Without a doubt, marijuana is the most used illicit drug in the U.S. Almost 40% of the United States population has used this drug at least once. This brings me to wonder, why should marijuana be legalized? As there have been many claims about what it can and cannot do for our health, I feel that marijuana?s role in our criminal justice system, politics, and environment is a larger issue. Overall, I feel like the policies against marijuana should be changed in order to benefit our country. To start, 1 in 6 people are imprisoned for non-violent drug offenses. This means that our prisons are overcrowded with harmless people when we can use that room to imprison more violent offenders. I would also like to point out that maintaining a prisoner in jail in incredibly costly. It costs about $55,000 per year to keep one prisoner in jail. That money comes out of tax payers pockets. If the prisoner is not violent, there is not need to spend thousands of dollars on security each year to uphold them in prison. Also, not only would decriminalizing marijuana cause thousands of drug dealers to lose business, it would also decrease deaths and violence due to the unregulated black market trade of marijuana. This could offer more safety in our communities because marijuana is so widely sold. This is especially important to me as a student on a college campus where 30% of students are users. In my personal opinion, the biggest reason why the United States should legalize marijuana is to get out of debt. The United States owes over $14 trillion dollars in debt, and the number is growing. In order to get out of this debt, the government puts taxes on several things. They tax income, property, tobacco, sales, alcohol, etc. Marijuana could be a source of additional tax revenues. For example, new laws in California made the use of medical marijuana legal. If there was a 10% tax on marijuana in California, the government could profit with about $1.4 billion dollars per year. By legalizing and taxing marijuana, the United States could easily get out of a lot of debt. Another great point I would like to bring up is that legalizing marijuana would be better for the environment. Petroleum based products could be replaced with hemp based products like oil and plastic, which would allow the US to be less dependent on foreign oil. For Americans, this means that gas prices would not need to fluctuate and could be low because it would not have to be imported from across the world. It is better for the environment because hemp can grow without pesticides and byproducts would cause less pollution. With these points alone, I feel that marijuana should be legalized and decriminalized because not only are too many harmless people committing non-violent crimes being put in jail and their security paid for by citizen?s taxes, but the United States could become a wealthier country and get out of a lot of their debt by legalizing marijuana and taxing it. As an American, this is really important because the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana would allow us to pay less in taxes and pay less for gas. In general, there may be negative opinions towards marijuana legalization, but these facts alone show that it would be in our best interest to legalize it.
Unlike many other drugs on the market, marijuana is not nearly as harmful for our health. For example, there have not been any cases of lung cancer or emphysema attributed to marijuana use, and no one has ever died from a marijuana overdose. Also unlike most other drugs, users don’t tend to use marijuana on a daily basis. In fact, they tend to quite by their 20s or 30s. Adding to that, there are no withdrawal symptoms after users stop smoking marijuana. All of this information cannot be said for drugs that Americans “harmlessly” use everyday, like nicotine, alcohol, and even caffeine. With this, why not legalize marijuana? It is, without a doubt, a lot less harmful that most other drugs on the market, even caffeine! It’s a definite shock that it is less harmful than caffeine. People die from caffeine overdose related heart attacks every day, and yet we are allowing small children drink sodas and energy drinks are sold worldwide. It’s appalling to me. Although marijuana may be more taboo than any of these other drugs, it really shouldn’t be. There is no evidence that shows that marijuana is more harmful than alcohol and nicotine, yet people treat marijuana users like criminals! It becomes a huge shock to me how societal pressures can influence the government’s decision to decriminalize marijuana, especially because it can be beneficial to our health. Like many other drugs, marijuana can be very beneficial for sick patients or people looking for relief at home. In fact, marijuana can be a healthier alternative to pain relievers like Advil and Tylenol. About 15,000 deaths per year are associated with pain reliever overdose. Because marijuana overdose does not lead to death, it provides a healthier alternative to these over-the-counter pain relievers. In hospitals, it can be used as a pain reliever as an alternative to drugs like vicodin and oxycodone because those drugs can become very addictive and harmful. It’s also effective at treating the nausea and pain associated with chemotherapy in cancer patients. In clinical studies, it caused improved immune system compared to placebo in AIDs patienets, and can provide anti-stress benefits to terminally ill patients. It has also been proven to help treat patients suffering from glaucoma, alzhiemers, and ADHD, and can prevent seizures in patients with epilepsy. Allowing marijuana in the medical world alone could be widely beneficial to a variety of patients from the terminally ill to those that want effective migraine relief. The fact that marijuana can benefit sick patients alone should allow it to be legal, and the fact that it is less harmful than nicotine and caffeine makes it hard to believe that it’s not. Many people argue that doctors and government officials should not promote smoking marijuana, whether or not it is harmful, because it can be bad for our environment. To be honest, this argument is not valid. In fact, everyday city pollution can cause more damage to our health than a few drags of a marijuana cigarette. Many people do not realize that smoking marijuana is not the only way to ingest it. Marijuana can be ingested in pill form or can even be ingested by using a vaporizer, which heats the THC rather than burning it, resulting in a healthier way to use marijuana. You can say that it is morally wrong to permit the use of marijuana, but to be honest, doctors prescribe harmful drugs everyday. The use of morphine or oxycodone is generally not recreational, but people use it recreationally every day. Contrary to popular belief, the legalization of marijuana is not going to cause widespread use of the drug. It can benefit our society in many ways like other drugs do. Whether it helps our country financially or helps sick patients, legalizing marijuana can be more helpful than harmful.
