Persuasive Research Essay- Good Copy

By: Zafeer 11/20/2014

Marijuana also commonly known as cannabis, pot, weed, and many other street
names is a plant drug which was first recorded by a Chinese emperor in 2727 B.C.
(Cannabis), The drug has since made its way around the world since then. In Canada,
marijuana first became illegal in 1923 under the Narcotics Drug Act Amendment Bill and
has been illegal since then (Schwartz). Recently however, public opinion has been
moving towards the legalization of marijuana. A survey conducted of Canadian adults
found that 59 per cent said they thought marijuana should be legalized (ARG). The
legalization of marijuana would lead to economic, health, public safety, and protection of
marijuana for not only the Canadian Government but also Canadians.
Marijuana in most peoples eyes is a drug which is bad for your health and leads
to death, which is why it should remain illegal. Those people dont know what theyre
saying. Marijuana has ingredients in it which can assist people coping with diseases
and cure people with diseases. Instead of killing people it has the ability to save them.
Researchers at the California Medical Centre have found that one of the active
ingredients in marijuana, cannabidiol could essentially turn off the ID-1 (Wilkey). ID-1
is the gene in the body which causes cancer to spread, so in theory it could help
prevent cancer from occurring for people. Another study found that tetrahydracannabial

another ingredient in marijuana competitively inhibits the aggression of the enzyme

acetlycholinesterase as well as prevents AChE-induced amyloid B-peptide, the key
pathological marker of Alzheimers disease (Eubanks). Marijuana could decrease the
growths of those diseases so if legalized it could lengthen the lives of Canadians.
By legalizing marijuana the Canadian government could increase public safety
for Canadians. This task can be achieved by stopping the revenue of criminal
organizations made by the illegal selling of drug. A study done by two economic
professors at Clemenson University found that legalization can remove primary
revenue of organized crime because legalization of marijuana would create competition
from legal marijuana sellers which would drive prices down causing people to switch to
the legal market (Benjamin and Miller). The revenue lost by this would then result in
cutting finances of criminal organizations which would leave them less money to buy
things like guns to commit more illegal activity. A bonus result from that is the more
decrease of illegal guns in Canada the safer it becomes.
Legalization of marijuana can also protect the youth from being exposed to
marijuana. Researchers at Northwestern University found the heavier a teen uses
marijuana, the greater abnormalities in brain regions (Barton). If legalized, marijuana
would prevent the widespread access to youths because legalization would put the
distribution of the drug in the hands of responsible authority figures just like the
distribution of alcohol and tobacco. Unlike drug dealers, these responsible people
wouldnt just give away marijuana as long as the person has the money, they would
instead make sure the person is of legal age and would ask people for I.D if they looked

too young to purchase or to prove their age similar to the selling of tobacco or alcohol.
Drug dealers on the other hand wouldnt care less whom the buyer is, or whatever age
they may be, as long as they make their profit.
The legalization of marijuana also has many economic benefits to Canadians.
First of all, legalization would allow legal sellers of marijuana to collect tax revenue from
customers which the government could use for a variety of services for Canadians, like
they do with profit from the OLG which they use to build new hospitals. If marijuana
sales were taxed at a similar rate as alcohol or tobacco, B.C could generate $2.5 billion
in government tax and licensing revenues over five years (B.C. Liberals). These
numbers are from a single province from a country which has ten provinces and three
territories, the collective tax revenue from the entire country would be much greater and
that money could go to funding government programs beneficial to all Canadians. Not
only that, it would decrease the amount of resources spent by the government on its
war with drugs. A report by the office of the Auditor General of Canada found that
50,000 Canadians roughly were charged with drug related crimes (Illicit Drugs: The
Governments Role). 50% of the Canadians in that number were charged with marijuana
possession, meaning that a significant portion of the $2.3 billion the government of
Canada contributes to enforce drug prohibition (Rehm) would have been saved if
marijuana was legalized. This money could have been given back instead to tax payers
or used again to fund government programs which are beneficial to all Canadians.
Overall the decision to legalize marijuana would provide a wide variety of benefits
to Canadians and the Canadian government. Legalization would prove useful for

medical purposes, public safety, protecting the youth to exposure to marijuana, and
provide economic benefits to Canada as a nation.

Work Cited:
ARG. "Six-in-ten Canadians Support Legalizing Marijuana, but Say It's Not a Top
Justice Priority." Angus Reid Global. 14 Aug. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <http://
www.angusreidglobal.com/polls/six-in-ten-canadians-support-legalizingmarijuana-but-say-its-not-a-top-justice-priority-2/>.
Barton, Adriana. "Your Kid's Brain on Pot: The Real Effects of Marijuana on
Teens." The Globe and Mail. 16 Oct. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/ health-and-fitness/health/your-kidsbrain-on-pot-the-real-effects-of-marijuana-on-teens/ article21127612/>.
B.C. Liberals. "Marijuana Policy Paper." B.C. Liberals. 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 17 Nov.
2014. Benjamin, Daniel K. and Miller, Roger Leroy. Undoing Drugs. US: Basic
Books. 1991.
"Cannabis." DEA Museum. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.deamuseum.org/ccp/ cannabis/history.html>.
Eubanks, Lisa M, et al. "A Molecular Link between the Active Component of
Marijuana and Alzheimer's Disease Pathology." Molecular Pharmaceuitcs 3.6
(2006): 773-77. American Chemical Society. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Gable, Robert. "The Toxicity of Recreational Drugs." American Scientist. 1 June
2006. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/thetoxicity-of-recreational-drugs/2>.

Illicit Drugs: The Federal Governments Role. Office of the Auditor General of
Canada. (2001).
J. Rehm, et al. (2006). The Costs of Substance Abuse in Canada-2002. Canadian
Centre on Substance Abuse.
Schwartz, Daniel. "Marijuana Was Criminalized in 1923, but Why?" CBC News.
CBC/ Radio Canada, 6 May 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/marijuana-was-criminalized-in-1923-but-why1.2630436>.
WebMD. "Marijuana Use and Effects of Marijuana." WebMD. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/marijuana-use-and-itseffects>.
Wilkey, Robin. "Find Cannabis Compound Stops Metastasis In Aggressive
Cancers." The Huffington Post. 19 Sept. 2012. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ 2012/09/19/marijuana-andcancer_n_1898208.html>.