Against Legalizing Marijuana | Teen Ink

Against Legalizing Marijuana

April 6, 2011
By Nura.is.Beast BRONZE, Boulder, Colorado
Nura.is.Beast BRONZE, Boulder, Colorado
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Don't Cry Because Its Over
Smile Because It Happened

Girls fall in love with what they hear
Boys fall in love with what they see
That's why girls wear make up
and boys lie


They say marijuana is a helpful medicine. They say it makes you calm down and feel good. They also say that it isn’t as dangerous or harmful as alcohol and other drugs. Those are some reasons why they want to legalize marijuana. But are they right? No they are not. Marijuana should stay illegal in the United States because if it is legalized, more people will smoke it, causing negative effects on health and families.

If marijuana is legalized, people will think smoking marijuana is something we can do every day at anytime, which increases drug use. People are going to smoke marijuana without getting in trouble or getting arrested. Also there is going to be easier access to marijuana, and it will be cheaper to buy. These same things happened when alcohol was legalized. Also, drug dealers can grow marijuana without getting arrested, and make a bunch of money off of it. “Van Deventer, a news reporter, described how he and his friends used drugs casually for a while. He felt like he was growing closer to addiction. But buying illegal drugs wasn’t easy. Van Deventer and his friends feared being arrested. They worried about undercover cops posing as drug dealers, who often sold them fake drugs” (Legalizing Drugs, pg 67). According to this passage, Van Deventer stopped using drugs when it was illegal, because he didn’t want to get arrested. If drugs are legalized, he and his friends would use drugs casually again.

Increased drug use leads to negative health effects. For example people who are depressed use marijuana because they believe it will calm them down, and make them feel better. However, this isn’t true because marijuana worsens depression. Other negative health effects are respiratory illness, lung infections, and cancer of the lungs, mouth, throat, and esophagus. Marijuana users have a higher risk of cancer then cigarette smokers. Also, after a few minutes of smoking marijuana, your heart beats faster and your blood pressure drops. Because of lower blood pressure and higher heart rate, researchers found that marijuana users have a four times higher chance of a heart attack within the first hour of smoking marijuana.

Legalizing marijuana would also lead to negative effects on families. Marijuana use at work and school lessens from 13.6% in 1988, to 3.8% in 2006, according to USA Today. Marijuana use basically got smaller after it was legalized. Also, younger teens will use it. Parents will use it and give bad example to younger kids and teens, and parents will use it and become high around their kids. Marijuana affects teens and their ability to concentrate in school, and drug-using parents will neglect or abuse their children. If marijuana stays illegal, these negative effects will lessen. “The more the barriers there are (cops or the hassle or the fear of dying from an overdose) the less likely you are to get addicted,” according to Van Deventer (Legalizing Drugs, pg 68). He’s trying to make the point that because marijuana is illegal, there are more consequences when smoking marijuana, than if it was legalized.

Why take the risk of legalizing marijuana? It is only giving a bad idea to teens, parents, and families. Increased drug use, negative health effects, and negative effects on families are all the outcomes of legalizing marijuana. So think about this, will it put a negative affect on your family? Will it increase drug use by people? Will it affect teens and their ability to learn? Will it make you depressed and a have higher risk of cancer? Yes it will.


The author's comments:
Whatr inspired me to do this article, is because i think marijuana is somthing that should stay illegal. It has made a negative impact on people's lives and i want people to know that marijuana isn't just somthing fun to do, but somthing dangerous and a life risk.

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This article has 47 comments.


catie206 said...
on Jan. 21 2018 at 8:39 pm
I think it’s hilarious that you say all this shit about marijuana but have no solid evidence to back it up, or genuinely no evidence whatsoever. You really should do more research before you decide to make a fool of yourself.

Hshajsksksj said...
on Oct. 30 2017 at 3:40 pm
You seem to have never heard the term “logical fallacy” before, because there are 5 fallacies in your writing. Also, avoid saying, “some studies say”. Like, hello, which studies..? Are these from peer reviewed sources..?

on Apr. 18 2017 at 9:31 pm
Thisisreal_life PLATINUM, Manhattan, Kansas
48 articles 3 photos 69 comments

Favorite Quote:
"so do it. Decide. Is this the person you want to be? Is this the life you want to live? Is this the best you can be?"
"I survived the fire because the fire within me burns brighter than the one around me"

It is well written, but I disagree with you so much that I am going to write a essay about whi it should be... But this was well written!

santi_boiiii said...
on Mar. 13 2017 at 2:22 pm
santi_boiiii,
0 articles 0 photos 6 comments
Who is they in the whole first paragraph?

on Oct. 9 2016 at 12:11 pm
WordAddict GOLD, Montclair, New Jersey
13 articles 0 photos 30 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Timshel!"

