Legalization of Marijuana in the Philippines

Cannabis, also known as marijuana, is a preparation of the Cannabis plant intended for use as
a psychoactive drug and as medicine. These are dried leaves and flowering tops of the pistil hemp plant
that yield THC and are smoked in cigarettes for their intoxicating effect. Marijuana has been used for
medical purposes since 2700 BC, where ancient Greeks and Egyptians used the weed to treat ailments. It
is also believed to be consumed because of its physiological effects. Marijuana can be consumed in many
different ways, such as smoking, using a vaporizer, brewed as Cannabis tea, or by adding it as an
ingredient in food.
In our country today, marijuana is considered illegal. The legalization of marijuana can bring both
favourable and unfavourable effects to the society, and the environment. Our government is very much
aware of this and have decided not legalize the drug, despite the efforts of the citizens of convincing the
government to legalize marijuana.
Tobacco and alcohol, both legal in the Philippines, are two of the primary causes of deaths.
These have caused 10% and 3.8% of all deaths in the country, respectively. Approximately ten Filipinos
die every hour due to tobacco-related diseases. Meanwhile, marijuana which is considered illegal has not
caused any death. Not a single death has been recorded due to marijuana overdose.
Although marijuana has negative effects to the behaviour, health and safety of individuals who
take these, just like any ordinary drug (both legal and illegal), it can still be beneficial to the society in
many ways. In a study on marijuana, it proved that it has psychoactive and physiological effects when
consumed. Some effects of consuming marijuana are: relaxation and the feeling of being high, can
relieve pain, control nausea, stimulate appetite, increase heart rate, dilate blood vessels, fluctuate blood
pressure, decrease short-term memory, result to dry mouth, impair motor skills and can cause reddening
of the eyes. Marijuana has also been proven to treat pain and muscle spasticity. A recent study also
concluded that marijuana could help regrow brain cells and could improve memory. Definitely, marijuana
has many benefits and can be used for several purposes.
If marijuana is to be legalized, I believe it would have numerous good and bad effects. Some of
the positive effects of legalizing the drug are listed below. First, since marijuana is a highly addictive
drug, the demand of marijuana would drastically increase causing ordinary citizens to supply or engage in
a legal business involving marijuana in order to cope up with the high demand of the drug. In return, this
provides more job opportunities for the Filipinos. Also, terrorists who are potential drug dealers lose their
business as well as their connection with the citizens, and instead, the cash generated from the sale of
marijuana is now controlled by the law. Taxes arent imposed on marijuana since it is illegal, so the
government cannot gain from it or earn financial funding to support beneficial government programs and
projects.
The second point Id like to mention is that the governments efforts of prohibiting the drug has
failed to control the production and use of the drug. Millions of Filipinos continue to use marijuana;
hence legalizing the drug would just make it easier for both the government and the people.
Third, marijuana is a great help to students, workers and even people with Alzheimers disease
because it has been said to improve memory. Marijuana has been said to prevent memory loss, and
regenerate dead brain cells and has also been proven to prevent brain inflammation, which is the primary
cause of Alzheimers disease. In other words, legalizing the drug would be a great benefit to the society
and most especially to patients suffering from Alzheimers disease and other illnesses and ailments.
The negative effects of legalizing marijuana, on the other hand, would include: First, I think that
legalizing marijuana would cause the peoples attention to be directed to the use of marijuana instead of
studying, working or doing something more productive. The society shifts its attention to the use of the
drug instead of working for the development of the country. Educational systems could possibly be
disturbed, as well as the normal processes and sectors of the country. The Filipinos could become a
society of drug users instead of a group of intelligent, hardworking, and positive-minded fellows.
 Second, I believe that the people would not only use, but also abuse marijuana if it were to be
legalized. This wouldnt be surprizing because the drug would become freely available to consumers.
Moreover, legalization would increase the chances of the drug falling into the hands of kids who, I
believe, are the future leaders and forerunners of our country.
Third, the legalization of marijuana could eventually lead to the legalization of other high-end
and harder drugs, which could be the possible reason for the destruction of our society, the youth, and the
values and traditions instilled in us.
Fourth, I do not think that legalizing the drug is suitable in the case of our country where majority
of the people live in poverty. Legalizing marijuana could be the reason why more and more families and
children would suffer from hunger, scarcity and homelessness, lack of education and, even worse, death. I
fear that by legalizing this drug, it would only add up to the several problems our nation would have to
face.
If marijuana were not to be legalized for the reasons of it being addictive, harmful to the health
and unsafe, may I also point out that alcohol and tobacco, which are both legal, also have similar, if not
worse, side effects on the behaviour, health and safety of individuals who take these. Marijuana isnt
actually a lethal drug and is safer than alcohol. If the government is accepting the use of alcohol and
cigarettes, then there shouldnt be a reason why they arent accepting marijuana.
I believe that too much of anything is poison and that too much of anything could be harmful,
dangerous and damaging. Growing up, we consider drugs as bad, which is very true, but not all
substances labelled as drugs by the government are equally as harmful, especially when taken in
moderation.
The key to building a responsible, civilized, educated and refined society is discipline. The
country, if it were to legalize marijuana, needs to discipline its leaders and citizens and make them
responsible and accountable for their actions. Using marijuana is acceptable, as long as it is taken in
reasonable amounts.
Although the debate about the legalization of marijuana in our country goes on and on, I believe
that legalizing marijuana is absolutely fine as long as it is regulated. After all, the drug cannot cause much
damage when used in moderation. Yes, marijuana has damaging effects but regulating the use of the drug
would minimize the chance of it being harmful and destructive. I think that even though the drug has side
effects, it still has many uses in the field of medicine and it is still beneficial to most people, which is why
I think that legalizing the drug isnt a bad thing at all. The society just has to learn how to balance, control
and use the drug justly. Giving new things a try is one step closer to the improvement and progress of our
nation.