Article on the Legalization of Marijuanna
Kathleen M. Mantia
BCOM 275
January 14, 2013
Barb Schmauder

Article on the Legalization of Marijuana

Though strategic research is found with multiple articles about the opinions of legalizing marijuana in the United States my opinion still states the same. The use of marijuana, whether used medically or not, will increase the availability and use of our youth. I researched an article from a website known as “NORML (working to reform marijuana laws).” The site explains that legalizing medical marijuana does not increase the use among youth. The lead Author Esther Choo, M.D., M.P.H., has presented statistics to provide the reader with the assumption that there is evidence to back his statement. Choo (2013), “Based on their analysis of 32,570 students, they found that while marijuana use was common throughout the study period, there were no statistically significant differences in marijuana use between states in any year” (para.4). Although I am for the medical use of marijuana, I completely disagree with this statement in its entirety.
The human brain is not completely developed until the age of 25 years (Kristen Rollins n.d.). The brain of a teenager has excessive synapses in the part of the brain that makes decision making and the ability to assess risks. Legalizing marijuana would send a message to teenagers that maybe this drug is not as bad as they have been taught because it would be legal. The youth would believe that it is okay to experiment with marijuana for the reason of that undeveloped brain. Decisions that can alter your perception or future should not be make in early adulthood. In my opinion, there are many distractions already available to the teenage mind to be used in the direction of destruction; they do not need another one.