Marijuana: Benefits, Myths, and Legalization

      One of the largest social issues and debates out there today deals with the legalization and status of marijuana. There are valid arguments... but to me and many others, only on one side. Science is showing what many already knew to be true. Marijuana is completely harmless (both behaviorally and physically), and actually very beneficial.
      More and more research is showing that marijuana doesn't actually affect the user's personality or behavior. This classic stereotype of the stupid, low-life stoner who isn't going anywhere in life is no longer the case, and never really was. This lifestyle is not a symptom of marijuana. Rather, marijuana is a symptom of the lifestyle. New research shows people of lower class and/or less intelligence have an environmental predisposition to using marijuana. And it is this group of people who society puts as the face of ALL marijuana users. It is a completely unfair and inaccurate presumption. The majority of users are just normal people looking to have fun with friends, or simply relax. This same stereotyping problem has led to what is called the gateway effect, which states that marijuana use leads to use of harder drugs like cocaine. Though not completely false, this statement is still widely exaggerated. It is the same group of people, those of lower class and living in poor urban environments, that have an environmental predisposition to hard drugs. And obviously marijuana, the most common illegal drug in the world, is going to be their first drug. It is becoming increasingly common nowadays that more intelligent and well rounded people are using marijuana. This can especially be seen in college students. Perhaps more people, specifically these more educated, are realizing the benefits as well as harmlessness of the drug.
      Benefits that include the obvious like, helping chemotherapy, HIV, and AIDS patients deal with nausea, pain, weight loss, and anxiety. But newer and even more expandable uses and benefits are being discovered. Marijuana can help with a wide array of cancers from brain to breast cancer, and leukemia to lung cancer. THC, the main compound in marijuana induces autophagy, which causes cancerous cells to feed upon themselves, thus eradicating the cancer. This effect only affects the cancer cells. THC is also being seen as a preventative to cancer, specifically lung cancer. Research, most of which done by universities, found that marijuana users had no increase in cases of lung cancer, and that they actually had fewer than those who did not smoke at all. Smokers of tobacco showed three times that of the control, while people who smoked both tobacco and marijuana faired only slightly better. Marijuana also helped those suffering with Alzheimer's, by reducing the amount of plaque on the brain, as well as those suffering from asthma, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, schizophrenia, depression/anxiety, and many more. An example i myself can relate to is asthma. Scientists discovered that cannabis smoke can stop an asthma attack in seconds, by immediately opening up the bronchioles. They are not entirely sure how, though. Compare seconds to the minutes it takes for a typical prescription inhaler.
      Marijuana also helps in the brain. The common misconception that pot use causes a decrease in intelligence (which once again comes from the stereotype explained above) is actually nearly the opposite of the truth. Though it is proven that marijuana decreases short term memory, equating this with decreased intelligence is unfair and untrue. Ridding the brain of all the unnecessary memories created throughout the day can be seen as cleaning the brain, allowing room for more important information. Cannabidiol, the second largest compound in marijuana, is actually found naturally in our body. Where? In the synapses of our brain. Increased cannabidiol strengthens these synapses, which connect our neurons, therefore strengthening the connections in our brain.
      It turns our weed isn't the big bad drug society had it cracked up to be. It's actually an all natural wonder drug which does WAY more than any FDA approved drugs do (which by the way have killed over ten thousand people since records were first kept, and injured countless more). Marijuana? Hmmm...zero. More misconceptions can be found with the legalizing of weed. Recently in California, many parents believed that legalization of medicinal marijuana would cause an enormous increase in teen drug use. What happened? Absolutely nothing, because pot was already so accessible anyways. And neighborhoods with marijuana dispensaries actually showed revitalization. The full legalization of marijuana, especially medicinal, would cause an even greater revitalization in the national economy. I just hope this information and these facts can be seen by everybody and replace the lies and inaccuracies we've heard for years. More people, specifically more doctors and politicians, need to speak out and spread these facts, because this miracle of nature needs to be legalized, not imprisoned with other drugs like heroin.
(For more info and further reading I recommend the book "Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana" by Martin A. Lee)

Intro to the Author

To anyone reading, welcome to my site. My name is Tanner Bowen. I am a freshman at the University Wisconsin-Madison, and I live in Wisconsin. My intended major is Molecular Biology, as a part of a pre-med program, in order to become a neurologist.
I will be writing essays on a wide array of topics concerning politics, science, society, philosophy, and current events, as well as a few fun ones here and there. I promise you that I put time and research into each and every essay I write.
Now, I'll admit that I am a strong liberal, and that will show in some of my essays, but I will always make sure facts come first. I do not consider myself affiliated with any political parties. Many of my essays will not concern politics anyways. I hope you enjoy all of them, or at least most, and my overall goal for this site is education.

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