Marijuana has
been made legal in some states in the US, as it has long been in parts of
Europe. Does legality have anything to
do with its increased popularity among teenagers? Alcohol and cigarette use have gone
down. Is marijuana a safer alternative? Do those that argue that it is a gateway
drug have a point, or is this just a false correlation, or the
slippery slope fallacy?
In my opinion, marijuana is popular not because it is illegal. It is popular because it has pleasant effects for most of its users. Its legality has very little to do with it. Having many friends who choose to smoke marijuana, I can see that it is purely the subjective choice of the person. Some smoke because they want to relax, some smoke because they want to have fun and some smoke purely because of the joy that comes with it. On the other hand, some people choose not to smoke marijuana because it does not feel good to them or they simply do not want to use drugs. Even if some people strive for the thrill of doing illegal things, it is not always the case with marijuana. The official law in Slovakia is that a person can carry 0,5g of marijuana and it is not considered a crime. However, policemen are becoming more and more benevolent if they catch a person carrying a bigger amount. The more people are pro-marijuana the more quickly it will become acceptable or even become legal.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, it is a safe alternative to alcohol or cigarettes. Alcohol and cigarettes are, as well as marijuana, drugs. The reason alcohol and cigarettes are considered as legal drugs is that they have been accepted by the society for many decades. However, they are both worse for the health and even cause a higher number of accidents. For example, a study conducted by the Centre of Disease Control and Prevention in 2014 recorded, that over 30,700 Americans died from alcohol-induced causes. There have been zero documented deaths from the use of marijuana alone. Furthermore, smoking marijuana is less harmful than smoking tobacco cigarettes. Common tobacco cigarettes contain a small amount of arsenic, formaldehyde and lead, which marijuana does not contain. Marijuana is indeed addictive, but so is alcohol and cigarettes. For some reason, marijuana stays illegal, while alcohol and cigarettes remain legal.
Marijuana usage has been a controversial topic for many years now. It still is. The opinions on its usage and health consequences still aren’t agreed on and therefore different countries have different regulations when it comes to this drug. In my opinion smoking marijuana is very different with adolescents in the US and in Slovakia. I feel like in Slovakia teenagers reach out for alcohol and cigarettes more than in the US. This could be because it is more available and it isn’t difficult to get it even if you’re underage. Also the fact that the usage of marijuana isn’t legal in Slovakia, although you can carry 0.5 g with you as Emma mentioned, I still think people view it as more abandoned than alcohol for example. On the other hand, in the US the minimum legal drinking age is 21, which is higher than in Slovakia. It is also more difficult to get to alcohol if you’re underage. Therefore, it is generally known that teenagers in America are opened to marijuana usage more than to alcohol, and it’s the other way around in Slovakia. At least from my experience. The information from the surveys mentioned in the article also says that “students are waiting longer to try cigarettes and alcohol, the age at which they try pot has held steady”, which just confirms this claim.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Emma, that the getaway effect marijuana provides, is one of the main reasons of its usage. I think that people are more addicted to the state they get into after smoking pot, than the smoking of the drug itself. The fact that marijuana still isn’t legal in many parts of the world doesn’t really stop its users from purchasing it. It only increases the risk of getting it from an unreliable source. If marijuana was legalized, the people that smoked it before would still continue and at least the sources they get it from would be more reliable, which would for example prevent later health complications.
@Laura you described the situation perfectly. The fact that marijuana is illegal only makes obtaining it more dangerous. If people could get marijuana (and perhaps other drugs but that's a whole different topic) from a safe source like a dispensary or a pharmacy, they wouldn't run the risk of getting an adulterated substance. And more importantly, legally sold drugs would presumably come in relatively safe doses and with information in the package regarding potential effects and harm reduction. The majority of marijuana-related hospital visits is simply people panicking because of the unexpected effects of an unfamiliar dose. This, in turn, fills up spots that could be used by people with actual medical emergencies.
DeleteMost people, when they want to have fun or relax, usually seek some kind of chemically induced high. From my experience, adults do so just as often as (if not more than) teenagers. I know plenty of people that like to have a glass or two of wine, or a couple of beers at the end of the day to take the edge off. Cannabis (more specifically THC or CBD) is nothing more than yet another psychoactive substance that is used for the mentioned purposes. The difference is that it's safer than the typical, socially acceptable drugs. Alcohol, when consumed excessively, damages the liver and creates deposits of visceral fat around organs, and its lethal dose can be achieved relatively easily. Nicotine causes a certain neurological response which makes it physically addictive, and is most often administered by means that damage the respiratory system. Cannabis can be used relatively safely, has caused no deaths and is very difficult to overdose on.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it's been changing somewhat in the recent years, cannabis is still not nearly as socially acceptable as alcohol and nicotine. This is due to a long history of demonization by the government, religious groups, and society in general. The fact that it's been made illegal in most countries and put into the box labeled "illegal drugs", many (frankly ignorant) people consider cannabis to be on the same level as heroin and methamphetamine, even though that's clearly not the case. Society fails to see the hypocrisy of someone saying "I would never touch any drugs" while pounding down shots of vodka and smoking cigarette after cigarette. One might argue that cannabis is not completely safe, and that would be entirely true - no drug is 100% safe, but cannabis is way safer than most other drugs as countless statistics have shown.