Although Sarah made some very valid points about the legalization of marijuana, she only discussed the financial advantages for legalizing it. I feel that there is a more important topic that should factor into whether marijuana should be legalized, health. “Although legalization activists and many marijuana users believe smoking pot has no negative effects, scientific research indicates that marijuana use can cause many different health problems” which is why it should not be legalized. Marijuana has many short-term effects such as problems with memory, distorted perception, problems with learning, loss of coordination, and increased heart rate. Marijuana also may cause the user to have hallucinations, delusion, and impaired memory or may cause the user to become disoriented. Due to the loss of coordination, distorted perception, and disorientation, one that uses marijuana while operating a vehicle may find it difficult to control the vehicle while driving or may experience difficulty focusing on the road due to the distorted perception of sight. Such difficulties may cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle causing an accident that could possibly result in death. Along with problems operating a vehicle, users of marijuana have been known to have “casual sex” due to impaired judgment. “Casual sex” is a problem due to the fact that it may cause unwanted pregnancy or the problem of transmitting STDs. Along with the problems of pregnancy and STDs, marijuana can have a huge effect on a user’s education. Marijuana causes difficulty with memory and learning abilities which can cause the user to do badly in school. This may not seem like a big deal but it may cause the user’s grades to decrease causing the user to not be accepted into a college and making the job of finding a good career very difficult. Along with bad grades, marijuana is also a huge problem with athletes. Athletes caught using marijuana could be kicked off of athletic teams and possibly lose athletic scholarships. The use of marijuana could have a huge effect on the user’s heart and lungs. After using marijuana, within minutes the heart will begin to beat very quickly and the blood pressure will begin to decrease. Due to the decrease of blood pressure and increase in heartbeat, the user is at a higher risk for a heart attack. The smoke from the marijuana can cause the mouth and throat to become very sore and begin to itch and burn. This will cause the user to cough daily and will cause the throat to produce a lot of phlegm. The smoke from the marijuana not only causes coughing, but it also causes chest illness and increases the risk of a lung infection. Although no research has not been able to directly link marijuana to cancer, “marijuana contains three times the amount of tar found in tobacco smoke and 50 percent more carcinogens” which could directly increase the risk of cancer. Another health problem can be seen in children born from mothers who used marijuana while pregnant. Children have been seen to exhibit neurological development due to exposure to marijuana. Marijuana is most commonly known as pot but has also goes by another name, the “gateway drug”. “The Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University determined that 60 percent of youngsters who use marijuana before they turn 15 later go on to using cocaine”. Marijuana is opening the doors to younger children to become addicted and later move on to bigger drugs. Marijuana is a very addictive drug that is seen to cause many health problems. As you can see, Marijuana causes many short and long-term problems with its users. It affects the brain, the heart, and the lungs while also affecting the user’s life in the long run. One may see the financial side of marijuana as a positive but the health problems that come along with marijuana are defiantly a negative. Marijuana causes more problems rather than solutions and therefore should not be legalized.
