Last semester, I wrote a paper on why marijuana should be legalized. I posted it on here as some of you may recall. This semester, when I was given a choice to research and write another paper on any topic I wanted, I decided that I wanted to use the same topic as last semester. However, I decided to switch it up a bit and take the opposite view. I wrote an essay on why marijuana should not be legalized. I wanted to try to write a paper and take a viewpoint opposite of my own just to see if I could. Anyhow, here is that essay. ______________________________________________ Marijuana. We all know what it is and nearly all of us know someone who has done it. It is a dispute that at some point we all deal with. Should the drug be legalized? There have been extensive reports by both sides to try to sway opinions one way or another. The intent of this paper is to get by all of the biased research and all of the opinionated jargon that seems to surround the issue and display the facts as they actually exist. After having done my research, using resources from both sides and attempting to discern a credible voice from the masses of biased journalism that has been done on the subject, I have decided that marijuana should not be legalized. I have many reasons for this, but I will get to those when their time has come. Right now, I want to ask the reader of my paper to put aside all of the things that have been said about marijuana, all of the opinions of others, and even the opinions that you yourself may have decided upon and just listen to what is being said. Make no judgments on the issue until the end, where such decisions are made in their correct place—the conclusion. First of all, marijuana is an addictive substance. While conclusions seem to vary from source to source, most information on the subject does not dispute the fact that marijuana can be mentally addictive. According to the DEA, “Users can become dependent on marijuana to the point they must seek treatment to stop abusing it. In 1999, more than 200,000 Americans entered substance abuse treatment primarily for marijuana abuse and dependence”( http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/ongoing/legalization.html). These numbers are quite surprising to some, but to others who know the drug, they come as no surprise. “I can't seem to quit. It's like I need it. I'm wasting time and money and my life on this drug,” says an anonymous user on the internet that goes by the alias of KMB(http://www.nutritionalsupplements.com/prescription/marijuanaR6.html). Addicts of marijuana seem, however, to be different from any other type of addict. Users seem to exhibit only a few symptoms that an addict of other drugs may display. Smokers of the drug seem only to become irritable, and unpleasant to be around. It may be said that this may not be directly caused by the drug. However, there is a strong positive correlation between the number of people who stop smoking and those who report feelings of irritability and anxiety. According to Narconon of Southern California, a drug rehabilitation center, “Symptoms of marijuana withdrawal first appear in chronic users within 24 hours. Marijuana withdrawal is most pronounced for the first 10 days and can last up to 28 days”( http://www.addictionwithdrawal.com/marijuana.htm). In the same article, the center described withdrawal symptoms as such irritability, anxiety, physical tension, and a decrease in appetite and mood. Of course, in order to accept this as data that proves an addiction, one must accept that withdrawal symptoms are definitely indicative of an addiction. For the purpose of this article, the definition of addiction will be as it is on Dicionary.com, “Compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance.” I think that it is clear that these withdrawal symptoms clearly show both a psychological and physiological need for marijuana. Another reason why the legalization of marijuana is a bad idea is that marijuana is a gateway drug and, because of this fact, the decriminalization of marijuana would cause an increase in the uses of other harder drugs that are not legal. In short, the decriminalization of marijuana would cause more crime than it would prevent. In order to accept this point, it must first be proven that marijuana is a gateway drug. There seems to be no conclusive evidence on the subject, but once again, there seems to be a highly positive correlation between the number of people that smoke marijuana and those who did other drugs after having used marijuana. The best proof I can offer for this is as follows: First of all, people who sell marijuana also sell many other drugs, just as people who sell cakes often sell muffins and people who sell chairs also sell tables. It is more profitable to sell related items in all forms of business, whether it be commercial or illegal. Secondly, people who buy marijuana have to go through drug dealers who often sell other drugs. Thirdly, hanging out with a certain group of people long enough (i.e. drug dealers) often causes the members of such a group to pick up habits from each other. Thus, the new members of the group are slowly exposed to new drugs and new experiences. While it may be possible to reject the offers to do drugs other than marijuana, there is a strong likelihood that, given a long enough period of time and a persistent group, marijuana users will break down and try these new drugs. Peer pressure has a lot to do with drugs. According to MarijuanaAddiction.info, a California-based center in search of solutions to marijuana addiction, “Experts say pot also releases dopamine in the brain, just like harder drugs do”( http://www.marijuanaaddiction.info/marijuana-gateway-drug.htm). Dr. Margolis at the center goes on to explain that “So if marijuana triggers the release of dopamine and cocaine triggers the release of dopamine and heroin triggers the release of dopamine, it makes sense that smoking marijuana may be priming the brain, getting the brain ready for these other