Resolved: Marijuana should be legalized in the United States.

LEGALIZING MARIJUANA DEBATE CON I thank my opponents for his comments. However, I realized that he has not defined any definitions. Therefore, I would like to define some of the terms in the debate. Marijuana - the dried leaves and female flowers of the hemp plant, used in cigarette form as a narcotic or hallucinogen. Also known as cannabis, pot, and weed Legalized – to make legal. In this sense, to total remove all of the restrictions outlawing the use of production, and possession of marijuana. Decriminalization – to remove criminal penalties against I would now like to refute some of the arguments that my opponent has brought forth. In my opponent's first contention, he states that scientific evidence shows that marijuana doesn't have any major health effects. In Sub-point 1a, he claims that smoking marijuana is not associated with lung issues. This is simply not true. A large study also shows that smoking marijuana on a regular basis results in wheezing, bronchitis, and chronic coughing. In Sub-point 1b, he claims that there is no strong connection between marijuana and detrimental mental effects. However, that is a blatant lie. Drugs that are used for social purposes are used because they induce a "high", or a feeling of euphoria and relaxation. Every drug will have detrimental health effects, the most severe being addiction which I shall elaborate on in my contentions. Furthermore, a large Swedish study shows that using marijuana before the age of 18 doubles the risk of developing schizophrenia. Clearly, my opponent's first contention is flawed and false. In my opponent's second contention, he mentions "decriminalization" a lot. However, I would like to point out that "decriminalization" and "legalization" are very different terms. Also, my opponent speaks of how it is easier to acquire medical marijuana. However, medical marijuana is already legalized in various states and you can apply for medical marijuana. I would also like my opponent to clarify what he plans to do with the some 75, 000 people in prison for marijuana possession charges and other crimes related with marijuana. Since my opponent says that "The cost of maintaining these prisoners is astronomical for American taxpayers", I'll assume that he plans to release those prisoners. However, I would like to ask him what he plans to do with all the fines that had to be paid by those incarcerated for marijuana charges. For example: Possession, first offense: misdemeanour, 1 year incarceration, $1000 fine Possession, second offense: misdemeanour, 2 years' incarceration, $2500 fine Possession, subsequent offense: misdemeanour/felony, 3 years' incarceration, $5000 fine Sale, less than 50 kg: felony, 5 years, $250, 000 fine Sale, 50 – 99 kg: felony, 20 years, $1, 000, 000 fine Sale, 100 – 999 kg: felony, 40 years, $5, 000, 000 fine Sale, 1000 kg or more: felony, life, $10, 000, 000 fine Cultivation, less than 50 plants: felony, 5 years, $250, 000 fine Cultivation, 50 – 99 plants: felony, 20 years, $1, 000, 000 fine Cultivation, 100 – 999 plants: felony, 40 years, $5, 000, 000 fine Cultivation, 1000 plants or more: felony, life, $10, 000, 000 fine From the years of 1996 – 2010, in the United States 1, 362, 571 people were incarcerated with marijuana trafficking and sale, and 10, 106, 550 people were incarcerated with possession. Assuming that each of the crimes were small offenses, such as possession, first offense and sail, less than 50 kg, we would have to repay $1,362,571,000 in possession alone and $252,663,750,000 in sales charges! Furthermore, we would have to pay compensation charges for those incarcerated any amount of time. Compensation for 1 year in prison could range to $120,000. The total amount for compensation charges if everyone in jail had served 1 year, we would have to pay $1,376,294,520,000! Total charges would amount to $1, 630, 320, 841, 000!! Clearly, the economic benefit doesn't exist, but I will elaborate more on this in my contentions. I will now proceed on to my first two contentions. Firstly, THE HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH MARIJUANA USAGE Marijuana is shown to cause various adverse affects to mental health, unlike what my opponent would have you believe. The most acute affects are anxiety, motor-coordination, processing capability, motor performance, attention loss, psychotic symptoms, road crashes if the driver of a vehicle is intoxicated, cannabis dependence (addiction), chronic bronchitis, and behavioural disorders. Repeated usage of cannabis increases the chances of having a stroke, high blood pressure, and fatal heart attacks. This can be highly dangerous when marijuana users participate in high risk activities, such as driving. The lack of ability to respond quickly can result in car accidents. Furthermore, usage of marijuana results in an increased risk of lung related issues, unlike what my opponent would like you to believe. Both Morocco and New Zealand has conducted tests and both show that use of marijuana increases lung cancers in users. These health risks are very dangerous for those using marijuana. If we legalize marijuana, marijuana usage will increase. Why? Because illegality deters many citizens from doing activities, if we legalize marijuana more people will end up using marijuana, exposing more people to these health risks. Secondly, MARIJUANA IS A GATEWAY DRUG I have no doubt that my opponent will deny this fact and claim that marijuana is not a gateway drug. However, that is simply a fallacy. Marijuana is a gateway drug. Studies show that adolescents who use marijuana are 85% more likely to use cocaine or heroin, extremely dangerous drugs. 60% of adolescents who use marijuana before the age of 15 ends up using cocaine. I quote: "troubled youths" for whom there is a statistically significant gateway effect that doubles the hazard of starting to use hard drugs" (Melberg, 2007, Cited by 9). These hard drugs are extremely dangerous and the usage of marijuana will increase users of these hard drugs. When arrested, those who use these hard drugs will have to be incarcerated, continuing to affect the "economic benefits" claimed by my opponent. My final contention I will present in the next round (as I am running out of characters), and it is perhaps one of the most important, ADDICTION. So what have we learned today? My opponent claims that there are no major health issues associated with marijuana. My opponent claims that there will be economic benefits. Both of these are flawed arguments. Marijuana poses many dangerous health risks and is a gateway drug to hard drugs. For these reasons, Vote Con. SOURCES: http://blog.uvm.edu... http://www.fitsugar.com... http://norml.org... http://www.drugwarfacts.org... http://www.ocregister.com... http://www.acde.org...