Decriminalization and Legalization of Marijuana

 Many people my age would disagree with my opinion. My opinion is that marijuana should not be decriminalized or legalized. I believe that if marijuana was legalized the government would be caving into peer pressure and compromising our values as a society.  The government should be taking into consideration the safety of the citizens. The legalization of marijuana is a gateway towards more crime. The main area where marijuana plays an issue is in society, health and teenagers.

      In society with the immense popularity and mainstream of marijuana there has been pressure to decriminalize marijuana, but what this is saying is that if we continue to do something that is wrong, it will finally become right. Today in the media we are seeing a lot more movies that have marijuana and other drugs in them. Some movies are based on drugs such as, Half Baked, How High, Dazed and Confused, and Blow. Younger people, especially ‘tweens’ and teenagers are getting the idea that the majority of high school, college, and university students are using marijuana. It is being perceived as the ‘cool’ thing to do. Who wouldn’t want to be like the people in the movies that don’t have a care in the world? So ‘tweens’ and teenagers wanting to fit in and be more mature or cool are using drugs such as, marijuana. This also adds to the peer pressure of teens. In society we are looking at marijuana as passable and that a lot of people are doing it. The government is saying if we were to sell pot they would tax it so it would be practically impossible to afford. So the government is in favor to decriminalize and legalize marijuana to make money which in turn would benefit us. Is money worth selling out our values and what is right and what is not?

      The government says the money made from taxing marijuana will help the citizens. I believe that this is a misleading statement because the money that is made off of the selling of marijuana would just have to be put back into our health care. The money wouldn’t be put back for the good of the country. Billions would have to be spent on the health care for those suffering the affects of marijuana. Many teenagers don’t believe that marijuana; since it is a plant and is natural growing therefore can cause death or other serious health conditions. Marijuana can definitely be deadly. Marijuana has more tar in it then cigarettes. There is also the risk of going into cardiac arrest or having a heart attack. Sometimes since you’re not in your own state of mind, you could do something foolish that could lead to your own death or the death of others. There is also the major risk of cancer. Some people do not know that smoking one joint is equivalent to smoking 13 cigarettes. With the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana we would be spending numerous amounts of money treating the patients feeling the wrath of marijuana. Smoking pot does not only affect one individual. We cannot forget second hand smoke. Why anyone should be subjected to marijuana if they don’t want to be. I personally would not like to get cancer because other people are smoking. I do not want to jeopardize my health because people want to be careless and irresponsible.

       So what happens if pot is decriminalized or legalized? You’ll find more teenagers experimenting with drugs because they can’t get in trouble for it. They will see the drug as harmless and irrelevant. During high school I knew many students that came to school high daily. These students were the ones more prone to skip class to go smoke or leave school property. What would be some results of marijuana being decriminalized? Students would be missing an education so that they could smoke and get high. They won’t care because they aren’t really doing anything wrong except cutting class. If this issue were to be brought up others would argue that there would be rules put in place. Well there are rules and laws in place right now and that doesn’t really do much at all. We also have to consider the well being of other students. Students go to school to get an education in what is supposed to be a safe environment. We would be infiltrating drugs on others. Students that smoke would be coming into class high. This is also a problem for the teachers not only students. Therefore class is no longer safe. What if the student reacts badly to marijuana and starts to get very aggressive or abusive? The students in that class could be in danger. The teachers would have to be dealing with students that are on drugs. I don’t think that is what they signed up for when they became a teacher. They want to help people learn, grow and mature.

 Marijuana should not be decriminalized or legalized due to all the effects they would have on us. I think the negatives out way the positives. I think we all need to look at what is going around us. I am positive that a couple of hours of fun are not worth anyone’s life. We as a society need to step up and realize that drugs do not belong in youth or in schools. We need to take severe actions so that the youth of today and the generations that follow are not persuaded into thinking any type of drug is okay or will not cause harm. We need to set an example for those who will be following in our footsteps and who will become the future.

Student Essays