Documented Argument Rough Draft #2

Argument Rough Draft #2

Student’s Name

Institution

Date

Argument for

From a medical perspective, marijuana relaxes the nerves, and that means that it can have positive effects on the patients who have conditions which affect the nerves. Cancer patients are the people who are likely to benefit with the legalization of marijuana, and this is because it helps them to relax their nerves during their hardest situation (Campbell, Twenge, & Carter, 2017). When a substance is proven to have medicinal value, it is essential to consider its legalization.

When marijuana is administered medically, it is evident that it is not likely to come with effects. It is essential to remember that one of the reasons why marijuana is affecting people is because they abuse the substance. Arguing that marijuana should not be legalized because it is abused is not logical. The reason behind it is associated with the fact that any substance that is abused is likely to have negative effects on the body of the abuser (Campbell et al. 2017). A good example, in this case, is the consumption of sugar. When one consumes a lot of sugars, he or she is exposed to the risks of getting diabetes as well as becoming obese. Therefore, all that is needed is for prescription of the best quantity to take and how regular one should take it.

Without fear of doubt, even when marijuana is not legalized, it is still providing employment opportunities (Schwartz, 2017). The fact that marijuana is still illegal in some nations does not rule out that it is still consumed in abundance. However, the way it offers employment is selective because only the people who are ready to risk it get to work for the drug lords (Ghosh et al. 2017). The legalization of marijuana will have a lot of effects when it comes to employment. People will stop hiding, and the peddlers will no longer work ii street corners, but they will own shops. As a result, more people will have formal employment where they will not work fearing for their lives.

The business activities that are legal and take place in the country are taxed. The same case applies to most of the goods that are sold unless the government chooses to wave the tax on specific products. When one opens a shop that sells marijuana, the person will be subjected to all procedures that must be followed while opening a business. One procedure is having a license to operate (Ghosh et al. 2017). The state government charges for all licenses and that means that it will have more businesses to charge. As a result, the tax will increase, and this means that marijuana will also contribute to the development of the state. Another benefit is associated with the state government staff. The state government employees its workers based on the responsibilities that are in place (Schwartz, 2017). The fact that more businesses will be added makes it clear that the government will need more workers and that means that the legalization of the substance will also come in handy to increase employment opportunities in the government.

Argument against

The consumption of addictive substances has an effect on the consumer. One of the reasons why the dependency rate is increasing in some areas is because of alcohol and other drugs like marijuana (Ghosh et al. 2017). Marijuana has an effect on the consumer because it leaves the consumer with an urge of having more of it. Most of the people that are targeted by drug peddlers are young people. Most of the young people depend on their parents and for the ones that are still working; they are not in the best position to fund the needs of their lives without working (Hauser, Sahai, Richards, & Roberts, 2018). In this respect, when a person starts engaging in the habits of taking marijuana, he or she might not be in the best position to provide for his or her needs. As a result, the rate of dependency increases.

Marijuana is considered to be one of the most addictive and dangerous drugs. It is believed to have effects that are almost similar to those of other drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Therefore, the legalization of marijuana will give rise to campaigns from other drug peddlers. People who sell other drugs will try to push for the legalization of other drugs as well (Schwartz, 2017). Therefore, it is evident that its legalization will come to increase conflicts between the law enforcers and other drug lords. At the same time, its legalization can lead to increased activities in peddling and selling of other drugs. The sellers who will be left in the streets might try to close the gap that has been left by marijuana peddlers, and that means that the members of society will be exposed to the dangers of drugs trafficking.

Even though the people who advocate for the legalization of marijuana might have the best intentions, it is essential to remember that not every person has the same thoughts. It, therefore, means that there are people who are likely to abuse the opportunity of freely buying and consuming marijuana (Schwartz, 2017). Considering that not all people have control over themselves after consuming addictive and manipulative substances, some may end up engaging in acts of violence. In the case that the consumption of marijuana affects the reasoning and behaviors of some of the consumers, people might be faced with the problem of increased rates of crimes in neighborhoods.

Overreliance on some substances can lead to increased cases of mental illness. In this respect, it becomes evident that when the legalization of marijuana takes place, the cases of mental illnesses will increase. The cases of mental illnesses are likely to affect the people who have been using the substance for a long time (Schwartz, 2017). At the same time, there is the aspect of introducing new users to the substance, and since it will not be restricted to buy and use marijuana, the consumption rate might increase to the extent of promoting mental illnesses.

Bipartisan argument

The people who have taken a neutral position on the topic of legalization of marijuana have stated the need for cultures to be respected. It would not be fair or appropriate for the legalization of marijuana to be against some cultures. However, they believe that legalization can also be done in line with different cultures. For example, some researchers have found out that some cultures take the smoking of marijuana to be an act that cannot be supported (Gardenier, Brennan, & Weber, 2017). However, the same cultural groups do not have an issue in the administration of marijuana as an added substance to either food or drinks. Medicinal marijuana does not need to be smoked, but it is also administered in other ways. In this respect, the bipartisan groups feel that considerations should be made when legalizing marijuana. If marijuana has a lot of medicinal values as opposed to being only a substance that can make one high, it should then be legalized with the main aim of helping people, and it should be done in respect to the best method of administration.

References

Campbell, W., Twenge, J., & Carter, N. (2017). Support for marijuana (cannabis) legalization: untangling age, period, and cohort effects. Collabra: Psychology, 3(1).

Gardenier, D., Brennan, M., & Weber, L. M. (2017). Should Marijuana be Legalized? The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 13(2), 116-117

Ghosh, T. S., Vigil, D. I., Maffey, A., Tolliver, R., Van Dyke, M., Kattari, L., ... & Wolk, L. (2017). Lessons learned after three years of legalized, recreational marijuana: The Colorado experience. Preventive medicine, 104, 4-6.

Hauser, N., Sahai, T., Richards, R., & Roberts, T. (2018). Corrigendum to “High on Cannabis and Calcineurin Inhibitors: A Word of Warning in an Era of Legalized Marijuana”. Case reports in transplantation, 2018.

Schwartz, R. (2017). Legalize marijuana without the smoke. CMAJ, 189(4), E137-E138.