The article is here.
As marijuana is becoming legal in some states (right now just Colorado, with Washington following later this year), the question comes up: what does marijuana do? What are the effects of this drug. The truth, according to this article, is frightening. Marijuana creates a high because of THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), which goes from your blood stream into the brain, and there attaches to nerve cells in high-density areas. These areas can include important functions such as "Memory, thinking, concentration, feelings of pleasure, coordination and movement, and sensory and time perception." So, these are the functions that are affected by marijuana. That is what is frightening. These are the basic functions that we need in order to perform well in life. The short term effects according to the Washington Post are, "a rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure, red eyes, dry mouth, increased appetite and slowed reaction time." Long-term usage has also been shown to effect your body, and "Has been linked to impaired thinking, memory problems, panic attacks and other psychological issues. There have also been studies showing a weakened immune system and, for those who smoke the drug, impaired lung function."
So, why did I post about this? The reason I did is because I disagree with the legalization of marijuana as a recreational drug. The fact that it is a gateway drug is one of the most frightening facts of all, and now that it is legal I worry that more drug abuse will become a prevalent part of our society. However, just because I disagree with its recreational legalization does not mean that I disagree with its medicinal legalization. Already twenty states, as well as the District, have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. I think that it can be very helpful in this way. The fact is, good or bad, it can create a high that helps with pain. So, why not use it responsibly to help people? That is how I think it should be legalized. That way, under a doctor's care, you can receive treatments. With recreational legalization I can see too many people abusing the drug, which would have a negative effect not only on themselves, but also on society.
I agree with you. I think that the legalization of recreational marijuana can only act as a detriment to the US. I read an interesting article the other day (I think it was in "The Washington Post," but it could have been "Deseret News") where a writer talks about how he smoked weed and really enjoyed it, but as soon as he stopped smoking it he realized what a bad thing it was. The two biggest points he made, in my mind, weren't even medical. He talked firstly about how nothing ever got done when you smoke marijuana. It gives you the illusion that things are getting done when, in reality, nothing is. He told a story about some friends in northern California who he left early in the day to go hiking who where planning on chopping up some fallen logs. He returned later that night and nothing had been done. They had been smoking weed all day. The second problem he approached was his experience with the dangerous illusions of well-being that marijuana create. He told a story about how he visited an Asian country (I want to say India, but that seems wrong). While he was visiting he smoked marijuana and the situation within the country seemed perfectly fine. He revisited that country later on without smoking marijuana and realized that there were slews of injustices existing in the country, injustices he couldn't perceive due to the effects of marijuana.
ReplyDeleteI read another piece in the "New York Times" (I have the link to this one: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/03/opinion/brooks-weed-been-there-done-that.html?ref=opinion&_r=0 and BBC did a story on how the columnist that wrote the piece is getting the digital snot beat out of him. The link to that is here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-echochambers-25597331 ) in which David Brooks talks about how his own experiences smoking marijuana. Like the other columnist, he begins by talking about how he smoked weed once and how "it was fun." He then lists all the reasons that he and his friends drifted away from usage. Most of them involve Brooks and his friends embarrassing themselves. I believe he says, "Stoned people do stupid things (that's basically the point)." Probably the most morbid of deterrents for Brooks was the fact that one of his friends descended into hard-core stoning. He then lists all of the pragmatic and empirical reasons why smoking marijuana is a bad idea; the reasons range from the danger of smoking and driving to lower IQ's.
All of that being said, I think marijuana should be illegal for the same reasons I think alcohol and tobacco should be illegal. Perhaps that will give a frame of reference for my objections. There is a very large part of my objections that are purely moral and have deeps roots into my religious beliefs. I understand that our country has been definitively constructed on the principle that everyone gets to and should choose for themselves what they believe to be right and wrong and even to violate those personal morals to a certain extent.
However, there are parts of my protests that are not purely idealistic. If you go to some of the links I've listed above, you'll see in the comments sections a slew of people calling for the legalization of all drugs.
I don't think I need to outline why the recreational use of hard narcotics and opiates is better left illegal.
This is one of the biggest reasons why I think marijuana should stay illegal. The legalization of marijuana is the first step (the "gateway" step, if you will - haw) to the legalization of other drugs, and I don't want to live in a society where I can walk to 711 and buy heroine. Actually, I don't want to live in a society in which I have to live with heroine addicts. Things like crime rates will increase, and things like education will decrease. If you don't believe me, go read the comments in those articles and listen to what other people are saying. People are emboldened. Like I've said in other posts, this isn't a matter of personal liberty - its a matter of societal success.
ReplyDeleteJeez guys, sorry about the grammar in those first couple of paragraphs. Me speak English.
ReplyDeleteShould caffeine be illegal?
ReplyDeleteI don't think that we can really consider marijuana and caffeine to be analogous, but in the extreme I personally think that caffeine can be just as addictive, and definitely has its own set of side effects. I do think that the caffeine amounts in some drinks, and the intake of some people is extreme.
ReplyDeleteCaffeine doesn't have THC in it, and I don't think we can really compare the level of inebriation that caffeine causes to that of marijuana. Hey, some people even get more done after drinking caffeine. Even though caffeine is addictive, I think a lot of the damage in soda comes from the excess intake of things like high-fructose corn syrup.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I don't drink caffeinated soda. It's not good stuff, but I still agree with Tanner. It's not quite analogous to Marijuana.
I think there are many good points here. My religious beliefs coincide with noah's and i am also of the opinion that the legalization of marijuana will only lead to bad things, and the legalization of many other drugs. Marijuana and caffeine are not comparable, except for the fact that they can both be addictive. Caffeine, although not good for you, does not have as many bad effects as marijuana, and other drugs. As noah said, caffeine does not have THC
ReplyDelete