Claim of Value

Marijuana is Bad Legalizing drugs in America is one of the most talked about topics in today's day and age (hook). With the increase in drug addiction in the United States some say it would be better to just legalize the majority of drugs and tell people of the good and bad side effects so that it will be the constumer's fault for taking the drug, not the producer who is the one to blame. Others believe that it shouldn’t be legalized because marijuana is a treacherous drug that has permanent side effects and is psychologically addictive.

Making the consumer believe that some drugs are more addictive then other drugs is a lie because all drugs are addictive and all drugs are dangerous. It is the same thing as saying not all candy causes cavities when all candy does cause cavities and excessive amounts are harmful. Marijuana better know as weed or pot seems to be a harmless drug but in reality it is one of the most dominat and dangerous drugs in today's society for many reasons (THESIS).

Marijuana is a gateway drug because it leads to uses of more deadly drugs such as heroin, speed, cocaine and crack just to name a few (claim and reason). It has been stated "The risk of using cocaine has been estimated to be more than 104 times greater for those who have tried marijuana than for those who have never tried it"(NIH 5). Once people get all the good side effects from marijuana they will want to get a better longer lasting effect from other drugs which can be very harmful.

Marijuana can be even more treacherous when mixed with other drugs such as coke, PCP, and embalming fluid which is the latest craze but mixing these drugs with marijuana cause side effects which are less desirable to the brain and can make your judgment become impaired in many different ways. Marijuana also affects many skills required for driving like alertness, the ability to concentrate, coordination, and reaction time (claim). This can lead to reckless driving and accidents (reason). Another affect of weed is memory loss, which can be one of the most damaging effects of marijuana (claim).

Weed often hinders the ability to recall recent events and can cause trouble handling complex tasks (reason). It also makes it harder to make sense of what is reality and what is imagined, and this creates a problem for the memory. Ray L. a leading scientist in today’s modern drug field says, "Smoking is not a natural way of consuming any substance. Heavy smoking of marijuana has been shown exhaustively to be as dangerous or more dangerous than smoking tobacco". With the use of more potent varieties of marijuana, even simple tasks can be difficult.

The weed of the 60's and 21st century is significantly different. Most scientist believe that it is 20% more potent then before and with the more potency comes stronger side effects which last longer than usual. The loss of memory is not a desirable effect to have even if it can seem cool at the moment because you can forget to do the most important task which will make you capable of getting hurt or harming somebody else. Like I had mentioned, marijuana is the most dangerous drug in today’s society (re-thesis).

Although marijuana effects are short term, such as increased appetite, dry mouth, and red eyes, other effects last longer or are permanent. The effects marijuana has on the brain also can impact the users social relationships and their performance at school and work. This can lead to long-term, permanent consequences such as an alienated friendship or bad grades in school. Even if marijuana does not become the consumer’s gateway, it can still affect his/her driving skills or end up with memory loss (sum main pts). I believe that marijuana is bad and useless for everybody (comment).

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