Decriminalizing cannabis would make the world a safer place. Health-wise, a teenager is much better off smoking a joint than drinking alcohol, potentially ending up in a hospital with alcohol poisoning, or raiding the medicine cabinet and fatally overdosing on codeine-based cough syrup.
I personally think legality does affect how much people want to try something. For example, I always wanted to try coffee when I was just a small child because I wasn’t allowed to drink it. I secretly tried my first cup and I did not find it too bitter as my peers did back then. The same thing happened with cigarettes. I tried my first cigarette when I was 16 even though I hated the smell. This “forbidden fruit” mentality stimulates a very powerful human trait, curiosity.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do not think that legality affects whether people continue to use their drug of choice. In Slovakia, where cannabis is illegal, a person that is looking for cannabis will very quickly find it. If cannabis was to become legal, it would be able to be researched more and the consumption would either rise or fall, depending on the studied effects. Coffee, the most widespread psychoactive drug, is proven to have more positive effects than negative ones and its consumption is on the rise while alcohol and tobacco consumption is on the decline. I believe it is rather the education and quality of life that affects the usage of these substances.
Furthermore, inhaling any kind of smoke is certainly the opposite of healthy and taking any kind of psychoactive substance has a detrimental effect on a developing teenage human body. Many argue that cannabis smoke is less harmful than cigarette smoke because, assuming pesticides weren’t used, cannabis is not treated with harmful chemicals unlike tobacco in cigarettes is. However, inhaling any smoke is proven to cause lung damage. Cannabis is strongly associated with smoking, which is unfortunate because ingesting cannabis products for medical and recreational use has the health benefits of cannabis while forgoing the negative effects of smoking. Cannabis has been ingested for many years. For example, there is an ancient drink still drank today called “Bhang Thandai”. It soothes and calms rather than numbs as alcohol does. While that is true, cannabis today is more psychoactive. It is cultivated to contain more of the psychoactive chemical, THC, which is not rejected by the body, unlike ethanol, by inducing signs such as vomiting and headaches. So, if adults don’t feel like being sober, I think less harmful is eating a canna-brownie than getting drunk.
ReplyDeleteMarijuana and its legalization belongs to the most discussed topics of the year 2018. In the summer, Canada has become the first major world economy to legalize marijuana. Over the last years, it wasn’t the only country making this progressive step. Among the euphoria, there is also caution. Although it is on its good way, marijuana is still many times falsely recognized as socially unacceptable addictive life-threatening narcotic.
In the past, cannabis has not always been illegal. One of the main reasons why it was banned in the US in the 30’s was because it was associated with oppressed ethnic groups. Marijuana was linked with Mexican-Americans, and a ban on marijuana was seen as a way of discouraging subcultures from developing. Many countries in the world then followed the US’ example. Also, it has been connected to narcotics, such as heroin, which, after many years of studies and research made, is absurd to claim nowadays.
Arguing that cannabis has negative effects on human body can be discredited by the fact that it is commonly used for medical purposes. Naturally, if there wouldn’t be any negatives, marijuana wouldn’t be such a controversial phenomenon anymore. Yet if looking from the opposite point of view, the effects of legal drugs are certainly not positive either. For instance, alcohol and tobacco, as mentioned in the article, cause nearly 4400 deaths for people under 21 annually and contribute to early heart disease. People still drink and smoke, knowing that it is not beneficial for their health.
We currently live in liberal society and I think it should be everyone’s liberty to make their own choices about their own body and their own life. In my opinion, drug prohibition in general is against one of the main ideas of liberalism- an equal opportunity to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. If someone does not like marijuana, they can just simply not use it, as it is with cigarettes, liquor or anything else in life. There is no need to start a whole “war” over it.
I agree with you, @Anna, in the point that it should be everyone’s liberty to make their own choices about their own body as a sign of a liberal democratic society. I also know that marijuana is used for medical purposes and it can be helpful rather than harmful. However, if someone has a predisposition to certain mental diseases as a result of genetic vulnerability it can be damaging for them as well as for the whole family. Unfortunately, I have personal experience with this situation what makes my opinion biased. I recognize this, so I admit that maybe marijuana is not the only factor which should be blamed, but I think it was the main cause. I’m not against its legalization but I think there should be some restrictions for users considering their genetic code and tendency to have mental disorders in the family since its usage has an impact also on others. It can be compared to alcoholics whose actions also affect their families. Alas, as it can be seen, in many cases the age restriction is evidently not enough.
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