Marijuana Should Be Legalized

I accept the challenge and hope for at good and fair debate. In the next round Pro should clarify precisely what regulations he means, otherwise it makes no sense to debate this. It should also be clear in which country or state this should happen if it has relevance to the regulations. This is an important point, and I shouldn't have accepted the debate before he made this clear. That being said, here are my arguments:Marijuana as a recreational drugThe active substance in marijuana is called THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). It affects receptors in the brain called cannabinoid receptors. We have naturally occurring neurotransmitters similar to THC called endocannabinoids that play an important role in the brain development and function, and the highest amount of cannabinoid receptors is found in parts of the brain that influences pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, sensory, time perception and coordinated movement. Marijuana affect us by overactivating the endocannabinoid system. ”Research has shown that, in chronic users, marijuana's adverse impact on learning and memory persists after the acute effects of the drug wear off; when marijuana use begins in adolescence, the effects may persist for many years. Research from different areas is converging on the fact that regular marijuana use by young people can have long-lasting negative impact on the structure and function of their brains.” [1] Overall it isn't easy to find unbiased sources when it comes to the effects of marijuana, but most studies show that the effects are overall negative when used for recreational purposes – not as a medical substance. Also, I think it's common sense to most people that smoking or eating marijuana is not exactly healthy. Arguing that it has positive health effects in some areas (see below) is not relevant in this case, since the negative effects are far greater.Marijuana as a medical substanceThe Food and Drug Administration has made a sorted list of drugs in relation to how dangerous or addictive they are. According to the FDA there is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision.[2] Interestingly enough they approve THC as a medicine because it has certain beneficial effects such as relieving nausea associated with chemotherapy and also to help appetite in patients that won't eat. However, marijuana as a whole are not approved for a number of reasons: First of all there haven't been sufficient studies to show that the benefits outweighs the risks in patients it is meant to treat.[3] Secondly, legitimate medicine must have well-defined and measurable ingredients that are consistent from one unit (e.g. pills) to the next, and marijuana does not live up to this criteria. It contains over 400 chemical compounds besides THC and research from 2009 shows that about 80 of these are biologically active cannabinoids, only found in marijuana.[4]Thirdly, marijuana has negative effects on especially the brain, as I stated earlier. Remember that marijuana and THC are not the same, and here we are debating marijuana.ConclusionI have shown that marijuana, whether used recreationally or as a medicine, cannot be considered safe and for those reasons alone would be unwise to legalize. There are other reasons why one might not legalize marijuana, but since this is the first round I'll wait and see what Pro has to say about it. [1] http://www.drugabuse.gov... [2] http://www.fda.gov... [3] http://www.drugabuse.gov... [4] http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org...