Decriminalizing recreational marijuana.

My opponent has not provided a reasonable response to either of them. In the previous round, he attempts to critique my second argument. He claims that because ‘the global economy is going rather well,’ there is no need to decriminalize marijuana to ensure that not so much money is wasted on criminal and legal systems, especially for minor offenses. Such a response completely misses the point for, it is completely irrelevant whether the global economy is going well or not. I am arguing that the United States of America is wasting an inane amount of money on criminal and legal systems, dedicated to minor offenses, and that decriminalizing marijuana would ensure such money can be better spent, on more pressing issues. My opponent has not even responded to my argument that decriminalizing marijuana does not increase its usage, and in some instances, lead to a decrease. In this round, I argue that the prohibition of marijuana would be irrational, given that its effects overall would be less harmful, as compared to tobacco smoking, or drinking alcohol. The assertion that marijuana is less harmful than tobacco has been demonstrated in several ways. I list just 2. First, a study lead by Mark J. Pletcher of University of California, San Francisco, published in the Journal of American Medical Association shows that marijuana is less damaging to the lungs than tobacco. [1] According to Pletcher: “We found exactly what we thought we would find in relation to tobacco exposure: a consistent loss of lung function with increasing exposure. We were, however, surprised to found such a different pattern of association with marijuana exposure. ” [2] Leland Kim, also of the University of California, San Francisco confirms this: “low to moderate use of marijuana is less harmful to the users’ lungs than exposure to tobacco. ”[3] Secondly, marijuana is less addictive than tobacco. Only 9% of marijuana consumers develop a serious addiction. Conversely, 32% of tobacco users develop a serious addiction, more than 3 times than marijuana consumers! As the psychologist Jann Gumbiner writes: “…. is marijuana addictive? For most people, no. About 10% of recreational users will develop problems serve enough to impair their work and relationships. ” [4] Marijuana is also less harmful than alcohol, both short-term and long-term. On a short term basis, there is no doubt that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. According to Ruben Baler, of the National Institute of Drug Abuse: “You can die binge drinking five minutes after you have been exposed to alcohol. This isn’t going to happen with marijuana. ” [5] On a long term basis, there is even less doubt that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. First, alcohol is more detrimental to liver health than marijuana. Consumption of marijuana has little effect on the liver. Contrary to this, consumption of alcohol has a massive effect on the liver. According to the American Liver Foundation, consumption of alcohol over time can cause three major diseases: fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, and alcoholic cirrhosis. [6] Alcoholic hepatitis is can be an extremely serious disease, for it can lead to “serious complications including liver failure and death. ” Alcoholic cirrhosis is even more serious, for it “cannot be reversed and can cause liver failure. ” [7] Alcohol is also more detrimental when it comes to kidneys. Although marijuana has little on the kidney , alcohol can cause kidney failure through raising blood pressure. Murray Epstein, in his paper ‘Alcohol’s Impact on Kidney Function’ writes in his conclusion: “…alcohol consumption can have profound negative effects on the kidney and their function in maintain the body’s fluid, electrolyte and acid-base balance, leaving alcoholic people vulnerable to a host of kidney-related health problems. ” [8] Furthermore, alcohol is linked to a wide variety of cancers. As a matter of fact, 3.5% of cancer deaths can be linked to the consumption of alcohol. However, there is virtually link between marijuana and cancer! Saferchoice. org notes this: “Alcohol use is associated with a wide variety of cancers, including cancers of the oesophagus, stomach, colon, lungs, pancreas, liver and prostate. Marijuana use has not been conclusively associated with any form of cancer. In fact, one study recently contradicted the long-time government claim that marijuana use is associated with head and neck cancers. If found that marijuana use actually reduced the likelihood of head and neck cancer. ” [9] It has been asserted, however, that marijuana is associated with lung cancer. However, this has now shown to be erroneous. The journalist Joseph Brownstein demonstrates this: “… while early studies showed some evidence linking marijuana to lung cancer, subsequent studies have debunked that associating. Baler [researcher] it’s unclear why marijuana smoke does not have the same result as tobacco smoke on the lungs, but [perhaps] some beneficial compounds in the marijuana smoke cancel out the ill effects. ” [10] This, perhaps is the most telling graph, which summarises the case I have argued above: [11] In conclusion, I have demonstrated that marijuana is less harmful than both tobacco and alcohol. However, how is it fair that marijuana but illegal in almost every American State, as compared to tobacco and alcohol, which are only regulated? Surely, now there is no rational basis for the oppressive prohibition, and complete banning of marijuana for recreational purposes. [1] . http://jama.jamanetwork.com... [2], [3] . https://www.ucsf.edu... [4] . http://www.psychologytoday.com... [5] . http://www.uatrav.com... [6], [7] . http://www.liverfoundation.org... [8] . http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov... [9] . http://archive.saferchoice.org... [10] . http://www.livescience.com... [11] You bother reading the references? Source in graph :)