While legalizing Marijuana and taxing on its imports and exports may in fact aid in decreasing the federal government deficit; the state governments in turn may suffer. Most Americans today typically remain recreational and experimental users, meaning if caught in possession or under the influence typically will only face misdemeanor charges. By legalizing marijuana the state governments will lose money on the fines, court fees, and rehabilitative costs of convicted marijuana related offenses. And while argument can be made that those in possession of mass quantities or maintain the intent to distribute will likely face felony charges, and potential jail time – leading to overcrowding and excessive tax dollars spent on incarcerating them – imprisoning these individuals can serve as a preventative measure – taking them off the streets and keeping them from committing more heinous criminal acts. Additionally, even those who choose not to participate would likely face increased danger both directly and indirectly. Legalizing marijuana could potentially lead to an increase in health care costs (both for the user and second hand smoke victims), violence associated with the drug, neglect of children by drug addicted parents, and driving under the influence (which then equals more motor vehicle accidents/deaths). Directly related – the prevalence of marijuana is directly related to the concept of supply and demand. Marijuana is currently one of the most common drugs used by teens and young adults. Should marijuana be legalized, those supplying the drugs will be out their primary source of income, forcing them to likely push the sale of “harder” and more dangerous drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine; which could directly cause an increase in addiction, overdoses, or even drug related deaths. As stated in my last post, marijuana is known as the “gateway drug” and therefore if drug dealers are forced to push the sale of more dangerous drugs then children will begin to use those drugs rather than using marijuana. This would be more dangerous for the children due to the fact that these drugs are more addictive and more hazardous than marijuana. Additionally, many Americans consider the use of marijuana and other recreational drugs immoral. By both legalizing marijuana, making it appear to be more acceptable, and increasing the availability of the drug, instead of “rescuing” current users we are now faced with the likelihood of accumulating many more consumers. This could also send an indirect message to children that the use of marijuana is acceptable. Although the federal government would benefit from the legalization of marijuana, the state governments would not. Also, by legalizing marijuana it would help benefit the government financially but it would still cause many health problems and possibly lead to the use of bigger and more dangerous drugs. Therefore, this “gateway drug” known as marijuana should remain illegal and should be kept off the streets.
I thought the argument was good, but I leaned more towards Sarah’s side. She provided a lot of statistics as to why it was bad for the country as a whole if Marijuana continued to be illegal. I really liked the statistic on 1 in 6 people are imprisoned for non-violent drug offenses which led her to saying how It costs about $55,000 per year to keep one prisoner in jail. She followed that argument by noting the United States overall debt, which is a shocking 14 trillion dollars. The opposing argument did make a lot of good references saying why Marijuana should not be legal. I liked their starting argument by saying “Although Sarah made some very valid points about the legalization of marijuana, she only discussed the financial advantages for legalizing it”. This is true. Legalization for Marijuana should of covered more reasons than just the financial benefactors. I think that allowed the legalization against marijuana to strengthen their argument. The point that won me over was Sarah saying “Many people do not realize that smoking marijuana is not the only way to ingest it. Marijuana can be ingested in pill form or can even be ingested by using a vaporizer, which heats the THC rather than burning it, resulting in a healthier way to use marijuana.”. I liked this because it not only supports her argument for not harming the environment, but as well as not harming a person. Overall, I thought the debate was good, but I leaned more towards Sarah’s side of legalizing Marijuana in the United States.
Right off the bat, Sarah does a great job by using facts to state her side of the argument. It doesn’t just end there. Sarah appeals to the logos when giving numbers and percentages and even the pathos when directing it towards all taxpayers and saying the money will come out of their pockets. The only thing I would watch out for is the hypothetical situations. I was convinced by talking about lowering gas prices. Also, just make sure you talk about more than just the statistics. Chelsea did a good job when saying that someone caught will only get a misdemeanor charge versus going to jail right away. Also, talking about crime and dangers of especially teens was convincing. Be careful not jump to conclusions, though, by saying those who use marijuana will eventually use hard drugs. The arguments were both convincing and overall were good to me.