The ending to this article seems quite abrupt... "Yes it will." Again, I think it would help for you to better express your stance by citing resources throughout the piece, such as where you explain that using marijuana causes depression, or cancer. The way you address those points is a little weak—you barely brush up on the reasons for why the plant will cause those illnesses, or how doctors have discovered that etc.

Mike Santos said...
on Oct. 4 2016 at 7:51 am
There are no studies to suggest that smoking Cannabis causes any negative effects with your lungs, actually tobacco causes more harm than good for anyone. Studies indicate that both tobacco and alcohol are more dangerous than Cannabis. Would you prefer the government take away beer and cigarettes too?

gremlin BRONZE said...
on Jun. 8 2016 at 9:39 am
gremlin BRONZE, Auburn, New York
4 articles 0 photos 33 comments

Favorite Quote:
Blood makes you related, Loyalty makes you family

This is very true, also if all of our current drugs were eradicated people would only come up with more, just remember meth is made in bathtubs.

on Jun. 4 2016 at 4:01 pm
JustAnIdea SILVER, Moraga, California
5 articles 0 photos 26 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music" ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Except here's the thing: When marijuana isn't legal, many people purchase it off of the black market, where the drugs are inherently more dangerous and can have other things added to them. Legalizing drugs can lead to new laws and regulations, which will allow more government control of the market. That can save lives and allow the drug, while harmful, to be safer to its users. Nobody would purchase marijuana illegally, and therefore only legitimate manufacturers with actual permits would really be selling it. That is, in essence, the best it will get, seeing as drugs will always exist whether we want them to or not.

on May. 22 2016 at 11:12 pm
ambivalent SILVER, West Bend, Wisconsin
7 articles 0 photos 180 comments

Favorite Quote:
everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. the worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. [sylvia plath]

smoking weed could always remain illegal, eliminating all the ill effects with your lungs, but vaping weed, and baking with it are also options that aren't nearly as harmful. also, citing where you found your information from is very important and helps legitimize your writing.

gremlin BRONZE said...
on Apr. 12 2016 at 9:38 am
gremlin BRONZE, Auburn, New York
4 articles 0 photos 33 comments

Favorite Quote:
Blood makes you related, Loyalty makes you family

it looks like you both need to

gremlin BRONZE said...
on Apr. 5 2016 at 10:04 am
gremlin BRONZE, Auburn, New York
4 articles 0 photos 33 comments

Favorite Quote:
Blood makes you related, Loyalty makes you family

very true, and the dare program is to keep little kids from doing such things and the only way to do this is to make it look evil. also a bunch, not all, but a bunch of police officers do such things as coke and even heroin. for example I was working at a party one time , because i set up the tents and bounce houses, I had watched three nys police officers do a line of coke, also many were shooting up with heroin in the bathrooms and leaving the needles in there. so I would think of the "what if" question before you try to say that a police officer would not lie

gremlin BRONZE said...
on Mar. 28 2016 at 9:39 am
gremlin BRONZE, Auburn, New York
4 articles 0 photos 33 comments

Favorite Quote:
Blood makes you related, Loyalty makes you family

some of your facts were bias and social media generated, however you have organized the article well, and although I am on the opposite side of the argument I liked the article

on Mar. 8 2016 at 2:52 am
Aspire_2.0 SILVER, Tirana, Other
5 articles 0 photos 7 comments
You are stating too much information without giving an explanation to support your argument. For example, you said that marijuana makes people with depression more depressed...how so?

Andrew said...
on Feb. 24 2016 at 12:06 pm
They would actually. officers or teachers will say just about anything to stop children from doing things.

Tootsweet said...
on Feb. 15 2016 at 3:30 pm
Love your story Bella,it sounds great!
From Chumface xxx

Really? said...
on Feb. 1 2016 at 3:11 am
This paper was half factual and very bios, not everything in the essay was correct also!

zahir said...
on Jul. 9 2015 at 1:06 pm
Very well written. Keep it up :)

Tristan said...
on Jun. 20 2015 at 4:16 pm
I have schizophrenia after smoking pot and severe anxiety. Pot is the worst drug I've tried.

on Jun. 2 2015 at 7:03 pm
celticstudygirl PLATINUM, Vermilion, Other
23 articles 2 photos 44 comments
I actually learned about this substance in D.A.R.E when I was in 5th grade and we learned all about the dangers of it. I'm pretty sure that my police officer wouldn't lie about that stuff.

on Jun. 2 2015 at 7:02 pm
celticstudygirl PLATINUM, Vermilion, Other
23 articles 2 photos 44 comments
I actually learned about this substance in D.A.R.E when I was in 5th grade and we learned all about the dangers of it. I'm pretty sure that my police officer wouldn't lie about that stuff.