The Potential Benefits of the Legalization of Marijuana

Marijuana has been used for thousands of years since its discovery. Today, there is a wide debate regarding marijuana and its usage in our nation. Should it be legalized everywhere? Should it only be allowed medically? How about recreational use? Smoke it? Vape it? Eat it? These are just a small portion of questions asked by American citizens nationwide, regarding marijuana.

According to CBS News, 43% of Americans have tried marijuana. According to NIDA, or the National Institution of Drug Abuse, 13.5% of 8th graders have smoked marijuana. 30.7% of 10th graders of smoked marijuana. An outstanding 45% of 12 graders have smoked marijuana. These are huge numbers that may alarm parents. According to NBC news, in an article written by Mary Emily O’Hara titled “New Poll Finds Majority of Americans have Smoked Marijuana”, 52% of adult Americans have smoked marijuana. Recently, marijuana has been legalized and dispensaries are opening all over California.

Marijuana can help our economy, as long as it’s purchased legally. However, our youth are constantly abusing the drug and possibly damaging their brains. In another article from CBS News, “What Smoking Marijuana does to the Brain”, written by Dennis Thompson, Thompson claims that marijuana use leads to a “smaller-than-usual orbitofrontal cortex”. Smoking marijuana underage can definitely lead to permanent brain damage within our frontal lobes. Without a fully functioning frontal lobe, we are reversed back to an infant-like behavior.

Inhibition of behavior and decision making is lost. Damage to the frontal lobe, ultimately, reduces us back to relying on just reflexes. On the other hand, marijuana use has been proven to be medically beneficial, especially to chemotherapy patients who have no appetite because of their treatment. Business Insider, another media outlet, has an article titled “23 Health Benefits of Marijuana”, written by Jennifer Welsh and Kevin Loria. This article lists many healthful uses to marijuana such as treating glaucoma, replacing tobacco, reducing epileptic seizures, and much more. It is safe to say that, when given as prescription, cannabis/marijuana may be the miracle treatment for certain conditions.

Legislators and lawmakers are constantly pushing to make marijuana legal in more states. This is where legalization becomes somewhat of a stalemate between marijuana prohibitionists and supporters of its legalization. It is not easy to pass laws. California had been pushing for the legalization of recreational marijuana for about 20 years, since its medical legalization was approved in 1996. In California, the vote to legalize recreational marijuana was a 56% to 44% vote, (According to Time Magazine, in the article “What to know about Marijuana Legalization in California”). Marijuana, or cannabis, has been used for an extremely long time and most likely will continue to be used, as society is becoming consistently more accepting towards the idea of smoking it.

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