Marijuana should become legalised

Marijuana. The drug is one that has left many people on the fence whether it should be legalised or not. The drug is one that has became renown for being the centre of many debates and disagreements on whether it should be legalised or not. Today, I am here to hopefully dispell a few myths about the drug, explain what happens from its legalisation, and maybe make some people's mind change on this issue. I hope to dispell a few things right now, things that are usually used to make people think that marijuana should stay illegal. Marijuana is dangerousNow, this is the first, and usually most important clash point in any drug debate. It is one that is incredibly important - if marijuana is extremely dangerous, then, really, it should be outlawed. So, quite simply, if Marijuana is less dangerous than other legalised products, then it should be legalised. There are numerous studies talking about how marijuana is less dangerous than its legal counterpart, cigarettes. Cigarettes, containing tobacco, on low or moderate use are more dangerous than same usage of marijuana[1], a study found. In fact, it found that extremely minor use actually helps clear the lungs and airways[1]. "Air flow rate increased rather than decreased with increased exposure to marijuana up to a certain level". Mark Pletcher, MD, MPH, professor in the Division of of Clinical Epidemiology, stated: "Our findings suggest that occasional use of marijuana for these or other purposes may not be associated with adverse consequences on pulmonary function. On the other hand, our findings do suggest an accelerated decline in pulmonary function with heavier use...and a resulting need for caution and moderation when marijuana use is considered."He agrees that moderate and low use of Marijuana has been hyped, and new studies are constantly finding Marijuana is less dangerous than once thought. "We expected that we would find that a history of heavy marijuana use--more than 500 to 1,000 uses--would increase the risk of cancer from several years to decades after exposure to marijuana," explains physician Donald Tashkin of the University of California, Los Angeles, and lead researcher on the project. But looking at residents of Los Angeles County, the scientists found that even those who smoked more than 20,000 joints in their life did not have an increased risk of lung cancer.[4]Many studies also agree that Marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco[2], when considering psychological and physical damage. Phil Willis, who chairs the committee, said the current classifications were "riddled with anomalies" and "clearly not fit for purpose"[2]. He went on: "It's time to bring in a more systematic and scientific approach to drug classification - how can we get the message across to young people if what we are saying is not based on evidence?"Alcohol is also more dangerous for teenagers to those in their mid-20s[3]. The brain damage has been told as being almost 50% more in some studies, showing, yet again, marijuana is not as dangerous as people used to think. Is there any danger at all?Some people I know still smoke marijuana because of the overwhelming evidence showing how it is not dangerous to you or I. However, there is a vital difference between marijuana used in medical tests and for medical purposes currently than the recrational batches on the street. It's called a business aim. One who produces marijuana for medical purposes needs high quality, pure marijuana. This is good, and has no link to other problems. The legalisation of pure marijuana is what I am advocating. The problem, unfortunately, is with the low-quality marijuana. Some of the dangerous ingredients include lead, which "on average was 10% by weight, which translates into a profit increase of approximately €1,000 ($1,500.00) per kilogram of marijuana."[4]. Lead poisoning is well known for being dangerous, but, to reiterate the dangers, "It has been determined and recognized by the EPA that there is no safe level for lead...and that any level poses some degree of adverse health effects."(bold in source)[5]. "Even very low levels of lead can cause reduced IQs, learning disabilities and behavioral problems such as hypertension and reduced attention span... And often the effects of lead are life long and irreversible."[5].If it ain't broke, don't fix it My final point in this round shall be the argument that it is working right now. Well, we are in a recession, no denying that. We all need more money in order to relieve the tax hikes, the public spending costs. But there's a third way. One that is usually not liked by too many people (no idea why) but keeps taxes low, and keeps great public service. Legalisation. If we modernise the legislation of our countries, then we can increase income. "From Canada we’ve learned that the production cost of (government-sponsored) marijuana is roughly 33¢ a gram. Currently, marijuana consumers pay at least $10 per gram retail for illegal marijuana. ...Selling the (legal) product at exactly the same price as on the street today ($10 per gram) could raise $40 billion to $100 billion in new revenue. Not chump change. Government would simply be transferring revenue from organized crime to the public purse."[6]. This kind of revenue boost would push most countries out of recession. On top of this, the legalisation of drugs actually helps the population. Case study Portugal. Legalised all drugs 7 years ago. Now, the degree of legalisation is not one I agree with due to the speed of their legalisation, but one can't deny the facts. "Five years later, the number of deaths from street drug overdoses dropped from around 400 to 290 annually, and the number of new HIV cases caused by using dirty needles to inject heroin, cocaine and other illegal substances plummeted from nearly 1,400 in 2000 to about 400 in 2006, according to a report released recently by the Cato Institute"[7]. "Now instead of being put into prison, addicts are going to treatment centers and they're learning how to control their drug usage or getting off drugs entirely," report expert Glenn Greenwald. It is quite clear: the legalisation helps the people, the criminalisation hurts them. The law, one similar to that of the 1920s prohibition, should be thought of similarly: a law that was out of touch with the people's wishes, and the people's needs. I think this final quotation explains everything quite clearly:"[Marijuana] decriminalization did reach its primary goal in Portugal," of reducing the health consequences of drug use, he says, "and did not lead to Lisbon becoming a drug tourist destination." Marijuana decriminalisation helps everyone. Vote PRO, vote for change.1 - http://www.news-medical.net...2 - http://news.bbc.co.uk...3 - http://www.physorg.com...4 - http://www.nejm.org...5 - http://www.globalhealingcenter.com...6 - http://www.businessweek.com...7 - http://www.scientificamerican.com...