It is time to give the people their freedom to smoke marijuana legally. Although Marijuana legalization could increase the cost of addiction treatment of those introduced to heavier drugs from marijuana use, marijuana itself is not addictive if the intake is at a moderate amount. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit substance Essay On Why Marijuana Should Not Be Legalized. When I was a little girl everyone would always tell me that “Drugs are bad”, every chance doctors, teachers and adults had to tell me drug were bad they did. As I grew up I started to see a lot of Marijuana is also costing America an unnecessary amount of money. Millions of dollars are put towards law enforcement and jail to keep marijuana under control. If marijuana were legalized, all the money could be put toward something more important
Why Marijuana Should Not Be Legalized essays
The new PMC design is here! Learn more about navigating our updated article layout. The PMC legacy view will also be available for a limited time, why marijuana should not be legalized essay. Federal government websites often end in. gov or. The site is secure. Recent years have seen substantial shifts in cultural attitudes towards marijuana for medical and recreational use. Potential problems with the approval, production, dispensation, route of administration, and negative health effects of medical and recreational marijuana are reviewed. Medical marijuana should be subject to the same rigorous approval process as other medications prescribed by physicians.
Legalizing recreational marijuana may have negative public health effects. Recent years have seen a cultural shift in attitudes towards marijuana. At the time of this writing, medical marijuana is legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia; recreational marijuana is now legal in Washington and Colorado, why marijuana should not be legalized essay. A substantial and growing literature documents legalized marijuana may have adverse effects on individual and public health. Yet the ways in which medical marijuana has been approved, prescribed, and made available to the public are very different from other commercially available prescription drugs. These differences pose problems unrecognized by the public and by many physicians. In the United States, commercially available drugs are subject to rigorous clinical trials to evaluate safety and efficacy.
Unlike any other prescription drug used for medical purposes, marijuana is not subject to central regulatory oversight. It is grown in dispensaries, which, depending on the state, have regulatory standards ranging from strict to almost non-existent. The crude marijuana plant and its products may be contaminated with fungus or mold. Marijuana growers often breed their plants to alter the concentrations why marijuana should not be legalized essay different chemicals compounds. For instance, the concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol THCthe principal psychoactive ingredient, is more than fold more than in marijuana products used several decades ago. Without rigorous clinical trials, we have no way of knowing which combinations of cannabinoids may be therapeutic and which may be deleterious.
As marijuana dispensaries experiment by breeding out different cannabinoids in order to increase the potency of THC, there may be unanticipated negative and lasting effects for individuals who smoke these strains. In some states, patients are permitted to grow their own marijuana. In addition to contributing to problems such as contamination and concentration as discussed above, this practice also invites drug diversion. Patients seeking to benefit financially why marijuana should not be legalized essay bypass local regulations of production and sell home-grown marijuana at prices lower than dispensaries. We do not allow patient to grow their own opium for treatment of chronic pain; the derivatives of opium, like marijuana, are highly addictive and thus stringently regulated.
FDA-approved forms of THC Dronabinol and a THC-analog Nabiloneboth available orally, already exist. Unlike smoked, crude marijuana, these medications have been subject to randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trials. Yet despite these limited indications where marijuana compounds have a proven but modest effect in high-quality clinical trials, medical marijuana is used overwhelmingly for non-specific pain or muscle spasms. There is no high-quality evidence, however, that the drug reduces non-neuropathic pain; this remains an indication for which data sufficient to justify the risks of medical marijuana is lacking.
Potentially therapeutic components of marijuana should be investigated, but they should only be made available to the public after adequately powered, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have demonstrated efficacy and acceptable safety profiles. Furthermore, these compounds should be administered in a way that poses less risk than smoking and dispensed via standardized and FDA-regulated pharmacies to ensure purity and concentration. Physicians why marijuana should not be legalized essay be discouraged from recommending medical marijuana. Alternatively, consideration can be given to prescribing FDA-approved medicines Dronabinol or Cesamet as the purity and concentration of these drugs are assured and their efficacy and side effect profiles have been well documented in rigorous clinical trials.
The question of recreational marijuana is a broader social policy consideration involving implications of the effects of legalization on international drug cartels, domestic criminal justice policy, and federal and state tax revenue in addition to public health. Yet physicians, with a responsibility for public health, are experts with a vested interest in this issue, why marijuana should not be legalized essay. Unfortunately, the negative health consequences of the drug are not prominent in the debate over legalizing marijuana for recreational use. In many cases, these negative effects are more pronounced in adolescents. A compelling argument, based on these negative health effects in both adolescents and adults, can be made to abort the direction society is moving with regards to the legalization of recreational marijuana.