I would have to agree with Sarah about legalizing marijuana because I feel it also can help the US with their debt by putting a tax on it. I also agree that there will be less drug wars. I find it stupid that something that gives you cancer is legal but something that doesn't kill you is illegal. If I had to choose which drug should be legalized Cigarettes or Marijuana, i would say Marijuana becasue there are no deaths caused by it unlike cigarettes that leads to multiply death causes and also effects others. I feel that every state should legalize medical marijuana because it not addictive and it takes away the pain of those who are suffering. But the problem i believe about leaglizing marijuana is that we don't know for sure if it doesn't kill because people dont smoke marijuana daily as much as cigarettes. I also don't like the idea of people driving while high because I feel it is just as dangerous as someone driving drunk or someone that can barley see. I also dont like the fatc that marijuana affects peoples sjhort term memory which possibly could lead to mroe serious damage. Im mixed because there are the irresponsible people who do stupid stuff when they are high and then there are the people who smoke to relax. But, overall I believe marijuana should be legalized because it will lower the drug wars, less taxes because less people will be in jail, and I believe cigarettes should be the ones that are illegal.
The fact that legalizing marijuana would benefit out economy tremendously is a good point. “If there was a 10% tax on marijuana in California, the government could profit with about $1.4 billion dollars per year.” “The United States owes over $14 trillion dollars in debt, and the number is growing.” Chelsea mad e a valid point as well claiming that Sarah did not include other views, making it seem as though there was only one beneficial trait of legalizing marijuana –economy wise. Although I do admire the fact that towards the end of the post with the credible statistic of children under 15 who use marijuana would “later on go on to using cocaine”; it seemed sort of biased. She it only spoke about teenagers under the age of 18, and it did not speak about older people, and if they were to be more likely dependent on it as well . Overall there were many reasonable points, but I only saw one credible source being stated and that made all the facts seem questionable.
With this discussion, I felt that it was more difficult to follow along with because it was out of order. Big thanks to Blog Spot of course. But even though it was a bit out of order, I was still able to read each persons argument and I was able to find the good in each argument. Sarah did a wonderful job with legalizing marijuana. I think she really turned heads, because I know that now im starting to think about the good that comes from marijuana. Chelsea also did a good job with keeping marijuana still illegal. I believe that it is a bad thing and that it can cause some terrible things in peoples lives. It really does give a person a different perspective seeing it happen first hand. Over all there wasn’t really anything negative about their argument. They both kept their cool and did a wonderful job hitting main points.
Without a doubt, marijuana is the most used illicit drug in the U.S. Almost 40% of the United States population has used this drug at least once. This brings me to wonder, why should marijuana be legalized? As there have been many claims about what it can and cannot do for our health, I feel that marijuana?s role in our criminal justice system, politics, and environment is a larger issue. Overall, I feel like the policies against marijuana should be changed in order to benefit our country. To start, 1 in 6 people are imprisoned for non-violent drug offenses. This means that our prisons are overcrowded with harmless people when we can use that room to imprison more violent offenders. I would also like to point out that maintaining a prisoner in jail in incredibly costly. It costs about $55,000 per year to keep one prisoner in jail. That money comes out of tax payers pockets. If the prisoner is not violent, there is not need to spend thousands of dollars on security each year to uphold them in prison. Also, not only would decriminalizing marijuana cause thousands of drug dealers to lose business, it would also decrease deaths and violence due to the unregulated black market trade of marijuana. This could offer more safety in our communities because marijuana is so widely sold. This is especially important to me as a student on a college campus where 30% of students are users. In my personal opinion, the biggest reason why the United States should legalize marijuana is to get out of debt. The United States owes over $14 trillion dollars in debt, and the number is growing. In order to get out of this debt, the government puts taxes on several things. They tax income, property, tobacco, sales, alcohol, etc. Marijuana could be a source of additional tax revenues. For example, new laws in California made the use of medical marijuana legal. If there was a 10% tax on marijuana in California, the government could profit with about $1.4 billion dollars per year. By legalizing and taxing marijuana, the United States could easily get out of a lot of debt. Another great point I would like to bring up is that legalizing marijuana would be better for the environment. Petroleum based products could be replaced with hemp based products like oil and plastic, which would allow the US to be less dependent on foreign oil. For Americans, this means that gas prices would not need to fluctuate and could be low because it would not have to be imported from across the world. It is better for the environment because hemp can grow without pesticides and byproducts would cause less pollution. With these points alone, I feel that marijuana should be legalized and decriminalized because not only are too many harmless people committing non-violent crimes being put in jail and their security paid for by citizen?s taxes, but the United States could become a wealthier country and get out of a lot of their debt by legalizing marijuana and taxing it. As an American, this is really important because the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana would allow us to pay less in taxes and pay less for gas. In general, there may be negative opinions towards marijuana legalization, but these facts alone show that it would be in our best interest to legalize it.