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In society today, many people look for a feeling of freedom. Many people go on vacation and spend money. The most common gateway for people is drugs. Our American society is facing a tremendous drug problem. In order to eradicate the drug problem, a public debate is going on to find some solutions to this drug dilemma. It has become a highly controversial issue whether drugs such as marijuana should be legalized or not. Some people advocate this issue and believe that legalization is the only solution left for the nation while others oppose because it will increase the number of drug users and drug related crimes. Marijuana is a drug that is illegal in the United States. This drug as you know is bad and causes severe side effects to your brain and body. Scientists have found that smoking marijuana can cause you to loose your memory.
Marijuana has many psychological and physical effects. People usually smoke marijuana in cigarettes or pipes, but it also can be mixed with food and beverages. Short-term effects of marijuana include both psychological and physical reactions. These reactions usually last for three to five hours after a person has smoked marijuana. The psychological reaction, known as a high consists of changes in the users feelings and thoughts. Such changes are caused mainly by THC. The effects of a marijuana high vary from person to person and from one time to another in the same individual. In most cases, the high consists of a dreamy, relaxed state in which users seem more aware of their senses and feel that time is moving slowly. Sometimes, however, marijuana produces a feeling of panic and dread. The different reactions result partly from the concentration of THC in the marijuana. Other factors, such as the setting in which marijuana is used and the users expectations, personality, and mood, also affect a persons reaction to the drug. Long-term effects of marijuana are not completely known, but studies have shown that some people have used marijuana regularly for several months or longer have developed serious long-term problems. Among males, marijuana use can reduce the production of sperm and of the male sex hormone testosterone. Among females, it can cause menstrual irregularity and reduced fertility. Extended use of marijuana also has a long-term psychological effect on many people. These individuals loose interest in everything.
However, according to scientific experiments, marijuana is known to be beneficial in medicine. The question is . One of the consequences of legalization will be a tremendous increase in drug users. Right now, drug users have fear of law enforcement agents, but if drugs were to be legalized, they no longer will have fear and will feel that it will be okay to use drugs. Over twenty years ago, estimates of drug use among Americans went as high as 24 million, but we now estimate that the number of Americans ho use illegal drugs is down to some 11 million. In addition, a recent study done by my office shows that Americans are spending less on illegal drugs, not more. In 1993, Americans spent $49 billion on illegal drugs, down from $64 billion in 1988 (Brown 629). This decline is due to more officers on the streets and drug awareness programs. An increase in drug use will result in an increase in drug related crimes if drugs are legalized. Supporters of drug legalization believe that crime and violence would decrease if drug use were to be legal. Statistics tell us that almost half of those arrested for committing a crime test positive for the use of drugs at the time of their arrest. Making drugs more readily available could only propel more individuals into a life of crime and violence (Brown 629). In addition, drug users turn to crime to pay for their habits because drugs stimulate them and therefore act violently. If drug is sold legally, it will become easy for users to buy it around the corner. Thus, it will increase the already existing problem of crime. Church mentions that every year drug lords make over twenty billion dollars from cocaine and marijuana business, and legalizers believe that legalization will wipe out their major sources of funds. However, drug use is a matter of supply and demand. As long as demand exists, someone is going to supply it, either legally or illegally. Supporters of legalization believe that if government regulate drugs such as cocaine and marijuana by imposing taxes, then the black market will be eliminated (Church 12). However, the higher the tax rate, the higher the price of the drugs, and not many users can afford to buy high priced drugs such as marijuana and cocaine. Therefore, they will have to go to drug gangs who sell marijuana and cocaine under the market price. In addition, children and teenagers will be obviously banned from ...