs. We don't compare marijuana to other everyday substances that people continue to abuse, we don't look at how the statistics compare to cigarettes, alcohol, and even gambling. Has there been any evidence in marijuana being an addictive substance? Marijuana does not deserve to be labeled as a drug, and this label is the only reason why our society neglects and refuses to give the legalization of marijuana a real chance. The harmfulness of other legal substances, medicinal benefits, and the economic benefits are all prime arguments in my argument of the legalization of marijuana. .
A strong argument that people have used in every debate regarding marijuana has been its effects versus the effects of alcohol and cigarettes, both legal substances. It just does not make sense for these two substances to be legal and marijuana to be illegal. Let us first begin with alcohol. The effects that alcohol can have on your body are a great deal more dangerous than those of marijuana. "Alcohol kills more people per year than all other drugs combined times one thousand." This fact immediately grabs the eye, and it is quite amazing that alcohol can be legal and marijuana cannot be. . Not only does alcohol kill more humans on average, it also can be more harmful to our bodies with long term use. "There is good evidence that alcohol can (indirectly) cause brain injury. With long-term heavy drinking, severe irreversible cognitive impairment can occur. Long-term cannabis use does not produce damage of comparable severity.
