Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

Marijuana is a drug, but it is not as serious as cocaine and heroin. Marijuana can put
people in a happy and exciting mood, but it is really bad for health. In recent years, it
is argued whether marijuana should be legalized. The Canadian Prime Minister wants to make
marijuana legal; it was one of the campaign promises. There are certain benefits to
legalize marijuana, but the disadvantages outweigh the benefits. In my point of view,
I believe that marijuana should not be legalized.

There are three main reasons why I believe that marijuana should not be
legalized. First and foremost, marijuana is a drug and can affect your brain;
it has a negative impact on health. For example, marijuana use can lead to
mental disorders. If an individual smokes too much, it could cause that person
to experience unconsciousness, anxiety, depression or even produce hostile
impulses or suicidal intentions. Long- term smoking of marijuana may induce
insanity, paranoia, and delusion. Those symptoms have a significant impact on
our daily lives. The most important thing is if teenagers are smoking too much
marijuana, it will influence their school lives or even harm other people. The
abuse of marijuana can decrease the brain’s memory and slow down attention,
which means that people might not remember everything very clearly. If a
person wants to remain healthy, marijuana is not helpful.
Furthermore, marijuana legalization will harm our society. Opponents of
marijuana legalization “point to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
They argue that marijuana use is a crime” (Murphy, Elliott, Mete, and Glass
141). If marijuana is legalized, it will be available for sale in many
places. The individuals and businesses who are selling marijuana will not care
about the impact marijuana has on other people’s lives; they will only care
about making money. Marijuana legalization will also cause problems for those
who want to use the drug, but they do not have a steady income. Some of these
people can not live without marijuana, and they will have to resort to various
illegal ways of getting money to pay for their marijuana. This will result in
an increase in crimes such as robbery and thefts. We already have enough
crimes to our property, so why do we need even more? We do not want our
society to become even more dangerous.
Third, children will be negatively influenced by marijuana legalization.
If a child sees his or her parents using marijuana, this child might want to
try using marijuana. Since the parents are doing it, then it must be
considered an acceptable activity. For example, Kevin’s parents smoke
marijuana every weekend after dinner. Kevin thinks that this is a cool thing,
so he decides to try marijuana with his friends. This could have immediate
negative consequences, such as Kevin becoming disoriented and dizzy from the
marijuana. A long term consequence might be Kevin being addicted to marijuana
and relying on the drug. Also, if children see marijuana advertisements and
displays in store, they may be persuaded to try marijuana. We do not need
more reminders of where and how to purchase marijuana. Why make it easier for
children to buy?
In short, marijuana should remain illegal. It is a detriment to our
health, and it causes damage to our society. The thoughts, opinions, and
actions of children will be swayed if marijuana is legalized. For these
reasons, marijuana legalization is not a good idea. Why do we want to cause
more trouble?
 Works Cited
Murphy, Terry G., Kathleen Ryan Elliott, Agi Mete, and Jamie Glass. All About Law: Exploring
the Canadian Legal System. Nelson Education: Toronto, 2010. Print.