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteUnlike many other drugs on the market, marijuana is not nearly as harmful for our health. For example, there have not been any cases of lung cancer or emphysema attributed to marijuana use, and no one has ever died from a marijuana overdose. Also unlike most other drugs, users don’t tend to use marijuana on a daily basis. In fact, they tend to quite by their 20s or 30s. Adding to that, there are no withdrawal symptoms after users stop smoking marijuana. All of this information cannot be said for drugs that Americans “harmlessly” use everyday, like nicotine, alcohol, and even caffeine. With this, why not legalize marijuana? It is, without a doubt, a lot less harmful that most other drugs on the market, even caffeine! It’s a definite shock that it is less harmful than caffeine. People die from caffeine overdose related heart attacks every day, and yet we are allowing small children drink sodas and energy drinks are sold worldwide. It’s appalling to me. Although marijuana may be more taboo than any of these other drugs, it really shouldn’t be. There is no evidence that shows that marijuana is more harmful than alcohol and nicotine, yet people treat marijuana users like criminals! It becomes a huge shock to me how societal pressures can influence the government’s decision to decriminalize marijuana, especially because it can be beneficial to our health. Like many other drugs, marijuana can be very beneficial for sick patients or people looking for relief at home. In fact, marijuana can be a healthier alternative to pain relievers like Advil and Tylenol. About 15,000 deaths per year are associated with pain reliever overdose. Because marijuana overdose does not lead to death, it provides a healthier alternative to these over-the-counter pain relievers. In hospitals, it can be used as a pain reliever as an alternative to drugs like vicodin and oxycodone because those drugs can become very addictive and harmful. It’s also effective at treating the nausea and pain associated with chemotherapy in cancer patients. In clinical studies, it caused improved immune system compared to placebo in AIDs patienets, and can provide anti-stress benefits to terminally ill patients. It has also been proven to help treat patients suffering from glaucoma, alzhiemers, and ADHD, and can prevent seizures in patients with epilepsy. Allowing marijuana in the medical world alone could be widely beneficial to a variety of patients from the terminally ill to those that want effective migraine relief. The fact that marijuana can benefit sick patients alone should allow it to be legal, and the fact that it is less harmful than nicotine and caffeine makes it hard to believe that it’s not. Many people argue that doctors and government officials should not promote smoking marijuana, whether or not it is harmful, because it can be bad for our environment. To be honest, this argument is not valid. In fact, everyday city pollution can cause more damage to our health than a few drags of a marijuana cigarette. Many people do not realize that smoking marijuana is not the only way to ingest it. Marijuana can be ingested in pill form or can even be ingested by using a vaporizer, which heats the THC rather than burning it, resulting in a healthier way to use marijuana. You can say that it is morally wrong to permit the use of marijuana, but to be honest, doctors prescribe harmful drugs everyday. The use of morphine or oxycodone is generally not recreational, but people use it recreationally every day. Contrary to popular belief, the legalization of marijuana is not going to cause widespread use of the drug. It can benefit our society in many ways like other drugs do. Whether it helps our country financially or helps sick patients, legalizing marijuana can be more helpful than harmful.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Sarah made some very valid points about the legalization of marijuana, she only discussed the financial advantages for legalizing it. I feel that there is a more important topic that should factor into whether marijuana should be legalized, health. “Although legalization activists and many marijuana users believe smoking pot has no negative effects, scientific research indicates that marijuana use can cause many different health problems” which is why it should not be legalized. Marijuana has many short-term effects such as problems with memory, distorted perception, problems with learning, loss of coordination, and increased heart rate. Marijuana also may cause the user to have hallucinations, delusion, and impaired memory or may cause the user to become disoriented. Due to the loss of coordination, distorted perception, and disorientation, one that uses marijuana while operating a vehicle may find it difficult to control the vehicle while driving or may experience difficulty focusing on the road due to the distorted perception of sight. Such difficulties may cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle causing an accident that could possibly result in death. Along with problems operating a vehicle, users of marijuana have been known to have “casual sex” due to impaired judgment. “Casual sex” is a problem due to the fact that it may cause unwanted pregnancy or the problem of transmitting STDs. Along with the problems of pregnancy and STDs, marijuana can have a huge effect on a user’s education. Marijuana causes difficulty with memory and learning abilities which can cause the user to do badly in school. This may not seem like a big deal but it may cause the user’s grades to decrease causing the user to not be accepted into a college and making the job of finding a good career very difficult. Along with bad grades, marijuana is also a huge problem with athletes. Athletes caught using marijuana could be kicked off of athletic teams and possibly lose athletic scholarships. The use of marijuana could have a huge effect on the user’s heart and lungs. After using marijuana, within minutes the heart will begin to beat very quickly and the blood pressure will begin to decrease. Due to the