Nowadays, the debate around the use of marijuana is gaining momentum in the United States. The most common ideas discussed within a framework of this debate are connected to the issues of permission to keep marijuana at home for personal needs such as medical needs, and a total ban on the use of marijuana by any person rather that the representative of medical establishments. The opponents of the use of marijuana explain their position by the fact that often addiction to this substance destroys people’s lives when they commit terrible acts under the influence of drug intoxication. The proponents of legalizing marijuana argue that people are to be provided with a chance to be free in their choice to use marijuana because it is not a strong drug, and it may be also used for medical purposes. Overall, judging on a row of critical issues which are rife with the problem of marijuana control, it seems that a better solution for this problem may come out of stricter rules for using marijuana.
First, discussing the problem of marijuana control, the history of the use of this substance by people is to be addressed. Since the very beginning of human civilization, the plant Cannabis sativa used for the production of marijuana has been used for many purposes on a daily basis.
According to Earleywine (3),
Humans use nearly every part of the infamous green weed Cannabis sativa. The stalks help produce fiber; the seeds provide food and oil. The flowers, leaves, and resin appear in medical and intoxicating preparations. Each day, smiling teens buy hemp shirts. Retailers sell snacks made from the seed. Glaucoma patients puff cannabis cigarettes in hope of saving their sight, and many people worldwide inhale marijuana smoke in an effort to alter consciousness. These industrial, medical, and recreational uses for the plant go back thousands of years, contributing to its spread from Taiwan throughout the world. Although industrial hemp, medical marijuana, and cannabis the intoxicant stem from the same species, in many ways they each have their own histories.
However, in the twentieth century the use of marijuana was mentioned among serious social problems as it caused many problems connected with marijuana intoxication including uncontrolled violence, negligence at work, ruining the lives of young people, and so on.
Next, evaluating the pros of marijuana use, it should be stated that this substance is widely used in chemical industry for producing different types of medicaments. The widest application of marijuana is in the area of the production of pain killers and sedatives. Thousands of patients around the United States need marijuana-containing medicals on a daily basis. In 2011, the situation in the medical drug industry impelled marihuana-dependent patients to turn to the government with a petition to change the marijuana policies. According to Howell (27), “activists have three demands: full implementation of the medical marijuana program, permission for patients to grow their own pot and the establishment of an affirmative defense clause for patients who get caught in the legal system”. As a result, it becomes evident that there exists a group within the American society with a dependence on marijuana in medical purposes. To meet the demands of this group the government should develop new policies on the use of marijuana. In addition, the proponents of new milder marijuana policies argue that they will improve the situation for young people imprisoned on the reasons related to marijuana use (Souder and Zimmer 26).
Further, with regards to a variety of problems which are rife in connection to marijuana control or the cons of using marijuana, it should be stated that too many issues are behind this matter. First of all, this is the issue of safety for the society; and it is no wonder especially taking into consideration innumerable cases when individuals under marijuana intoxication committed terrible crimes against civilians. The biggest social pain caused by the use of marijuana is, of course, the culture it forms among young people. When youngsters who do not have a well-formed outlook start using marijuana their life perception becomes distorted. They organize themselves into companies hustling without any purpose. Eventually, they might quit their studies, and join criminal structures because they will still need money to support themselves in their addiction. Worse than this is the fact that such young people often do not stop on marijuana. Their addiction to narcotic agents acquires new forms, and they become seriously dependant drug addicts. Such dangerous path leads these young people to a slow death after the life for no purpose. The statistics data show that annually around 50 thousand young people aged from eighteen to thirty four become marijuana addicts (Souder and Zimmer 25). Further researches prove that these people’s life is seriously affected by their addiction because they develop the most complicated problems such as unemployment, connection to criminal structures and gradual personal degradation.
This sad statistics shows how important it is to restate regulations concerning using marihuana by civilians.
Evaluating innumerable evidences along with endless chain of sad occurrences, it seems that there exists no better solution for the problem of marihuana control as adopting the strictest rules which are possibly practicable for the use of marihuana for personal needs rather than medical ones. Of course, there exists a big group of people who will have a different position as to having more strict rules on marihuana use. Such people will claim that criminals do not care whether there exists law on marihuana control or not; they would claim that their very nature is in breaking the law, and that will definitely be the truth (Gerber 36). Still, if the regulations for marihuana control will be made more rigorous the problem of finding marihuana for criminals will be more difficult, and this problem will also appear even more challenging for ordinary civilians having no connection with unlawful mechanisms of getting things.
Concluding on all the information related above, it should be stated that the issues that are connected to marihuana control are rather complicated, and require deep understanding along with a wise and sober minded approach. In particular, there exist a lot of doubts about the scale of restrictions on the use of marihuana for personal needs. The opponents of severe restrictions claim that marihuana is not a strong drug, and, thus, is not to be forbidden for free ownership. The proponents of strict marihuana control regulations argue that so many registered cases when marihuana addiction spoils the lives of young people is the reason for adoption policies which would lessen the opportunities to have a marihuana at home to a minimum.
Works Cited
Earleywine, Mitch. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Questia. Web.
Gerber, Rudolph J. Legalizing Marijuana: Drug Policy Reform and Prohibition Politics. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2004. Questia. Web.
Howell, Tom. “Medical Marijuana Backers Still Waiting; Demonstration Planned at City Hall to Press Leaders to Start Program.” The Washington Times (Washington, DC) 2011: A16. Questia. Web.
Souder, Mark, and Lynn Zimmer. “Q: Is the Government’s War against Marijuana Justified as Public Policy?.” Insight on the News. 1998: 24+. Questia. Web.