Who says marijuana
is not harmful! Children today are exposed to tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs
at increasingly younger ages. The media is rife with images that promote
smoking and drinking as "cool," fun, and a natural part of life. Preventing
drug use should be an important focus of everyone’s life. The effects of drug
use can be devastating and can ruin the prospects of a promising future for
many. Texas State Legislators should not be involved with the distribution of recreational
marijuana. A substance such as marijuana is considered unhealthy and should not
be distributed with the help of the state, because the goal of the state should
be to protect its citizens’ health and not to expose them to harmful risks.
Texas should not
legalize recreational marijuana because the easy availability of drugs would
create new consumers rather than rescuing current ones. Legalizing recreational marijuana will send a message
to children that drug use is acceptable. Legalization
of recreational marijuana can lead to significant cost burdens that come along
with increased marijuana use. It can lead to a greater need for drug education,
rehabilitation and treatment. These costs can be higher than any revenue
accumulated from the sale of recreational marijuana. Drug use is dangerous to
persons besides the user. Drug addiction can lead to criminal behavior.
According the NCADD, “The use of illegal drugs is often associated with murder,
rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny/theft, serious motor
vehicle offenses with dangerous consequences, arson and hate crimes.” The use
of marijuana can lead to other types of substance abuse.
A drug user cannot
make an informed and rational decision because the use of the drug eliminates
that user’s ability to think logically. For example, there will be greater
social costs from decline in worker productivity and school performance.
The Alcohol-DrugEducation Service states:
Marijuana affects the central nervous system as a hallucinogen
and as a depressant. THC is rapidly absorbed by fatty tissues in various
organs. You then feel “high” which can range from feelings of calm and
happiness to feeling silly and giddy or paranoid and anxious. When taking high
doses, it’s possible to experience hallucinations. The “high” usually lasts for
2-4 hours, but your perceptions can be affected for many hours afterwards, even
when you no longer feel “high”.
In Denver there were
two deaths linked to marijuana use. According to CBS News:
One man jumped to his death after consuming a large
amount of marijuana contained in a cookie, and in the other case, a man
allegedly shot and killed his wife after eating marijuana candy. Wyoming
college student Levy Thamba Pongi, 19, jumped to his death at a Denver hotel on
March 11 after eating more of a marijuana cookie than was recommended by a
seller, police records show - a finding that comes amid increased concern about
the strength of popular pot edibles after Colorado became the first state to
legalize recreational marijuana.
Marijuana is known
to be a pain suppressant and has some medicinal positive benefits, but managing
the negative effects is more costly than its prohibition so Texas should not
legalize recreational marijuana. Legalizing it may result in long-term problems
such as crime, institutional/health burden, a weak labor force, etc.… In all
honesty, I think the consumption of marijuana should be illegal in Texas and
all states in the U.S.A. The children of today are the future of tomorrow, but
with marijuana in the picture the future of tomorrow will consist of drug
addicts! Legalizing it would take money from our pockets! We have enough crimes
in Texas! Who knows how much more we would have if Texas choose to legalize
recreational marijuana! Crimes and accidents will increase and so will the
deaths of innocent people.
Ms. Tran’s editorial about the dangers of marijuana and other illegal drugs was a very well articulated argument. I agree with Ms. Tran on the majority of her points. I also have a few comments and issues to elaborate on as well.
ReplyDeleteI believe that in America, in today's society, we are not ready to fully legalize marijuana. Besides all of the negative attributes that go along with marijuana which are being fought so hard to keep illegal, there is a plague of ignorance in our country in regards to marijuana. The people that fight to keep it illegal run smear campaigns and spread outright lies to fool the masses. Conversely, the people that are trying to get it legalized like to convey the point that there is absolutely no side effects to marijuana, besides a guaranteed great time. The reality of the matter is somewhere in the middle, but unfortunately most of the country just has to take someones word on the matter.