decrease of blood pressure and increase in heartbeat, the user is at a higher risk for a heart attack. The smoke from the marijuana can cause the mouth and throat to become very sore and begin to itch and burn. This will cause the user to cough daily and will cause the throat to produce a lot of phlegm. The smoke from the marijuana not only causes coughing, but it also causes chest illness and increases the risk of a lung infection. Although no research has not been able to directly link marijuana to cancer, “marijuana contains three times the amount of tar found in tobacco smoke and 50 percent more carcinogens” which could directly increase the risk of cancer. Another health problem can be seen in children born from mothers who used marijuana while pregnant. Children have been seen to exhibit neurological development due to exposure to marijuana. Marijuana is most commonly known as pot but has also goes by another name, the “gateway drug”. “The Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University determined that 60 percent of youngsters who use marijuana before they turn 15 later go on to using cocaine”. Marijuana is opening the doors to younger children to become addicted and later move on to bigger drugs. Marijuana is a very addictive drug that is seen to cause many health problems. As you can see, Marijuana causes many short and long-term problems with its users. It affects the brain, the heart, and the lungs while also affecting the user’s life in the long run. One may see the financial side of marijuana as a positive but the health problems that come along with marijuana are defiantly a negative. Marijuana causes more problems rather than solutions and therefore should not be legalized.
ReplyDeleteWhile legalizing Marijuana and taxing on its imports and exports may in fact aid in decreasing the federal government deficit; the state governments in turn may suffer.
ReplyDeleteMost Americans today typically remain recreational and experimental users, meaning if caught in possession or under the influence typically will only face misdemeanor charges. By legalizing marijuana the state governments will lose money on the fines, court fees, and rehabilitative costs of convicted marijuana related offenses. And while argument can be made that those in possession of mass quantities or maintain the intent to distribute will likely face felony charges, and potential jail time – leading to overcrowding and excessive tax dollars spent on incarcerating them – imprisoning these individuals can serve as a preventative measure – taking them off the streets and keeping them from committing more heinous criminal acts. Additionally, even those who choose not to participate would likely face increased danger both directly and indirectly. Legalizing marijuana could potentially lead to an increase in health care costs (both for the user and second hand smoke victims), violence associated with the drug, neglect of children by drug addicted parents, and driving under the influence (which then equals more motor vehicle accidents/deaths). Directly related – the prevalence of marijuana is directly related to the concept of supply and demand. Marijuana is currently one of the most common drugs used by teens and young adults. Should marijuana be legalized, those supplying the drugs will be out their primary source of income, forcing them to likely push the sale of “harder” and more dangerous drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine; which could directly cause an increase in addiction, overdoses, or even drug related deaths. As stated in my last post, marijuana is known as the “gateway drug” and therefore if drug dealers are forced to push the sale of more dangerous drugs then children will begin to use those drugs rather than using marijuana. This would be more dangerous for the children due to the fact that these drugs are more addictive and more hazardous than marijuana. Additionally, many Americans consider the use of marijuana and other recreational drugs immoral. By both legalizing marijuana, making it appear to be more acceptable, and increasing the availability of the drug, instead of “rescuing” current users we are now faced with the likelihood of accumulating many more consumers. This could also send an indirect message to children that the use of marijuana is acceptable. Although the federal government would benefit from the legalization of marijuana, the state governments would not. Also, by legalizing marijuana it would help benefit the government financially but it would still cause many health problems and possibly lead to the use of bigger and more dangerous drugs. Therefore, this “gateway drug” known as marijuana should remain illegal and should be kept off the streets.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI thought the argument was good, but I leaned more towards Sarah’s side. She provided a lot of statistics as to why it was bad for the country as a whole if Marijuana continued to be illegal. I really liked the statistic on 1 in 6 people are imprisoned for non-violent drug offenses which led her to saying how It costs about $55,000 per year to keep one prisoner in jail. She followed that argument by noting the United States overall debt, which is a shocking 14 trillion dollars. The opposing argument did make a lot of good references saying why Marijuana should not be legal. I liked their starting argument by saying “Although Sarah made some very valid points about the legalization of marijuana, she only discussed the financial advantages for legalizing it”. This is true. Legalization for Marijuana should of covered more reasons than just the financial benefactors. I think that allowed the legalization against marijuana to strengthen their argument. The point that won me over was Sarah saying “Many people do not realize that smoking marijuana is not the only way to ingest it. Marijuana can be ingested in pill form or can even be ingested by using a vaporizer, which heats the THC rather than burning it, resulting in a healthier way to use marijuana.”. I liked this because it not only supports her argument for not harming the environment, but as well as not harming a person. Overall, I thought the debate was good, but I leaned more towards Sarah’s side of legalizing Marijuana in the United States.