drugs"(http://www.marijuanaaddiction.info/marijuana-gateway-drug.htm). Really, the marijuana primes the brain to experience dopamine and is physiologically more open to the process of attaining such a stimulant. Now, back to my original point, because marijuana is a gateway drug and its use would be increased, there would likewise be an increase in drugs that still remained illegal. Also, crime related to these more potent drugs would increase, therefore causing an exponential amount of crime. Crimes like the buying and selling of harder drugs from other countries would increase because of a newfound market for themselves in the United States. Because the drug market would increase, the police force needed to do this kind of work would also increase. There would also be an increase in salary to these cops because of the danger factors that would increase on a policeman’s job. And finally, because of the increase in the salaries of the policeman, taxes would increase. That’s right. The taxpayer will be picking up the tab for legalizing marijuana in America. Marijuana should also not be legalized because the increase in legality of the substance that led to more frequent use, there would be a larger percentage of drivers on the road that were under the influence of marijuana. This would cause an increase in traffic accidents. According to the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, Marijuana impairs perception and coordination, resulting in accidents. Pot smokers are involved in four times as many traffic accidents as nonusers”(www.wctu.org). The Drug Policy Alliance agrees saying that “proposals to reform marijuana laws are often countered with claims that decriminalization would lead to an increase in marijuana use and marijuana-related traffic accidents”( http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/driving/). Those for the legalization of marijuana laws often argue that marijuana does not cause accidents because marijuana users “remain cognizant of their impairment and compensate accordingly,” according to the same study by the Drug Policy Alliance”(http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/driving/). However, the article goes on to say “A 1993 study funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation and conducted in the Netherlands using real-life conditions found that ‘marijuana, when taken alone, produces a moderate degree of driving impairment which is related to the consumed THC dose…’.” Of course, it could be argued perhaps that marijuana does not impair your driving as much as alcohol does. HWJ Robbe, a professor at the Institute for Human Psychopharmacology at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands who recently published a study on the matter, says that “THC's effects on road-tracking after doses up to 300 µg/kg never exceeded alcohol's at bacs of 0.08 g%; and, were in no way unusual compared to many medicinal drugs' …” (Center of Automotive Safety Research http://casr.adelaide.edu.au/T95/paper/s1p2.html). However, I would argue that just because one substance that impairs driving is not as bad as another, does not mean that it is any better of an idea to drive while under the influence of marijuana. The concept that there are worse ideas out there cannot by any means make a dumb idea any less dumb. What I mean by this is that, just because it is worse to kill the president, doesn’t make it alright to kill your next door neighbor. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration(SAMSHA), “More than half [of those involved in marijuana-related accidents] claimed that the marijuana use did not at all affect their ability to drive safely(56%)”(http://www.samhsa.gov/oas/driverrprt/fnldrf11.htm). This alone proves that judgments are impaired while under the influence. People think they can handle it and they in fact cannot because their failure to assess the situations that may occur while driving a car causes them to make judgment errors when sharp curves are around and there obstacles to avoid. Marijuana should not be legalized if for no other reason than to prevent the deaths of all of these people who gave lost their lives to the drugs they ingested. In conclusion, marijuana should not be legalized. It is important that we keep our laws strict and unbending to users of drugs that make them into people that can no longer control themselves. Marijuana is an addictive substance that plagues our country causing massive crime, costing us billions of dollars to enforce. Marijuana harms not only our health, but our quality of life. Users of the substance no longer have drive. They tend to lose their ambition, their will to better themselves. If for no other reason, don’t smoke for marijuana for your future self. Living with marijuana becomes a life that will never change, never grow. Once you have become a user, you may never become anything else and that is one of the worst tragedies caused by the substance abuse. ______________________________________________ The funny part is that I wrote half of this paper while under the influence of the drug that I am supposedly against. I wrote half of my paper early in the day and then I smoked a bowl and a joint last night before I wrote the last 3 pages or so. If you look closely you can see where it starts to degenerate. I've already noticed a few grammar errors and the conclusion is just retarded. However, I feel that the flaws at the end of the paper were due to the fact that I was running on 3 hours of sleep and I was up until 5:00 in the morning wrting that paper. But, eh, its a rough draft. I'll be able to fix everything before I turn in the final. I'll update this entry when I finish the paper. "She was living in a single room with two other individuals. One of 'em was male and the other two..well, the other two were females. God only knows what they were up to in there. And furthermore Susan, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that all four of them habitually smoke marijuana cigarettes. Reefers."