As Ms. Tran states, drugs have completely destroyed countless lives and families in our state. Obviously it is a huge problem that needs to be addressed. The method best to address it is a hotly debated topic. Should we pour countless more dollars into the drug war that will never truly end as long as there is money to be made? Should we legalize some or all drugs and simply restrict them therefore increasing tax revenue and taking the market out of the hands of drug lords? The best solution might be to look at other countries as a model, and look at our history as well.
Countries like Portugal, The Netherlands, and others in the European Union have either completely decriminalized most drugs, or have adopted policies that take a blind eye to drugs as long as its not encroaching on the well being of others. One might then naturally assume that these places would become the new drug meccas where people want to come and party. However, the studies that have been produced have shown that drug related deaths have dropped, drug related diseases have dropped, and that the people that have drug problems are more inclined to seek help knowing that they won’t be arrested. Would this system work in America? Most would agree we are typically behind the curve when it comes to matters like this, so probably not.
The history aspect to bring up would be to compare the legalization of marijuana to the prohibition era of our country. The difference is that even before the prohibition took effect, alcohol had a chance to come into the mainstream and lose the taboo of illicit substances. In turn when the prohibition era was in effect, it became obvious rather quickly that alcohol was here to stay. This is to many people quite an odd dichotomy, because it doesn't take a genius to know that alcohol has the potential to be incredibly dangerous and life destroying. Most would agree that alcohol is a much worse drug than marijuana, but that taboo factor for alcohol has long since been dismissed. It is only a matter of time for the same thing to happen with marijuana.
Are drugs dangerous? Absolutely. Whether legal or illegal, drugs undoubtedly have the ability to destroy lives. As Ms. Tran points out, legalizing drugs has the potential to draw more people, especially the easily impressionable, into its grasp. This is especially why regardless of what Texas and the US does, education is imperative. People need to be completely aware of the risks of the substance they are ingesting, legal or otherwise.
In Ms. Tran's article "Say 'No' to Marijuana", she argues that legalizing marijuana would be detrimental for Texas, especially its children. She argues that marijuana is harmful and that it is the responsibility of the state to protect its citizens from harm. She goes on to say that the legalization of marijuana will in fact increase crime, increase addiction rates, and be more costly for the state.
ReplyDeleteStarting with the last point, legalizing marijuana will in fact be a cost saver for the state of Texas. Between the tax revenue from the sale of marijuana and the savings in incarcerations for minor marijuana offenses, the state and tax payers would make a profit from the drug. According to the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, Texas spends almost $4 million per day on inmates jailed for simple possession. Everyone in Texas can speak green, and a savings of $4 million per days is not a small amount of money.
Her claim that it will increase crime rates also falls short of reality. In June of this year, Colorado released its six-month report on the effect marijuana legalization has had on its crime. According to the report, crime in the state is down over 10% from last year, with violent crimes down 5.2%. A lot of the crime associated with marijuana, especially in Texas, is from cartels and gang rivalries over territory. If we can eliminate the gangs purpose of dispensing marijuana, the crime associated with that can be eliminated as well. Having a responsible, government regulated dispensary sell the drugs is a much better option than an unregulated black market.
Last, she points out that marijuana is not safe for consumption. While it is not a good argument to point out that something else is worse, it is worth noting that annually 88,000 people die from alcohol related causes, 300,000 from obesity related causes, and 480,000 people died from tobacco related causes. All of these causes are clearly preventable, as is marijuana related deaths. However, marijuana related deaths are in the double digits, significantly less than the other top preventable death causes. To point out two deaths that have happened as a result of marijuana is sensationalizing the negatives of the drug.
The drug is not perfect - it does have a 9% addiction rate, it does impair motor functions and cognitive abilities, and it does just make you lazy. We absolutely should teach children about the dangers of not just marijuana, but also alcohol, fast food, and other preventable causes of death. But when the time comes and they are of age, be that 18 or 21, they should be able to make their own decision on how they want to relax over the weekend. To keep it illegal means to keep the gangs and cartels involved in our neighborhoods and it means spending millions of dollars each day to lock up nonviolent, simple possession prisoners.
http://texanstudent.blogspot.com/2014/11/marijuana-marijuana.html
ReplyDeleteFree Mother Cannabis!
