Harmon

Stephen Harmon
Gardner
English 10 H, Period 0
26 April 2015
Say no to Marijuana Legalization
Did you know that people who started smoking marijuana as teenagers and continued into
adulthood showed an average IQ drop of 6 points between age 13 and age 38 (Barber)? Marijuana is a
highly subduing drug generally prescribed to patients with muscle spasms, Crohns disease, nerve pain, or
seizure disorders. This drug eases pain, relieves headaches, and treats muscle ailments. Many people feel
they are entitled to indulge in this drug whenever and wherever they please. This drug will affect many
people by infecting one person at a time, plaguing them with burdensome habits. As of right now there
are 23 states who have legalized this highly addictive drug. In the remaining states this drug has not been
legalized. As a result, consuming, dealing, or having any relation to this drug will be an automatic
sentence to prison. Marijuana may have short-term benefits; however, there are many more defects to this
drug like the social, physical, and emotional toll it takes, making it is necessary that marijuana not be
legalized for recreational use.
Initially, many others would support the legalization of marijuana because of its ability to relieve
stress and its usefulness for treating and preventing a sparse amount of medical issues. Henry D. Jampel,
the Odd Fellows Professor of Ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins, reports that
smoking marijuana can help to prevent and remove a disease called glaucoma. This is a disorder which
increases pressure in the eyeball, damaging the optic nerve and causing loss of vision. Additionally,
Marijuana has also been proven to release stress because of its mixture of depressants and stimulants.
Marijuana slows down the rate at which nerve impulses are sent from the brain, causing stress to be
relieved. All things considered, people in support of marijuana legalization feel that it is beneficial on a

Harmon

personal status. Conversely, Marijuana may have short term remedies; however, it is laden with long term
medical consequences.
Unquestionably, the recreational usage of marijuana can have an innumerable and cataclysmic
amount of effects. For example, Peer-reviewed research has linked heavy marijuana usage with long-term
memory problems and other health defects in adults, reveals Dr. Joe Perrone the Chief Science Officer of
Center for Accountability in Science. Likewise, Henry D. Jampels studies also found that marijuana
usage doubles the risk of developing psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia. Jampels research also
shows that the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, is a powerful psychoactive ingredient that can cause
hallucinations or delusions that interfere with the way the brain makes and stores memories. Based on the
facts, marijuana is a highly destructive drug that will result in poor health, so by not legalizing marijuana
this would allow for a healthier environment. In summation, the recreational usage of marijuana is highly
destructive to the brain and should be prevented to save peoples memories, knowledge, and capacity for
information.
Not only is marijuana physically demanding it is also emotionally debilitating. Henry D. Jampel
also found that one in 10 adults who regularly smoke the drug become dependent on it, and those who
use it are more likely to go on to use harder drugs. With a dependency one cannot function properly in
society, resulting in an ostracized social life. A dependency is like a disease and will worsen as time
progresses if the issue is not solved. For Michele Leonhart, the administrator of the Drug Enforcement
Administration, there is no difference between the health effects of marijuana and those of any other
illegal drug. With the support of facts a concise observation can be learned: dont do marijuana. Having
personally seen the detrimental effects of the recreational use of marijuana it is evident that marijuana be
stopped and its controlling power over people be removed.
The usage of marijuana has one more major downfall, that being the erosion of society. Marijuana
has affected many people socially leaving them on the streets homeless and hungry. Homelessness
within youth has increased dramatically since the recreational use of marijuana was legalized in

Harmon

Colorado (McGhee). We were averaging 190 homeless last year. Were now averaging 345 a night,
reported Murray Flagg of the Salvation Army. This shocking information is a result of the usage of
marijuana. Marijuana has a greater effect on youth then it does on adults as well as an equally devastating
effect on races.
The social costs of the marijuana laws are vast. There were 658,000 arrests for marijuana
possession in 2012, according to F.B.I. figures, compared with 256,000 for
cocaine,
disproportionately on

heroin and their derivatives. Even worse, the result is racist, falling
young black men, ruining their lives and creating new

generations of career criminals.

(Editorial Board)

The idea trying to be conveyed is not to permit adults to participate in marijuana consumption
while youth are excluded, no, this means that neither should participate in its usage. If the recreational
usage of marijuana was repealed, the number of homeless people and the racist views would be relieved
exponentially. In summary, marijuana is not the underline cause for homelessness; however, it has a large
impact on the number of homeless people.
The recreational usage of marijuana should be repealed from the states and tighter legislation be
implemented to prevent the damaging effects on the physical, emotional, and social aspects of society.
Marijuana leaves people on the streets, it leaves them hungry and weak, it makes others view different
races negatively, and it most importantly makes people dependent. If we can gather support for the
prohibition of this drug, during for the next election we can remove it. Marijuanas grasp is growing and it
needs to be stopped. The time is now to act upon this unruly drug; stand up for yourselves; stand up for
others; stand up for the world.

Harmon

Works Cited
Barber, Ben. "Cool the Rush to Legalize Pot." Tribune News Service. SIRS Issues Researcher, 19 Dec.
2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
Leonhart, Michele. "World's First State-Licensed Marijuana Retailers Open Doors." Reuters Media.
SIRS Issues Researcher, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
Editorial Board "Repeal Prohibition, Again." New York Times. SIRS Issues Researcher, 27 Jul. 2014.
Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
Flagg, Murray. "Legalized Marijuana Draws Homeless Texans to Colorado." Click2Houston.
NBSNews.com, 22 Sept. 2014. Web. 07 May 2015.
Jampel, Henry D. "Should You Be Smoking Marijuana To Treat Your Glaucoma?" Glaucoma Research
Foundation. GuideStar, 25 June 2013. Web. 07 May 2015.
McGhee, Tom. "Legal Pot Blamed for Some of Influx of Homeless in Denver This Summer." The Denver
Post. Denver and the West, 25 July 2014. Web. 11 May 2015.
Perrone, Joseph. "The Junk 'Science' Behind the Marijuana Legalization Movement." Washington Post
Blogs. SIRS Issues Researcher, 21 Oct. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.