Why we should not legalize marijuana? Essay -- Drugs, Diseases

Marijuana has been used as an agent for achieving euphoria since ancient times (Narconon International, p. 1, para. 1). It was used in early Chinese culture as a medical component since as early as 2737 B.C (Narconon International, p. 1, para. 1). Its use began to spread across the pacific culture and finally ended up in Europe around 500 A.D. (Narconon International, p. 1). It was believed in this early culture to have medical effects that helped with rheumatism, gout, malaria, and even absent mindedness. It was not until the drug reached the Indian culture that it began to be used as a recreational drug for the intense euphoria the drug brought on (Narconon International, p. 1, para 1). It was though in fact the Muslim who made the drug widespread and popular in Persia and North Africa. In 1545 the Spanish introduced the drug to the European culture which eventually brought the drug to America and has since been a staple in American culture as we see it today. It was not until the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 classified marijuana along with heroin and LSD as a Schedule I drug (Narconon International, p.1, para 5 ). Today in America, marijuana is one of the most controversial issues in Congress. Leaders are using their views on legalizing it as part of their campaign ads. On June 23, 2011 DC lawmakers posed a bill to Congress to officially legalize the use of marijuana across the US. Nearly eight hundred thousand arrests are made on a yearly basis due to marijuana charges (Congress to legalize marijuana, 2011). The thought that the War on Drugs campaign that Nixon started when in office has been perceived as a failure. With this though, in 1979 the use of marijuana was at 13.9 percent and in 2008 that number had decrease... ...ith the increase of crime, violence, and drug use, legalization of marijuana today would be a wreckless and unsensable bill to pass. In the 1960’s marijuana was a common plant grown all naturally and for the most part free of additive chemicals that make the drug so dangerous today. Marijuana is one of the easiest drugs to lace and add other drugs to which intensifies the high in someone who smokes it today in comparison with someone who smoked it fifty years ago. It has had no proven medical benefits in humans and remains an addictive and harmful drug to its users. â€Å"Pot,† â€Å"grass,† â€Å"herb,† â€Å"weed,† â€Å"Mary Jane,† â€Å"reefer,† â€Å"skunk,† â€Å"boom,† â€Å"gangster,† â€Å"kif,† â€Å"chronic,† and â€Å"ganja† are some of the common street names for drugs that everyone knows yet, most people could not tell you the name of all United States presidents of the count ry they were born and raised in.