keep the habit kicked

8/14/2019 Keep the Habit Kicked

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Keep the Habit Kicked

According to a publication issued by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “aboutone in seven 10th graders report they are current marijuana users… fewer than one in five

high school seniors is a current marijuana user” (Marijuana: Facts… 5). Despite the

popular consensus among teenagers that everybody in high school smokes marijuana, thedangerous trend hasn’t yet reached that point. However, even though the percentage of

teenage marijuana users seems small, the numbers are still significant enough to spark

debate over whether or not the drug should be legalized. What these teenagers, and manyothers who stand in favor of the legalization of marijuana, fail to realize is that the drug is

not only just as harmful to the body as tobacco smoke, but it is also a gateway to more

serious long-term health problems, the most prominent of which being death. For this and

other reasons, marijuana should not be legalized.

Contrary to what many pro-legalization activists want to believe, marijuana is

nowhere near as harmless as it is let out to be. According to the Office of National Drug

Control Policy, “research shows that kids age 12 to 17 who smoke marijuana weekly arethree times more likely than nonusers to have thoughts about committing suicide”

(“Marijuana Myths…” 2). While one cannot die directly from an overdose of marijuana,it is not to say that marijuana cannot cause death. Teenagers are especially vulnerable to

the side effects of smoking pot, because our hormones are already heightened. Anything

that may trigger further hormonal imbalance will only have a greater effect among teens.

Another issue that is commonly overlooked is the effect that marijuana can have on the brain, and the adverse effects it causes. The U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services stated that “in 2002, nearly 120,000 people were admitted to emergency rooms

suffering from marijuana-related problems, an increase of more than 139 percent since1995” (“Tips…” 1). That means almost three times as many injuries resulting from the

use of marijuana have occurred within a seven-year span of time. Should those trendscontinue, by the end of 2009 there will be over a quarter of a million people in hospitalsdue to problems raised from marijuana use. If the drug did become legal, there would

only be more trafficking and more abuse surrounding it, causing that quarter million

people to increase substantially.

From personal experience, I have seen nothing good come of the use of

marijuana, but plenty to leave me feeling bitter about the drug. My brother started

smoking marijuana when he was in middle school. The pot lead to heroin, which lead himto drop out of high school and run away from home. We found him two weeks later on a

street corner, begging for more drugs. I still see the effects 10 years later. Though he was

able to kick the habit with rehab and the support of his family, the drugs that had enteredhis body all that time ago have permanently damaged his brain, causing him to function

more slowly. One might argue that it wasn’t the marijuana that damaged his brain cells,

but rather the heroin. However, had my brother never started smoking marijuana to beginwith, he would have never begun to use heroin. More recently, I have experienced good

friends of mine fall victim to the effects of marijuana. One friend in particular has

become increasingly sluggish over the last three months (he picked up the habit around

that time), and he is completely unaware of his problem. He comes to class either drunk

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or high every day, his grades have been slipping, and he’s setting himself up for a

disaster. To say that marijuana is not addictive is false, as studies show that “in 2006, the

majority of youth (age 17 or younger) entering drug abuse treatment reported marijuanaas their primary drug abused” ( NIDA… par 4). Marijuana is not only in itself addictive; it

can lead to other, even more addictive substances. There are plenty of reasons as to why

we have yet to legalize marijuana, not the least of which being the fact that it enables theuse of other illegal drugs – drugs such as cocaine and heroin that nobody can argue is a

detriment to one’s health.

It is not to say that legalizing marijuana could not have positive effects on our

society. For example, High Times reported that “750,000 individuals are arrested each

year for marijuana possession” (“The Top Ten…” par 8), thus costing our justice system

money it doesn’t have and taking up jail space that we could be filling with more criminaloffenses. While it’s true that America’s penitentiaries are vastly overcrowded, the

government cannot ignore someone who is breaking the law. A heavy fine, however, may

be a more sufficient price to pay, and may prove to put more money back into the

economy that underground drug traffickers have taken away. High Times also reports:

Legalized marijuana would reduce the flow of money from the Americaneconomy to international criminal gangs. Marijuana's illegality makes foreign

cultivation and smuggling to the United States extremely profitable, sending

billions of dollars overseas in an underground economy while diverting funds

from productive economic development. (“The Top Ten…” par 4)

This problem could definitely be averted if marijuana were legalized. However, foreign

smuggling of marijuana is only the tip of the underground smuggling iceberg. If weshould legalize marijuana based on that fact, then we should also legalize cocaine, heroin,

and all the other drugs that are traded on the black market. The reason we haven’t is for

the same reason that marijuana has stayed illegal – it’s dangerous.

While the legalization of marijuana may do some good for the economy, it must

be weighed against the bad it would cause as well. “Generally, traces (metabolites) of THC can be detected by standard urine testing methods several days after a smoking

session. In heavy users, however, traces can sometimes be detected for weeks after they

have stopped using marijuana” (Marijuana: Facts… 5). For any drug to have an effect on

someone for that length of time, whether or not said person displays the symptoms, isnever healthy. Not only for our present youth, but for future generations as well,

marijuana poses a threat to our health. “Studies of children born to mothers who used

marijuana indicate that there may be subtle effects on intellectual development andattention, and it may affect the likelihood of marijuana use as the child gets older”

( NIDA… par 7). Pregnant mothers are urged not to take any drugs during their time of

pregnancy anyway due to the effects it may have on the fetus, and those who chose toignore the advice because it’s “just pot” may be paying the consequences with our future

generations. One major source for debate is the use of medical marijuana – marijuana that

is used to treat ailments. People have been persuaded into thinking that marijuana is all

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right to use if it is used for medical purposes. However, the drug is not a cure for any

disease, according to multiple medical associations. Abovetheinfluence states:

The overwhelming opinion from major medical institutions, including The

American Medical Association, The American Cancer Society, The American

Academy of Pediatrics, The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, The BritishMedical Association, The Food and Drug Administration, and the Drug

Enforcement Agency is that that smoked marijuana has no "documented medical

value," and these associations do not advocate its legalization. (“Why People…” par 12)

Not only is marijuana not helpful in preventing any diseases, but it is also rather harmful,

and may have long-term effects that cause a number of diseases. NIDA reports, “studiesshow that someone who smokes five joints per day may be taking in as many cancer-

causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day”

(Marijuana: Facts… 9). With all of the horrible effects cigarettes can have on a person’s

heath, it’s no wonder that marijuana hasn’t been legalized. Smoking less than half theamount of marijuana as cigarettes can have the same, possibly worse effects. A stimulated

economy is not worth the long and short-term damages that marijuana can give to peoplewho abuse it.

As with any issue, there will always be positive and negative things to take into

consideration when making a decision. With the legalization of marijuana, our economymay be able to bounce back from some of the financial damage it’s taken, and we would

be able to clear out a lot of the jail space we are currently using to hold offenders of illicit

drug harboring. However, with all of the potential health hazards that smoking pot presents, it’s hard to say that we can really risk legalizing it. A potentially more harmful

drug than cigarette smoke, which is responsible for the number one cause of cancer-

related deaths in America, cannot be put into our society without some seriousrestrictions. (1,500)

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