Why shouldn’t marijuana be legalized?

+48 votes
asked Apr 17, 2019 in Culture & Society by Alfonso (570 points)
edited Apr 19, 2019
Marijuana used to be taboo, but now people have realized just how useful it is, and how harmless it is if not abused. It seems like if marijuana were legalized, a lot of problems could be solved. For starters it could be taxed, and maybe it could help people to kick their cigarette addictions. Add to the fact, it is helpful in curing a lot of diseases and making people more comfortable as they battle painful ones. I don’t understand why the government is so far from legalizing this medicine. Why shouldn’t it be legalized?

2 Answers

+29 votes
answered Apr 23, 2019 by Jen (920 points)
edited May 20, 2019
Marijuana does have some beneficial uses, and science is continuously proving it as helpful in medicine. But marijuana is also not the miracle plant people chalk it up to be. For starters, marijuana is potentially addictive, and up to 50% of daily users are estimated to become addicted. Not to mention, marijuana is becoming increasingly more potent than in the past, so the risk of addiction is stronger. One argument for legalization is that drug cartels will be run out of business, therefore decreasing drug-related crimes and deaths. On the other hand, there’s a possibility these same cartels will only strive to increase the potency of their product and decrease the cost, consequently increasing the competition amongst them as they try to maintain their illegal business. Marijuana is harmful to your mental and physical health, and legalizing it will not miraculously change the fact that the drug is linked with an increased risk of schizophrenia, lowered IQ and self-motivation, lung problems, and birth defects. While a lot of research has been done, not enough substantial evidence is available to prove its medical benefits outweigh its disadvantages. Like everything, it should be analyzed realistically; and realistically, marijuana has both pros and cons in the debate of legalization.
+7 votes
answered May 28, 2019 by Jordan (1,150 points)
edited May 29, 2019
I think you shouldn’t ask why shouldn’t marijuana be legalized, the right question should be why should marijuana be legalized. Marijuana is a drug, and it’s an addictive one, when anything is addictive, we can’t simply legalize its usage that easily. Don’t you know there’re a large number of stupid, or if you prefer to put it “naive”, teenagers out there; they just will find any method they could be possibly think of to try these dangerous things. You don’t want to see a lot of teenagers end up in rehab, do you?
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