Medical Marijuana Legalization Analysis

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Medical marijuana is the most frequently used illicit drug in the United States (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2015). A debate among the common people has arisen involving the legalization for both medical and recreational use of marijuana. Marijuana has been thought to cure many major illnesses and has become a widespread phenomenon amongst the common people. Marijuanas popularity has grown over the past decade and the amount of people who disagree with this act of immorality is decreasing. Compared to years past, marijuana was not as socially accepted as it is in todays pop culture. Unfortunately, the difference between right and wrong has been lost allowing medical marijuana to look beneficial is desperate times. Marijuanas negative …show more content…
Out of the four hundred chemicals found in marijuana, THC is the most recognized. THC has been shown to obtain neurotoxin, this element damages or impairs nerve tissue (New Health Advisor, 2014) It can be seen here that even the core substance of marijuana leads to negative effects on one’s health. Marijuana can cause issues well beyond the users initial use. THC is lipophilic, which means that the toxin can be stored in one’s body for weeks and even years after the use ceases; THC attacks specific brain cells that normally have a role in brain development and functions (New Health Advisor, 2014). Brain cells are killed and effected because of marijuana. Long-term marijuana use has been linked to mental illnesses such as temporary hallucinations, temporary paranoia, worsening symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and suicide thoughts (Deem, 1994). As a tolerance builds up, marijuana often time leads the consumer into harder drugs. This is why marijuana is frequently seen as a “gateway drug”; One study found that youth twelve to seventeen who used marijuana and eighty-five times more likely to use cocaine than those who did not (YOUTH LEADER BLOG, 2015). It is evident that medical marijuana does not have a positive effect on the human …show more content…
Medical marijuana has been noted to exasperate or heighten one’s symptoms. Using marijuana can worsen depression and bipolar disorder (Thompson, 2008). The false advertising that marijuana promotes, is that it can help solve metal problems such as these, but the symptoms only alleviate for a moment. Giving out a drug that is so inexcusably marked as a relief is solely making the ill sicker. Contrary to medical marijuanas promises, marijuana’s effects on the brain may also play a factor in epilepsy; active ingredients that are established in THC are a common cause in the convulsions (Narconon International Marijuana Today, 2016). Marijuana is also found to affect ones immune system. The infection of HIV is more likely to spread within the body, while using medical marijuana, showing that with an already compromised immune system marijuana can do more harm than good to those who need medical assistance (New Health Advisor, 2014). In addition, the FDA has not yet approved medical marijuana as an effective drug (Roth, 2008). Marijuana has not provided evidence of being as effective as medicine. Marijuana is a hazard to the sick and