Medical Marijuana

Thank you for this debate...Rebuttal I: Cures Cancer / Health Benefits:This is the most commonly thrown around myth of them all... behind, perhaps, the myth that it's not addictive, but Pro acknowledges that it's addictive.In reality, there is no evidence that Marijuana cures cancer. It has been shown to slow down the progression of some cancers, while speeding up, if not just plain creating, new ones. Most studies that claim benefits from Marijuana also list off issues with the drug that often outweigh those aforementioned benefits, including the very study most Marijuana-activists get their cancer myth from (1). Source one requires an account to view, the account is free to create. The viewer and Pro can use the username "Debate.Org" with password "Debate" to enter, however.Other issues with Pro's argument is that it makes the assumption that Marijuana is the holy grail of drugs, and without it, we've no other option. In reality, there is a list of medicine and options for just about everything Marijuana can do. Without Marijuana, we will still be able to accomplish everything Pro wants. In reality, Marijuana, known for the dangerous and highly addictive chemical THC, is the poorest possible option for many the issues Pro mentions. To pick Marijuana over most any other option would be in poor taste and illogical. Pro brings up Glaucoma... This case doesn't stand to the real world, however. Marijuana may "help" Glaucoma, but it's not because it affects the disease. It actually only helps by lowering eye pressure. This only helps because it negates the effects of the Disease. HOWEVER; as Glaucoma.com says, smoking the drug only affects eye pressure for up to 4 hours. It would take around 6-8 joints a day to keep the issue fixed (2). This becomes an issue because the drug prevents the user from doing certain tasks like operating machines, or driving. One would give up his whole life just to do what he could have done with Eye Drops and Pills, as the Glaucoma Foundation's website claims (3).[1] medscape.com/viewarticle/411952[2] http://www.glaucoma.org...[3] https://www.glaucomafoundation.org...[]Rebuttal II: Law Enforcement of Marijuana:It is true that it takes a number of resources to enforce bans on Marijuana. What Pro fails to understand about legalization, however, is that it's also expensive. The cost to manage the kinds of regulations required to properly and safely legalize the drug would be vast. Possibly far above the income from taxes. However, if instead of prison time, the police fined offenders, there would be less costs. Pro's claim is a reason for Reform, not Legalization.Some would say we'd save money by ending the War on Drugs, but this isn't true. Most drugs would still be illegal, and the War is expensive only because it includes a much larger War on Cartels. Cartels didn't come about to sell drugs, they came about to sell anything that's illegal. If Marijuana is legalized, they still can't sell it legally... 60,000 people have died between 2006-2012 (10,000 people a year) at the hands of cartels, and that doesn't include terrorism and damages (4). Cartels would still be hunted down, and the war would continue. Cartels, knowing they can't become legal, would simply find new revenues, or stronger forms of Marijuana, thus filling the market with a worse version of what we have now. Cartels can't be legalized, so illegal trading will continue, and the War oon Drugs/Cartels will go on. I figured this would be a good topic to bring up.Also, legalize wouldn't help free the people in prison... Ex Post Facto works in both directions.[4] http://www.cnn.com...[]Argument I: Health Risks:Pro has listed some health benefits that I've shown to be wrong. Now it's time to discuss the health risks. Studies claim that it only takes 3 joints a day to have the same health risk of 20 cigarettes (note: remember the 6 - 8 joints a day it takes to treat Glaucoma)(5). This makes smoking Marijuana a major health concern, not a benefit. Consider that giving someone a prescription of just 1 joint a day is the equivalent of having them smoke 7 cigarettes a day, it's a horrible method of treatment, especially when it doesn't actually cure anything.Other studies associate it with the spread and start of numerous other cancers. One study from the European Respiratory Journal reports that one joint a year increases the odds of lung cancer by 8%... Compared to only 7% for an entire pack of cigarettes a year (6). Cannabis, unlike most forms of treatment, is a smoking product, meaning it will produce secondhand smoke. One risks their children getting over 40 - 50 cigarettes worth of secondhand smoke each day just to do to Glaucoma was a pill could have done.Other issues Marijuana is associated with includes schizophrenia, as is supported by over 30 independent studies (7). Another site also links the drug to paranoia (8). These side effects are critical issues that make medical use of the drug highly irresponsible. The only benefit the drug truly has is ensuring a larger range of customers for doctors, and nothing else.The secondhand smoke from this drug alone would be disastrous, and would be an immediate threat to everyone around it. Even for recreational use, the threat to innocent people who have never touched marijuana would be extreme. Secondhand Smoke from cigarettes alone kills nearly 42,000 with heart disease and 3400 with lung cancer each year. Each year, it also causes asthma and asthma-related issues in an astounding 1,000,000+ children, or to be put it into perspective, 12.2% of all children within a whole generation (assuming the total number of unique children within an 18 year generation is 140 million [73 million current children + 4 million additions each year for 18 years.) Cigarettes also lead to between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in babies each year. ALL of these are among non-smokers a lone. The costs of managing secondhand smoke is up to $10 bn a year (9). This is only for smoking Cigarettes... At 7 cigarettes worth per joint, Marijuana legalization for recreational use could likely be insanely dangerous to people who don't even smoke the product.Addiction is also an issue. With an addiction rate of 10 - 30%, and a severe addiction rate of 9% (10). A lot of people will claim it's okay since it's not as addictive as Cigarettes. This is faulty logic, as determining if something is bad isn't based on how bad other things are.[5] http://news.bbc.co.uk...[6] http://erj.ersjournals.com...[7] http://www.schizophrenia.com...[8] http://www.debate.org...[9] http://www.cancer.org...[10] http://www.psychologytoday.com...[]Conclusion:The legalization of Marijuana for any reason would be disastrous, as the health risks are insanely grave, and the secondhand issues would be unjustifiable.