ReplyDeleteRight off the bat, Sarah does a great job by using facts to state her side of the argument. It doesn’t just end there. Sarah appeals to the logos when giving numbers and percentages and even the pathos when directing it towards all taxpayers and saying the money will come out of their pockets. The only thing I would watch out for is the hypothetical situations. I was convinced by talking about lowering gas prices. Also, just make sure you talk about more than just the statistics. Chelsea did a good job when saying that someone caught will only get a misdemeanor charge versus going to jail right away. Also, talking about crime and dangers of especially teens was convincing. Be careful not jump to conclusions, though, by saying those who use marijuana will eventually use hard drugs. The arguments were both convincing and overall were good to me.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Sarah about legalizing marijuana because I feel it also can help the US with their debt by putting a tax on it. I also agree that there will be less drug wars. I find it stupid that something that gives you cancer is legal but something that doesn't kill you is illegal. If I had to choose which drug should be legalized Cigarettes or Marijuana, i would say Marijuana becasue there are no deaths caused by it unlike cigarettes that leads to multiply death causes and also effects others. I feel that every state should legalize medical marijuana because it not addictive and it takes away the pain of those who are suffering.
ReplyDeleteBut the problem i believe about leaglizing marijuana is that we don't know for sure if it doesn't kill because people dont smoke marijuana daily as much as cigarettes. I also don't like the idea of people driving while high because I feel it is just as dangerous as someone driving drunk or someone that can barley see. I also dont like the fatc that marijuana affects peoples sjhort term memory which possibly could lead to mroe serious damage. Im mixed because there are the irresponsible people who do stupid stuff when they are high and then there are the people who smoke to relax. But, overall I believe marijuana should be legalized because it will lower the drug wars, less taxes because less people will be in jail, and I believe cigarettes should be the ones that are illegal.
The fact that legalizing marijuana would benefit out economy tremendously is a good point. “If there was a 10% tax on marijuana in California, the government could profit with about $1.4 billion dollars per year.” “The United States owes over $14 trillion dollars in debt, and the number is growing.” Chelsea mad e a valid point as well claiming that Sarah did not include other views, making it seem as though there was only one beneficial trait of legalizing marijuana –economy wise. Although I do admire the fact that towards the end of the post with the credible statistic of children under 15 who use marijuana would “later on go on to using cocaine”; it seemed sort of biased. She it only spoke about teenagers under the age of 18, and it did not speak about older people, and if they were to be more likely dependent on it as well . Overall there were many reasonable points, but I only saw one credible source being stated and that made all the facts seem questionable.
ReplyDeleteWith this discussion, I felt that it was more difficult to follow along with because it was out of order. Big thanks to Blog Spot of course. But even though it was a bit out of order, I was still able to read each persons argument and I was able to find the good in each argument.
ReplyDeleteSarah did a wonderful job with legalizing marijuana. I think she really turned heads, because I know that now im starting to think about the good that comes from marijuana.
Chelsea also did a good job with keeping marijuana still illegal. I believe that it is a bad thing and that it can cause some terrible things in peoples lives. It really does give a person a different perspective seeing it happen first hand.
Over all there wasn’t really anything negative about their argument. They both kept their cool and did a wonderful job hitting main points.