A growing myth among the public is that marijuana is not an addictive substance. This addictive potential may be less than that of opiates; but the belief, especially among adolescents, that the drug is not addictive is misguided. Marijuana has been consistently shown to be a risk factor for schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. The risk of psychotic disorder is more pronounced when marijuana is used at an earlier age. Early studies suggested cognitive declines associated with marijuana especially early and heavy use ; these declines persisted long after the period of acute cannabis intoxication. Additional sub-analyses 49 of the original study cohort showed that marijuana was just as prevalent in populations of higher socioeconomic status, suggesting that socioeconomic status was not a confounding variable.
Any epidemiological study is subject to confounding biases and future research will be needed to clarify and quantify the relationship between cognitive decline and adolescent marijuana use. However, the findings of the original study by Meier et al show there is indeed an independent relationship between loss of intelligence and adolescent marijuana use. This finding, moreover, is consistent with prior studies. Substantial evidence exists suggesting that marijuana is harmful to the respiratory system. It is associated with symptoms of obstructive and inflammatory lung disease, 1150 an increased risk of lung cancer, 1415 and it is suspected to be associated with reduced pulmonary function in heavy users.
Marijuana impairs the ability to judge time, distance, and speed; it slows reaction time and reduces ability to track moving objects. Marijuana use among adolescents has been increasing. Data that has tracked risk perception and use of marijuana among adolescents over decades clearly shows an inverse relationship; as adolescent risk perception wanes, marijuana use increases. Furthermore, these therapeutic compounds should be administered via a route that minimizes long-term health risk i. Marijuana for recreational use will have many adverse health effects. The drug is addictive, with mounting evidence for why marijuana should not be legalized essay existence of a withdrawal syndrome. Furthermore, it has been shown to have adverse effects on mental health, intelligence including irreversible declines in cognitionand the respiratory system.
Driving while acutely intoxicated with marijuana greatly increases the risk of fatal motor vehicle collision. Legalization for recreational use may have theoretical but still unproven beneficial social effects regarding issues such as domestic criminal justice policy, but these effects will not come without substantial public health and social costs. Currently there is a lack of resources devoted to educating physicians about this most commonly used illicit substance. The potential benefits and significant risks associated with marijuana use should be taught in medical schools and residency programs throughout the country.
Samuel T, why marijuana should not be legalized essay. Wilkinson, MD, is in the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Ct. Contact: ude. elay nosnikliw. Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation. Mo Med. PMCID: PMC WilkinsonMD. Author information Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Corresponding author. Copyright by the Missouri State Medical Association. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Abstract Recent years have seen substantial shifts in cultural attitudes towards marijuana for medical and recreational use. Introduction Recent years have seen a cultural shift in attitudes towards marijuana. Lack of Evidence for Therapeutic Benefit In the United States, commercially available drugs are subject to rigorous clinical trials to evaluate safety and efficacy.
High Potential for Diversion In some states, why marijuana should not be legalized essay, patients are permitted to grow their own marijuana. Recreational Marijuana The question of recreational marijuana is a broader social policy consideration involving implications of the effects of legalization on international drug cartels, domestic criminal justice policy, and federal and state tax revenue in addition to public health. Myth: Marijuana is Not Addictive A growing myth among the public is that marijuana is not an addictive substance.
Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders Marijuana has been consistently shown to be a risk factor for schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Open in a separate window, why marijuana should not be legalized essay. Effects on Cognition Early studies suggested cognitive declines associated with marijuana especially early and heavy use ; these declines persisted long after the period of acute cannabis intoxication. Other Negative Health Effects Substantial evidence exists suggesting that marijuana is harmful to the respiratory system. Social Safety Implications: Effects on Driving Marijuana impairs the ability to judge time, distance, and speed; it slows reaction time and reduces ability to track moving objects.
Risk Perception and Use in Adolescents Marijuana use among adolescents has been increasing. Footnotes Disclosure None reported. References 1. Gloss D, Vickrey B. Cannabinoids for epilepsy. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. Lutge EE, Gray A, Why marijuana should not be legalized essay N. Soderpalm AH, Schuster A, why marijuana should not be legalized essay, de Wit H. Antiemetic efficacy of smoked marijuana: subjective and behavioral effects on nausea induced by syrup of ipecac. Pharmacology, biochemistry and behavior. Richards BL, Whittle SL, Buchbinder R. Neuromodulators for pain management in rheumatoid arthritis. Krishnan S, Cairns R, Howard R. Cannabinoids for the treatment of dementia.
Why marijuana should not be legalized?
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It is time to give the people their freedom to smoke marijuana legally. Although Marijuana legalization could increase the cost of addiction treatment of those introduced to heavier drugs from marijuana use, marijuana itself is not addictive if the intake is at a moderate amount. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit substance Why Marijuana Should Not Be Legal Essay. Words3 Pages. In our world today, it's often told to use that marijuana is bad for our health. The government has to put a lot of effort to put the people who do smoke into jail. But people no longer think the reasoning for illegal marijuana is to keep us healthy To summarize, I believe that Marijuana should not be legalized because it affects many people and it is literally a death sentence for first hand consumers and many second-hand smokers as well. It is very toxic to your body
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