Legalizing Marijuana in This Era Article

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On the other hand, marijuana is still perceived as an addictive substance under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. It has been historically linked as a gateway drug to more serious substance abuse such as meth, heroin, or cocaine. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says that marijuana is the most widely used and abused illicit drug in the nation among both youth and adults; in fact 42% of high school seniors have tried it. The National Center on Addiction found that rates for marijuana use and dependence for minors has increased 482% between 1992 and 2006 while, at the same time there was a 54% decrease in rates of all other substances combined. The issue most worrisome is the use of marijuana for young people, since 62% of all users began before they were 18. According to NIDA research, marijuana use predominantely affects the prefrontal cortex, the last area of the brain to develop and the area not fully matured in adolescene often disrupting brain functions that are critical to motivation, memory, learning, judgement and behavior control, as well as poor academic performance (Arguments Against).

Most recently, two U.S. states legalized marijuana for recreational use -- Washington and Colorado. This is quite a conundrum, however, since the recreational use of the substance is still Federally illegal. At least 20 states allow the use of marijuana for medical reasons, and a growing number of mainstream Americans are urging the support of legalizing it. A recent poll, in fact, noted that over 51% of those surveyed favored legalization. They key, however, is how to have legalized marijuana in a State, but not Federally -- does this then mean that anyone caught legally selling a product can still be arrested on a Federal crime? Or that if someone is using marijuana in private, the Federal government can arrest them? (Colorado Becomes Second U.S. State, 2012).

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What is clear is that it will soon be a Court test to find out how individual States can regulate laws and substances that have a different Federal interpretation.

Logically, when one weighs the benefits vs. The negatives, from a utilitarian point-of-view (classical utilitarianism holds that the best decision for a society is what is best for the greatest number), marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes. It is a natural substance, it has fewer side effects than most pharmaceuticals, it is less expensive to produce than traditional pharmaceuticals, and now, smoking is unnecessary -- it can be vaporized. Control of the substance would still be governmental, making the quality and potency greater (no cutting the product, no unauthorized chemicals used in production, etc.). The distribution would be through licensed agencies, much like liquor in many states. And sure, there might be a few abuses, just as there are with alcohol. but, the benefits for people who need something that will work for their issue and still allow them to live a fulfilling life, all the while allowing them the personal freedom to decide which substance they will use to control their pain, discomfort, nausea, or medication conditions, far outweigh the negatives. After all, how could humanity have been wrong for 10,000 years?

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