The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

CounterPoint: Legalization of Marijuana

Marijuana is classified as an illegal substance under the Controlled Substances Act for having a high potential of abuse, no accepted use in medical treatment and a lack of accepted safety for use as a drug or other substance under medical supervision. Marijuana should not be legalized for medical or recreational use because of the dangerous effects it has on the human body along with the greater, detrimental effects it has on society.

Marijuana, in comparison to other drugs, is relatively benign, but using the illegal substance has a high correspondence to further, more toxic drug use.

“The gateway theory is people start experimenting with marijuana because it’s out there and then they would go on to harder drugs,said health teacher Kathleen Carey. “When you talk to people who have addictions, many, many times they would say that they started with marijuana.”

The medical benefits, like increasing hunger and relieving pain, do not outweigh the medical harm marijuana causes, along with the terrible effects it has on our society.

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Marijuana intoxication can distort perception, im pair coordination, create difficulty with thinking and problem solving and create problems with learning and memory. In fact, research has shown that in chronic users, marijuana has a large impact on learning and memory that can last for weeks after the initial effects wear off.

For all of those who believe this drug should be legalized, face the facts. Legalization would create a powerful industry, one that would be comparable to the tobacco industry. As of now, purchasing marijuana fuels the deadly drug wars in Mexico that have taken countless lives, and legalizing pot would do very little to cease the fighting.

Besides the promotion of the black market and the growing number of violent drug lords, marijuana does in fact have a severe impact on the body. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, marijuana increases heart rate by 20 to 100 percent shortly after smoking, and this can last for several hours. The drug can also create discrepancies in heart rhythms. In addition to damaging the lungs, marijuana can cause an onset of psychotic episodes, addiction, anxiety, depression and schizophrenia.

We must accept the fact that the drug is illegal and ought to stay that way.

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