Marijuana Should be Legalized for Recreational Use

The regulation and restriction of recreational marijuana is justified. Marijuana will provide more harm than benefit to our society. My contentions: -Marijuana is harmful and addictive -Legalizing marijuana would very likely increase the number of abusers manifold. -The likely effects of marijuana abuse on society can be easily gauged by measuring the harm produced by a similar but legal and widely advertised drug: tobacco -Can drugs destroy an economic powerhouse such as the U. S. ? Yes. It has done so before, and it can do so again -A large proportion of marijuana users are unconscious of marijuana's risks, therefore their decision to use or abuse it is mostly uninformed Marijuana is an addictive and, contrary to my opponent's belief, does pose a legitimate and serious threat to the smoker's health. In addition to the apparent harms effected on the respiratory system (due to it being generally smoked), marijuana "impairs short-term memory and motor coordination; slows reaction time; alters mood, judgment, and decision-making; and in some people can cause severe anxiety (paranoia) or psychosis (loss of touch with reality). " [1] Marijuana abuse severely detriments the abuser's abilities to effectively work or reason. Marijuana is also an addictive. Despite these facts, the general perceptional trend among youths is that marijuana is a 'safe drug'[2], leading to an increase in its illicit use among youth demographics. According to the Newport Academy, a reputed teen drug-abuse treatment center, the common myths held true by illicit abusers are that marijuana isn't addictive, marijuana is natural therefore harmless, marijuana doesn't cause any problems, and marijuana doesn't make you lose control[3]. These all point to one general and very wrong perception: marijuana is harmless. Does my opponent believe that, when marijuana is legalized, marijuana-selling companies will clarify marijuana's risks? Even tobacco companies don't do this in its multimillion dollar advertising campaigns. What makes you think marijuana companies will? Something often said by marijuana proponents is: Why in the world is marijuana illegal, but tobacco isn't? Tobacco products pose much greater impairments to health and are much more lethal in terms of mortality. So why is marijuana illegal? Let us go back 300 years to 18th century China, which had prospered as the wealthiest and most powerful economic unit from the 14th to early 18th century (due to the immense quantity and unique quality of silver and silk within). By the mid-late 18th century, China had deteriorated to a state rife with corruption. Its productivity had taken a massive dive from what it had been decades before, and it was losing massive quantities of silver to the English and other European nations. The cause of this economic and societal deterioration was indisputably opium. Millions either stopped working or were only able to churn out a fraction of the productivity they were capable of prior to smoking opium. The emperor eventually became aware of the nation's opium, it's detrimental effects and inescapable addiction. Opium was decreed unconditionally illegal. The ban was implemented much too late. Officials ignored the law, accepting bribes to help facilitate the black market opium trade. Most of these officials were themselves Opium addicts. The rest is history. By the late 19th century, China had become so weak that when Japan first began its invasions that the world's nations, which had assumed China to be able to easily fend off the Japanese, balked at China's unexpected crushing defeat. This is the reason marijuana is illegal and tobacco is not. Although it doesn't kill people as tobacco does, marijuana, like opium and other illegal substances, directly affect the brain, destroying most addicts' ability to work, to reason, etc. Millions of potential doctors, lawyers, workers, and entrepreneurs will be lost to marijuana abuse and addiction. Consider the following excerpt: "Research clearly demonstrates that marijuana has the potential to cause problems in daily life or make a person's existing problems worse. In fact, heavy marijuana users generally report lower life satisfaction, poorer mental and physical health, relationship problems, and less academic and career success compared to their peers who came from similar backgrounds. For example, marijuana use is associated with a higher likelihood of dropping out from school. Several studies also associate workers' marijuana smoking with increased absences, tardiness, accidents, workers' compensation claims, and job turnover. "[6] The effect of marijuana on productivity and motor/brain functions is VERY real. Imagine marijuana smoking on a scale greater than that of tobacco (43.8million smokers nationwide with 78% of these who smoke everyday[5]). Despite the fact that tobacco companies spend billions on advertisements, the number of illicit marijuana smokers still far exceeds the number of tobacco smokers (Over 83 million Americans [7] over the age of 12). Imagine if we were to legalize marijuana. Marijuana will destroy our economy, affecting more than just the health of the millions of hemp-users, but also the lives of the nation's residents. In fact, due to marijuana's very low mortality rate, we can expect tobacco users to even switch to marijuana, thereby destroying their brains, their motor functions, and their productivity. [1]. http://www.drugabuse.gov... [2]. http://www.drugabuse.gov... [3]newportacademy. com/marijuana-rehab/abuse-myths/ [4]. http://www.drugabuse.gov... [5]. http://www.cdc.gov... [6]. http://www.drugabuse.gov... [7]. http://parentingteens.about.com...