“Leave the trees, and let them be (lord lord) can’t you see you’re destroying the environment, Leave the trees, and let them be (whoa whoa), can’t you see you boring a hole inna di O-Zone layer” are some words mentioned in a popular song titled ‘Leave the trees’ written and sang by Jamaican Reggae artist Chezidek. “Marijuana can be defined as the hallucinogenic dried flower buds or leaves of the female hemp that contains high amounts of THC and are smoked, vaporized or consumed for its intoxicating impact” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 1874). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call marijuana the most commonly used drug, with 19.8 million Americans age 12 and older claiming to have used it during the preceding month in a CDC survey (Nicosia, 2018). The argument being debated is, will the legalization of marijuana cause more harm than good? However, several might oppose since they believe will lead to negative results instead of positive. Irrespective of the claim, marijuana should be legalized because it has so many attributes that can aid with economic and medical purposes improvement.
The legalization of marijuana will not eventually result in more harm than good because the legal production of marijuana can lead to an improvement in the economy. In 2015 Colorado collected more than $135 million in taxes and fees on medical and recreational marijuana (Mrinalini, 2019). Researchers have found that a taxed and regulated cannabis industry has contributed over $58 million to the Pueblo County economy (Zhang, 2018). Without a doubt, there’s certainly a bright future for the industry if legalized. It is estimated that the industry employed 165,000 to 230,000 full and part-time workers across the United States in 2017, and ArcView Market Research predicts that number will jump to over 400,000 by 2021 (Gunelius, 2018). Most definitely, Legalization legislation can be stringent, and the industry's target can be accomplished successfully. Need I say more?
The legalization of marijuana will not eventually result in more harm than good because it can be used for medical purposes and a substitute for other prescribed drugs in the medical industry. As stated by (Kabir, 2018) in his article titled “20 medical benefits you probably never knew” an U.S. Government sponsored study by the Institute of Medicine uncovered the beneficial properties of marijuana, since 1999 a number of these studies have been done to show that smoked marijuana has pain reducing effects. Additionally, (Kabir, 2018) state in a report that researchers at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco reported that Cannabidiol (CBD) may prevent cancer from spreading when they experimented on breast cancer cells in the lab that had high level of Id-1, and treated them with cannabidiol (Kabir, 2018). “Marijuana is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction” (Marley). Also (Oberg, 2018) in her article “Medical marijuana”, spoke about a search of the National Institutes of Health funded projects list in 2016 revealed 165 studies related to cannabis and 327 studies related to the search term marijuana, 68 % of these studies found benefit while 8 % found no benefit and 23 % of the studies were inconclusive or neutral. With all the health beneficial properties, why not make it legal?
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On the other hand, some may argue that it should not be allowed as it will do more harm than good because it can cause negative effects on one’s mental health. A study that followed more than 3,000 American pot users over a 25-year period discovered that people who used weed daily for five years or more developed an impoverished verbal memory during ages 45-65 than people who didn’t smoke or smoked less (Williams, 2019). NIDA research shows that drivers have slower reaction times, impaired judgment, and problems responding to signals and sounds if driving while under the influence of THC that is found in marijuana (Anderson, 2018).
As convincing as this may sound, do you think a plant can be of such big threat to an individual if not abused? How many tested and proven testimonies can prove that it has led to an individual's mental health? Legalizing Marijuana will not lead to individuals of ages 45-65 having a poorer memory because if it is being used for medical purposes as prescribed and not recreationally then there should be no long-term effect on one’s memory. In an article written by (Holland, 2019) it was said that THC found in the plant have been tested by medical professionals and proven to have medical benefits such as helping with insomnia, Glaucoma and muscle spasticity, it has benefits that have nothing to do with getting high. If marijuana has so much beneficial elements, why not legalize it? why not a create a market for it? Medical marijuana is a great substitute for all other prescribed medications that we use in aid of these illness because of the natural elements it contains while prescribed medications contains a lot of artificial elements that might later lead to another health issue.
Despite what the naysayers may think, it can’t be denied that the legalization of marijuana can help create a better tomorrow for the economy. If marijuana is legalized, more jobs can be produced which will reduce unemployment, and there will be opportunities for more global collaborations, as well as it will also help improve the medical sector. For the sake of the country’s economy and medical sector, the plant should be legalized along with the implementation of strict laws that should be adhered for a less chaotic industry. Let’s help create a brighter future for tomorrow’s world. Make marijuana legal.
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