This article talks about the marijuana legalization act in California this year. It says that if legalized, it would be the vanguard for decriminalizing the drug for the entire country.
There are two sides to this issue, one supporting the legalization and one against it. The group that supports it states that it can save the country money by not using the resources that were used to catch people using marijuana and instead, using it on other important projects. Also, they said that banning marijuana was a big mistake, because fueled a massive, increasingly brutal underground economy, and made criminals of numerous otherwise law-abiding citizens, that just wanted to smoke some marijuana. The side that opposes this says that, "With legalization of recreational marijuana use, impaired driving, fatalities, injuries and crashes will go up, and we don't want to see that." They also say that the already societal damage from alcohol and tobacco use would only increase if citizens are allowed to legally sell and smoke pot.
There is always the same argument for every illegal substance; was it logical to ban that substance? Logically, the reasons to ban a substance is because that substance is harmful to the society, but in the case of marijuana, it appears to be illogical. The criminalization of owning cannabis started a major underground economic business, mainly the drug cartels, and the wasting of billions by the state to inhibit the usage and transportation of cannabis, while slowly going bankrupted. If legalize, cannabis can be taxed, and the billions used to combat cannabis can be saved, preventing the state from going bankrupted. Cannabis, or marijuana, can treat nausea, committing, premenstrual syndrome, insomnia, neurogenic pain, movement disorders, asthma, and glaucoma! Also, because the usage of marijuana takes the patient's mind off things, marijuana can be used to distract the patient from troubling thoughts, especially patients with terminal diseases. Terminal illness patients often feel excessive pain from their illness, or distress from the thought of their future. Use of marijuana then comes it, because it take the user's mind off these troublesome thoughts, and also reduces pain. Also, marijuana is ranked as one of the least harmful drugs by a UK medical journal, the Lancet, and is less addicting than alcohol or tobacco, and most of the other drugs. However, we do not know the long term effects of marijuana, which then raises the concern of what it can do. This argument supports the side that disagrees with legalizing marijuana. Also, the fact that marijuana users experience muscle relaxation, will make users of the drug dangerous if they operate machinery, such as cars or trucks. One of the main arguments for groups against marijuana legalization, made by the California Mothers Against Drunk Driving group, is that if marijuana is legalized, then driving crashes and injuries will go up due to an increased amount of drivers under the influence. One area of knowledge will be the medical uses of marijuana, because one of the main arguments for legalizing marijuana is that it has medical uses that helps people greatly.
I would side with legalizing marijuana, because it is the more logical option, as it takes a helpful drug back from the illegal sector, and also can save the dying economy of the state. Instead of pumping billions of money to enforce the decision of criminalizing marijuana, the state should legalize marijuana and use the billions on other projects, such as improving the public school fund. Also, the substance has several useful medical properties, without any recorded side effect, which means it is more effective than most drugs, such as vicodin. Vicodin is a pain killer, which has bad side effects, such as dependency, while marijuana has a low level of dependency, and doesn’t have bad side effects.
The same concept can be used on gay marriage, because gay marriage doesn’t affect anybody, but it is illegal in many states in USA and many countries.
Calvin The Boss,
ReplyDeleteYou need to include direct hyperlinks to the article in question as a citation of what it is that spawned your post. Beginning with "This article" and not offering any explanation to what "this" is leaves the reader disconnected from your source material. Cite your sources! In the online world, that can be as easy as adding a link.
The only TOK WoK or AoK you seem to identify is "reason/logic" but you don't really demonstrate how there is a logical issue that is causing the impasse on this issue. When you side with the legalization group because "it is the more logical option" you give no explanation of your sense of what logic is and how you can measure the relative quantity ("more") of logic available to each side. Your Step 3 is weak and your Step 4 is then simply tacked on as an afterthought without any clear link to the underlying logical issues involved.
Come see me before you make your next post.
Your arguments are definitely interesting. I understand that marijuana has a lower dependency rate than that of Vicodin or other over the counter drugs. However, studies have shown that marijuana does affect cognition and that could be dangerous when a person driving while under the influence. True other drugs may have side-effects but most require extreme levels for any distortion with cognition.
ReplyDeleteThe argument about marijuana having health benefits is definitely something that was worth mentionig since other 'street' drugs are not. I agree with the fact that legalizing marijuana could lead to fewer cases of people compromising their own safety trying to obtain it. But I don't believe that legalizing marijuana could lead the United States or any other country out of their economical decline. To state so is a bit hyperbolic.