Legalization Of The Recreational Use Of Marijuana Essay

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Words: 1866
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Maggie Solberg
Mrs.Deal
4th Hour
December 23rd, 2014
The Legalization of the Recreational Use of Marijuana
Imagine you are fighting an illness that causes you to feel pain every second of every day. Wouldn’t you want to do whatever it takes to not feel that pain? Pain relief is one of many positive side effects that goes along with the use of marijuana. Marijuana is currently legal in four states and the District of Columbia for recreational use (Montopoli par. 5). Marijuana should be legalized in all states for recreational use because it increases state economies, it is not as bad for your body as tobacco and alcohol, and the long term effects are minimal.
Marijuana became illegal in 1937 where it was first nationally recognized under the
National Drug Association as an illegal drug (Miller par. 3). Ever since then, many speculations have surrounded the drug and have continued to do so even as the drug is becoming legalized in states across the nation. These speculations, however, are wrong.
In 2012, the LA Times published an article concerning the link between cancer and marijuana use. They state in the article that, “ men who have testicular cancer are twice as likely to have smoked marijuana before they were diagnosed,” (Bardin par. 1). This information is false. According to the National Cancer Institute, marijuana stops the growth of cancer stopping the growth of blood vessels that help feed the cancerous tumor (Effects par. 9). This works because when marijuana enters a person’s body, it takes only minutes for it to enter a person’s bloodstream. After it enters he or she’s bloodstream, it is pumped throughout their body to every

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limb and organ, and remains in their bloodstream for four to ten days, causing the blood vessels to contain delta­9­tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and blocking off any nutrients to the cancerous tumor or cells (Cannabis par. 3). Another speculation critics of marijuana continue to make is that the long term use of marijuana makes a person less intelligent. This information became “real” in 2012 when a group of New Zealand researchers found a relationship with the use of marijuana and the declining IQ scores in some people. Ole Rogeberg, an economist, believed that there was a flaw with this data, so he did his own research and experiment. In Rogeberg’s experiment, he found out that marijuana users do not have a smaller nor larger IQ scores than people who do not use the drug
(Jakobsen, par. 5).
A third speculation that has been raised recently because of the legalization of recreational use of marijuana in some states is that “Marijuana will not help grow the economy”
(Montopoli, par. 1). This speculation is also false because legalizing Marijuana recreationally will give state governments to control the production and selling of the drug, creating jobs and creating more money in the states. If the states are economically doing good, the states will be able to pay more taxes to the national government, also creating the national economy to blossom. If Marijuana is legalized for recreational use, state economies will improve drastically.
This relates directly with each individual states gross domestic product (GDP). The GDP is how much money a state makes throughout the year through the products and services they regulate
(“Gross” par. 1). One of the main reasons the states GDP would increase because if marijuana is legalized, the state can regulate the production and selling of the drug, creating more GDP.

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Colorado is one of four states in the United States that currently has Marijuana legalized
(“Working” par. 1). Colorado legalized Marijuana for recreational and medical use during the
November 2012 elections, making it the first state to have the drug legalized (“Working” par.1).
This law is not a free for all either. A person must be 21 years of age to legally buy the drug and use it