Speech- McKenna Elliott

            Cigarettes contain over 4,000 dangerous chemicals, including 43 known cancer-causing compounds, and causes around 500,000 American deaths annually, yet are still legal. Marijuana has less than ten percent of that amount of chemicals, many of which are natural, 61 of which are unique to the cannabis plant, and has caused zero deaths, yet it is still illegal. Does that seem fair to you? Marijuana was legal at one point in American history, and was only made illegal due to many factors not related to the drug itself. After the Mexican Revolution of 1910, many Mexican immigrants were fleeing to the United States, and many Americans feared them. When the Mexicans introduced using marijuana for recreational purposes, people had a tendency to associate their fear of Mexicans with the use of marijuana, giving them a misconception of the drug, leading to the illegalization of it and the controversy that still exists today. If there are so many proven mind, body, and economical benefits, what is holding back American citizens and politicians from legalizing it?

The simple facts about marijuana reveal that it is harmless, and professedly beneficial to the health of one’s body and mind. THC’s interaction with the neurotransmitter called anandamide in the brain, which creates the happy, relaxed, and sleepy euphoria experienced by those ingesting or inhaling marijuana. There are also cannabinoid receptors in the endocannabinoid system, located near the amygdala, and the receptors regulate pain and appetite, so therefore when they are activated by cannabis, they decrease and regulate anxiety. During a high, one’s creativity is spurred through the release of dopamine in the brain, which gives you the serene, euphoric feeling associated with marijuana, and decreases your inhibitions and “inner-editor” so that when a person is drawing, writing, or doing anything of that sort while high, their thoughts move freely. Studies have also shown that the use of marijuana increases hyper-priming, which is when a person is able to make connections between things that are seemingly unrelated.  Overall, marijuana stimulates the brain and body in a positive manner. It has a very low addiction level, if any, and if one were to be addicted to marijuana, it is seemingly impossible to overdose because researchers have found that one would need to smoke around 20,000 blunts to overdose. In comparison to alcohol, it causes much less physical damage to the body as well as a person’s surroundings, so it is therefore safer. Compared to other illegal drugs, it is much safer to the person and society because a person who is smoking marijuana likely does not feel a strong desire to go rob a bank or shoot someone, but rather to lie on the couch with a bag of chips. Keeping marijuana illegal is like keeping the freedom of our mind, body, and soul illegal. Does that seem fair to you?

Those who oppose the legalization of marijuana are usually against it due to common misconceptions about the short-term and long-term effects. The reality is that marijuana has very, very few, if any health risks. It’s actually been proven to have various health benefits. Journal of the American Medical Association tested the lung function capabilities of 5,115 young adults over the course of 20 years, and the study found that Tobacco Smokers lost lung function over time, but marijuana smokers actually showed an increase in their lung capacity. This begs the question of why citizens everywhere are legally allowed to self-medicate themselves with something as detrimental to their health as cigarettes and/or alcohol, but a safer, more benefitting alternative is illegal.

Yes, marijuana is legal in some states, but other than just a couple, it is strictly for medical purposes. Those who are permitted to use it medically have not reported any major problems using the drug, so why not open it up to the public? Some people spend thousands of dollars on therapy, psychologists, prescriptions, and many other resources for things that could easily and more economically treated with a joint. A prime example is my sister who has had problems with anger, anxiety, depression, attention span, along with other things, her entire life. She has been prescribed a wide variety of medicines and coping techniques that never seemed to work because the only thing that has ever been able to soothe her body and mind of her abnormalities is marijuana. She has been living her life unable to get the medication she needs because it is illegal, all while in the presence of my grandmother dying a slow death at our home for nine years due to emphysema from smoking cigarettes, which she thought harmless due to their legality, for 45 years. I have seen the mental and physical oppression firsthand and it is not an enchanting sight. So tell me, does that seem fair to you?

Marijuana legalization has the potential to reduce healthcare costs for millions of Americans because they will be able to freely  and more cheaply medicate themselves with what works for them, rather than wasting their own money or government money on other resources. It has been proven that marijuana can treat glaucoma by reducing the amount of pressure in the eye and can also slow the progression of Alzheimer’s, which currently affects around 5 million Americans. It has also been shown that it can help treat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and even treat life-threatening seizures.

Yes, stoned driving is a potential danger to the marijuana user as well as those around them, but if marijuana were legalized, it could be treated like alcohol in the sense that if a person is pulled over and marijuana is in their system, they are issued a DUI. Legalization of marijuana could increase chances of drugs falling into the hands of minors, but the simple solution to that would be to have a legal marijuana use age, just like we have a legal drinking age. It would not keep the drug out of the hands of minors totally, but as much as the government and other organizations try, is alcohol really kept out of the hands of kids either?

             The facts are all there, marijuana is less harmful than many things which are legal in our country, and is even more beneficial to our health and well-being than those things, such as alcohol and cigarettes. It is not as detrimental to a person as other illegal drugs like meth, cocaine, and heroin, so therefore should not be classified into the same category as them when dealing with law and justice, and should be legalized. By keeping marijuana illegal, the government is oppressing our health, creativity, and even our freedom. Does that seem fair to you?

 

Works Cited

Easter, Brian. "The Science Behind Cannabis and Creativity." The Nebo Blog Interactive Marketing Design Ramblings. Nebo Agency, 30 Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Dec. 2014.

Loria, Jennifer Welsh and Kevin. "23 Health Benefits Of Marijuana." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 20 Apr. 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.

Ray, Oakley. "What Chemicals Are in Marijuana and Its Byproducts? - Medical Marijuana - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. Procon, 8 July 2009. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

Tilley, Dylan. “Marijuana: A Chronic History.” 2014. The History Channel website. Dec 14 2014, 1:32 http://www.history.com/videos/marijuana-a-chronic-history.