ReplyDeleteIn "Say 'No' To Marijuana", Ms Tran's commentary on the legalization of recreational use of marijuana in Texas suggest that this "drug" has only negative consequences, and should not be approved, yet she fails to acknowledge the several benefits cannabis can contribute to the medical and economic crisis in Texas.
As Ms. Tran mentions, choosing to indulge in drugs can be the beginning of a series of reckless, life-altering decisions, and legalizing certain drugs is essentially welcoming our youth to this realm of hopeless addiction. But marijuana has proven to be less detrimental to the health than other highly addictive drugs, or even legalized tobacco and alcohol products; in fact researchers at California Pacific Medical Center reported that cannibidol, a chemical found in marijuana, may be able to stop cancerous cells from spreading in the body. Score one for Mary Jane.
Furthermore Ruben Baler, a health scientist at the National Institute of Drug Abuse, states that "marijuana affects the cardiovascular system, increasing heart rate and blood pressure, but a person can't fatally overdose on pot (cannabis) like they can with alcohol."; so why is it that something as harmful as alcohol is legal, yet Texans continue to refuse to promote medicinal use of cannabis? Because during the Prohibition Era, as John Young advocates, alcohol proved that it belonged in America by radically affecting the economic strife due to The Great Depression. Similarly, states like Colorado, California, and many others that have enacted laws to legalize medicinal marijuana, demonstrate how cannabis can stimulate the economy. So what changes the circumstances here?
With Texas' current population boom there is bound to be some sort of faulty legislation, resulting in an inevitable financial crisis, and there is one simple solution at this point, setting free Mother Cannabis. Over 500 renowned economist banded together to support legalization of marijuana by signing a letter to the President, "The Budgetary Implications of Drug Prohibition", which states that if marijuana was to be taxed like tobacco or alcohol products it would generate as much as $6.2 billion annually on a nationwide scale.
Ms. Tran's commentary does accurately describe the cons of legalizing weed, but a battle shouldn't be fought without hearing both sides of the story. Of course with the legalization of marijuana we would have to take into account the potential risk of abuse, but with the amazing financial profit Texas could invest in proper health and drug education for the youth so that they aren't senselessly discovering these facts on their own. It seems that the pros of legalization heavily outweigh the cons in the long run, so maybe the prohibition of marijuana isn't the best option for Texas.
http://helpmeow.blogspot.com/2014/11/i-am-critiquing-my-colleague-ms.html#comment-form
ReplyDeleteIn Ms. Tran's blog "Say "NO" to Marijuana," she discusses and coherently argues her views on the legalization of Marijuana. Her fears are clearly justified, but I believe old family values and biased opinions is what is fueling this hate of the legalization of marijuana. There are many instances and scientific analysis on how cannabis can benefit society as a whole.
ReplyDeleteTo say a substance such as marijuana is unhealthy is a ridiculous claim and it tells how uninformed and the lack of knowledge one has on the issue. Everyone knows that marijuana is a much safer substance compared to other legal drug substances, such as alcohol. Considering marijuana to be in the same class of drugs with cocaine and heroine happened when the federal government used fear tactics and racism to deceive lawmakers that marijuana and hemp is dangerous to society. Anslinger, the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, claimed that cannabis has no medical qualities and causes users to become extremely violent and overly sexual in 1930's. It is 2014 and a plethora of scientific research is out with numerous medical benefits.
Texas Government is scared of change and the people who run it are scared of change. The changes that need to happen will not go through unless we have new representation. To classify marijuana as a dangerous drug that needs to be illegal is just being ignorant and stubborn. Let's not forget the numbers, 0 deaths from the substance THC, and 88,000 deaths in the United States alone from alcohol. All of these figures are out there and to say that the legalization of marijuana is absurd, is in fact, absurd.