Essay: Should marijuana be legalized?

Actually there is a great controversy about marijuana’s legalization all around the
world.
Marijuana is a drug product of the mixture of leaves and dried flowers of the
Cannabis Sativa. It is usually consumed for medicinal or recreational purposes. It is
usually smoked or consumed as food or beverage. Within its components are more
than 500 chemicals, the predominant psychoactive substance is
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and also contains more than 113 cannabinoids, which
produce other effects.

                            

                

In the last few decades the demand for cannabis has gradually increased, leading
its producers to the genetic intervention of this to turn it into a more powerful drug
(equivalent to a greater effectiveness and class increasing its purchase) this has
been carried out by increasing the quantity of THC and a decreasing of CBD,
cannabinoid that counteracts the effect of tetrahydrocannabinol and could be
evaluating its possible implementation in the treatment of some diseases and
disorders.

Currently, several researches related to the field of science have already proven
their effectiveness in combating migraines, the decrease in tumor growths, the
relief of chronic diseases, the prevention of Alzheimer's and seizures, fighting
glaucoma, helps to combat disorders compulsive / obsessive and a higher
concentration depending on the type of cannabis consumed, but this does not
ensure a bright future for natural medicine because their adverse effects are under
evaluation.
Recent studies determined that the risk of developing psychosis increases
proportionally to the potency (THC levels) of the marijuana consumed and the
frequency with which it is used. But, how high is the risk factor of psychosis in the
population?
A study in England made it clear that the risk of marijuana-induced psychosis
remains the highest for people who already have this risk. Apparently, marijuana
speeds up the development of their condition, rather than causing it.

Prohibition makes illegal drugs stronger, because this way you can ship more
product in a smaller space and sell it at a greater profit.
This was exactly what happened in the US during the prohibition of alcohol, where
the only available was hard liquors, and people did not stop drinking alcohol.

There is a myth that marijuana is the gateway to other illegal drugs, but this comes
much earlier, cigarettes. One study showed that teenagers who started smoking
before age of 15 were 80% more likely to use illegal drugs.

In 2001, Portugal had one of the worst problems with drugs, so it try something
radical. Possession and consumption of all drugs was decriminalized and a
massive health campaign was launched. Drug use was seen as a chronic disease,
not a crime. Surprisingly, the consumers decreased from 44% to 28% by 2012.
The use of hard drugs decreases as well as overdoses and HIV and hepatitis
infections.

It is true marijuana addiction continues being a problem. In the last decade, the
demand for treatment for this addiction has doubled, in total about 10% of people
who try this drug will become addicted, compared to a 16% with alcohol and 32%
with cigarettes.

Old studies linked marijuana used to increase blood pressure and lung problems,
while a 2016 study found that use of marijuana was unrelated to physical health
problems except for a higher risk of gum disease.
Some studies showed that marijuana use to alters teenagers brains, reducing their
intelligence, but did not produce objective results when alcohol and cigarettes were
involved.
We still can not conduct conclusive research on the effects of marijuana because it
remains illegal and has not been allocated funds for its study.
We can analyze the amount of deaths related to the abuse of legal drugs,
3,300,000 people die a year from alcohol, while 6,000,000 people die from
smoking.

Legality provides a way to exercise control over the use of drugs, especially to
protecting young people.
We can not make marijuana go away, but we can make it safer, opening the
possibility to have more variety and regulating the THC and CBD indexes.
So making marijuana legal does not mean endorsing it, it means taking
responsibility for it and it could also open the floodgates to new research that
shows up how harmful it really is and to whom.

Samar Guzmán
Valentina Vigouroux
IIIºA