Should Marijuana be legalized?

This should not even be a discussion. Anyone who seriously still thinks Marijuana should be illegal needs to learn to research. I apologize for being condescending, but virtually all effects are only short term, and it is actually useful for treating some health issues. Furthermore, a slew of government studies have all proven marijuana to be effective in preventing cancer. But with all of these benefits and little to no harms, why is it still illegal? Immortal Technique theorizes it will never become legal in America because it's impossible to monopolize.

First I would like to point out something that pisses me off, it's not the tobacco in cigarettes thats really bad for you, it's all the shit that they put with it.

The only reason that there is proof that marijuana is bad for you, is because it's illegal in the first place. If marijuana was legal (like in the netherlands) then there would be regulations that would control the purity of the mixture. Not only would this mean that marijuana would be safer than it is now, it would also help to stop quite a few people from smoking cigarettes.

If you were to outlaw marijuana, why not alcohol and cigarettes as well? They're much worse for you than marijuana is/would be (unless they screw it up like cigarettes).

Note: I do not use any of the above mentioned substances.

Not sure what the debate is, the only down side of Marijuana is the smoke going into your lungs. When it comes to addiction, coffee, alcohol, tabacco, food even are way more addictive than Marijuana.

If you are going to keep Marijuna illegal, then add alcohol and tabacco.

Evidence in the debate on the legalization of marijuana is heavily in favor of legalization. And, there are economic, political, and perhaps even moral dealings in this debate. However, my expertise lies in the horticultural, chemical, and medical aspects of marijuana and medical usage is perhaps the most compelling argument for legalization and therefore will be my focus.

Cannabis sativa has several subspecies and variants: sativa var. sativa ('sativa'), sativa var. spontanea (sometimes called 'ruderalis'), indica var. indica ('indica'), indica var. kafiristanica (sometimes called 'afghanica'). Each has a different chemical profiles with varying levels of chemicals called cannabinoids. The cannabinoids of interest include tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and cannabinol (CBN). These chemicals work in most animals by binding to cannabinoid receptors, of which there are two types (CB1 and CB2).

CB1 receptors are mostly found in the brain and the reproductive systems. Note that CB1 receptors are generally absent from the part of the brain responsible for respiratory and cardiovascular functions, which is a risk associated with many drugs. CB2 receptors are almost exclusively found in the immune system and are concentrated in the spleen. The various cannabinoids (THC, CBD, CBN) have specific affinities for the two different cannabinoid receptors. These affinities in conjunction with the array of chemical profiles in the subspecies of cannabis are responsible for wide range of effects that marijuana has for people.

THC is the chemical responsible for the psychoactive effects of C. sativa, and has been shown to ease moderate pain and prevent degeneration of neurons in the brain (at extremely high concentrations, THC inhibits the formation of plaque, the cause of Alzheimer's disease). CBD, which is known to moderate the psychoactive effects of THC, does not bind to either CB1 or CB2 receptors directly, but it does block the effects of cannabinoid agonists through unknown mechanisms. CBD helps to relieve convlusion, inflammation, anxiety, nausea, improve alertness, and recently was found to help control the spread of metastatic breast cancer. CBN is an oxidation product of THC and is the chemical associated with the sedative or stupefying effects of some marijuana.

The medical uses of THC are documented, in fact, there's already a pharmaceutical on market called Marinol which contains dronabinol (aka, THC). Marinol is FDA approved and prescribed as an appetite stimulant, anti-nauseant. However, Marinol is described as being acutely psychedlic and is also known to trigger psychosis in at risk individuals, confirming a study published in 2007 by The Lancet, a British medical journal, that indicated marijuana users had a greater risk of developing psychosis, although the risk was most pronounced in individuals already considered to be at risk of developing psychosis.

While Marinol is an effective appetite stimulant and anti-nauseant for AIDS and cancer patients, the risk of concentrated THC triggering psychosis in at risk individuals renders it unusable. A two-year study in which rodents were given THC showed reduction of body mass, enhanced survival rates, decreased tumor incidents in hormonally-controlled organs. It also caused testiculor atrophy, uterine and ovarian hypoplasia, hyperactivity, and convulsions immediately after administration.

The combination of cannabinoids offered in C. sativa plants elicits safer and more balanced results than it's pharma-cousin, Marinol. In the specific case of individuals identified as at risk for developing psychosis, indica-ruderalis cross breeds can be used to affect appetite stimulation and nausea reduction without the risk of triggering psychosis. C. sativa offers a safe and holistic way to achieve many positive medical results.

The method of consumption of C. sativa also has come under medical scrutiny, specifically the act of smoking is known to be particularly irritating and harmful to the lungs. However, a wide variety of alternatives to smoking exist which are not suspect to health concerns.

Medical marijuana has been used to treat many things successfully including: anxiety, depression, nausea, glaucoma, reduced appetite, ADHD, pain, cancerous cell growth, and more. What's more, is that this only deals with the medical aspects of marijuana. Let us not forget that there are economic and social arguments for legalization as well.

We live in a backwards world, the question shouldn't be "should marijuana be legalized?" If anything, the question should be whether or not it should be illegal, but the drug czars, tobacco companies, and propagandizing politicians embarked on an epic mud slinging campaign early in the last century.

Marijiuana is much safer than alcohol and less addictive.
Alcohol kills people through consumption and through drunk driving.

Marijuana is way safer.

Absolutely should be legal to make the system make sense.

This week the news came out that a Dutch firm will release a marijuana pill for medical use. They think they can achieve this within 5 years, due to all the legal issues.... Anyway its a good question why Marijuana should be legal, i live in the netherlands, were it is legal and it works very good. And no, not the whole population is stoned the whole day and due to the fact that it is legal and accepted the use is very low.

michael

First off its crazy to think that any action can effect yourself and only youself, in so far that humans naturally interact with others everything you do will have some effect on other people. I think its safe to say that marijuna will have some effect on you that would be catorgerized has a negative one, which I feel is enough to question if it should be legalized and therefore we should keep it illegal until a positive outweighing effect is shown that would warrent the change.
Also to all of those people that says its safer then smoking and alchoal, I would first question this in general, from what I've seen it seems to indicate that marijuna has more toxicens and such then ciggerates. However if this is true I would still use this more to say that the two things should in fact be illegal, rather then the other way around.

So am I to understand that your reasoning is that because Marijuana is less detrimental to society in comparison to alcohol that we should legalize the substance?

I don't think that makes for a great argument honestly. Alcohol slipped through our fingers, it should be outlawed as well. Instituting marijuana in my honest opinion does far more harm then it does good. Just because, based on your reasoning, it is less harmful in comparison doesn't mean we should legalize it. Obviously doubling our fatality rates is a clear winner here. Oops sorry, it's less detrimental so, really, we're only maybe multiplying the death rate at 1.57 (arbitrary). Clearly logical.

Many people use the argument that because a, b, c are bad but they are legal, let's make d (marijuana) legal just because it's marginally less <effect_here> which is also bad. What are you guys thinking?

It's my firm belief that marijuana only has more toxicants because;
1. It's not regulated in any way.
2. The dealers will lace it, so that it becomes more addictive.
3. The dealers will lace it, so that it becomes a more effective drug.
4. The growing conditions are not proper in any manner.

You're talking as if criminalizing marijuana is free.
No way. The war on drugs has huge costs to society--much greater costs than the damage that marijuana has done.

It makes perfect sense to compare to alcohol because a smart society compares all opportunity costs. In the end, it makes no sense, morally, medically, and economically, to criminalize marijuana when society has much bigger fish to fry.