Marijuana Vs. Alcohol Which Is Safe?

Submitted By alexjohnsonduke
Words: 1560
Pages: 7
Open Document
Alexandria Johnson-Duke MWF 9am
3/20/2013

Marijuana vs. Alcohol which is safer?

In Novemeber of 2012 the citizens of Colorado and Washington made it very clear what they wanted. The citizens of those two states voted to legalize the recreational use of the once illicit drug marijuana. Not only has this decision influenced Colorado and Washington, it has taken the whole country and has everyone wondering: Will it be legal in my state? How will this affect my lifestyle? How will this be regulated? Fortunately there is an answer to how it will be regulated, for most circumstances just like alcohol. But how can we regulate something so dangerous with something that is a common day splurge?
The legalization of marijuana has brought much controversy and has brought many viewpoints. Some people would say that marijuana is a drug that should remain illegal because of its dangers, but others believe that marijuana is actually “safer” than most drugs such as alcohol. How can something that is so prized in society be safer than something that has been illegal since it originated? Contrary to popular belief, it would seem that marijuana is actually safer than alcohol, due to all the fatal injuries and deaths caused by alcohol.
Alcohol has been around since the ancient times, and has always been prized by the people. From the earliest times to the present, alcohol has played an important role in religion and worship. Both beer and wine were deified and offered to gods. So it makes sense as to why Alcohol is treasured all over the world. National alcohol prohibition came into effect with the
Ratification of the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution in 1919 and the passage in 1920 of the Volstead Act that prohibited the manufacture, sale and supply of alcohol [2, 19]. The 18th Amendment stated that:
After a year from the ratification of this article the manufacture sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof from the
United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. The national alcohol prohibition aroused bigger issues within America. Citizens were illegally making their own alcohol and making stronger solutions. This made citizens become more inebriated and created an underground system of Alcohol. It would seem that as a cause more people drink spirits because they are indeed stronger.
Alcohol all in all, is a drug. A drug being a substance that has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body. Alcohol is a depressant, or in other words reduces nervous activity. Ethyl alcohol, which is the only alcohol used in beverages is produced by the fermentation of grains and fruits.
When alcohol is consumed, it is absorbed into the bloodstream through small blood vessels in the walls of the stomach and small intestine. From there, it travels from the stomach to the brain which sedates the actions of nerve cells. Alcohol is also carried into the bloodstream to the liver, which eliminates the alcohol by ‘metabolizing’ where it is converted into a nontoxic substance. The liver can only metabolize a certain amount and leaves the excess alcohol to circulate throughout the body. Therefore the intensity of inebriations is directly correlated with how much a person drinks.
Alcohol has many effects on the human body. While consuming alcohol, depending on the amount of which was consumed and the tolerance of the drinker will determine which affects he or she experience. Some short term physical effects are slurred speech, drowsiness, distorted vision and hearing, impaired judgment, decreased perception and coordination, Nasuea, headaches and finally blackouts are all common when drinking.
Although alcohol may make things fun or more exciting, there are big dangers that come along with
Show More

Related Documents: Marijuana Vs. Alcohol Which Is Safe?

research paper

Research Paper 1 How safe are the government facilities? Rebecca Leon Empire State University Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery Diane Delucia April 01, 2015 Research Paper 2 On March 9th 2015 an email was sent out to every Army…

Words 1122 - Pages 5

IT Research Paper

Research Paper MELKIA WATERS Mwaters17@capellauniversity.edu IT3006 PROF. JULIA KRUMMEN Nov. 10, 2013 Identifying Improved Methodology to Procure HIT Software Benefits Users Introduction Researchers conducted a study conducted at The University of Utah Healthcare system (comprising of 3 major hospitals) on the usability of their health information technology (HIT) software. Evaluators found 60 usability problems and 233 heuristic violations (Guo et al., 2011). Heuristic is defined by Oxford Dictionaries…

Words 1892 - Pages 8

Research Paper

25099373 CNF15_3 Research Methods Research Proposal Word Count: 1210 A look into the Memory Retention: Can stimulants increase a person’s memory? A quantitative research proposal. For this research proposal, memory will be looked into to see whether a person’s memory can be increased via the intake of stimulants. This quantitative research will then look into whether there are any future benefits in consuming stimulants if memory is found to be increased. There is already research similar in nature…

Words 1359 - Pages 6

Research Paper

Research papers are a common type of paper for students to write, especially when they are attending college. These papers require students to perform research, such as utilizing primary and secondary sources to draw new conclusions. For students who have not written this type of paper before, it may seem daunting. There are many free sample research papers online for those who want to see how to structure their paper and other details.Diane Hacker, an author who writes manuals for students writing…

Words 307 - Pages 2

Research Paper

Research Paper EDUC 600 Pamela Noble Dr. Albright Liberty University Abstract Billions of dollars are spent every year on psychologist, psychiatrist, and counselors only to discover that one of the key elements missing in their child is resiliency. Resiliency for the purpose of this study is defined as the appropriate personality such as strength and positive adaptation that help a person or family cope with stress or life difficulties, increasing the likelihood of…

Words 514 - Pages 3

Research Paper

Research Paper How does an imposed requirement of regularly identifying exposure to operational risk benefit an insurance company? Executive Summary The topic of this research paper is how an imposed requirement of regularly identifying exposure to operational risk benefits an insurance company. Risks occur naturally in all business, but if risk is not controlled, there are plenty of consequences that can arise. Insurance companies deal with risk everyday, ranging from fraud, car theft, health…

Words 2609 - Pages 11

Research Paper

Comparison of the Sciences SSC101 Research Assignment Module 7 Saint Leo University December 08, 2012 The three social sciences below are defined as according to the Merriam-Webster on line dictionary. www.merriam-webster.com Anthropology 1: the science of human beings; especially : the study of human beings and their ancestors through time and space and in relation to physical character, environmental and social relations, and culture 2: theology dealing with the origin,…

Words 2578 - Pages 11

Research Paper

amount Americans drink today by three and you'll have an idea what much of the nineteenth century was like.” So how does someone become an alcoholic? This has to do with a combination of genetic, physiological, psychological and social factors. Research have discovered that children of alcoholics are four times more likely to become alcoholics themselves. Children of alcoholic parents are raised in the environment where drinking is okay and they tend to pick up the drinking habit from their parents…

Words 1766 - Pages 8

Research paper

groups, sexual preferences, sex, size, etc. So to fathom being in a society where it is essentially a "free for all" towards being prejudice, or genuinely prejudice towards these types of groups is very hard to imagine. Prior to doing any definite research, I thought I had a pretty clear idea on how exactly equal opportunity could both benefit, and hurt today’s workplace. As I was reading “Advantages & Disadvantages of Equal Opportunity Employment” (Casey Reader) a short online article by Casey Reader…

Words 1332 - Pages 6

Research Paper

you commit yourself to. This way of thinking really reflects on the type of writing process I endure. While writing I really focus on how I want to identify myself, what questions I wish to discover, and how this idea might change me. To begin my paper I use an outline. On this outline at the top of the page I write my main topic that I wish to write about. After I have created the topic, I then write a list of ideas that relate to what I want to talk about. Out of the ten ideas I create I choose…

Words 2972 - Pages 12