英文論文-Should We Go For Or Against Marijuana
Should We Go For Or Against Marijuana Legalization?
Member:
Min-Chi Una Chung 鐘民淇
Wen-Hsin Lois Jiang 江文馨
Level 9, UG2B, 1104202098
Level 9, US2B, 1104203084
Teacher:
Yi-Min Ivy Chiu
Hui-Yi Grace Lin
May 10, 2017
Introduction
Marijuana legalization is always a controversial issue in every country. At the beginning of twentieth century, marijuana is widely illegal in most countries.
However, nowadays many countries have announced the legalization of marijuana, including Canada, Uruguay, Czech, Korea, Belgium, and 23 states in USA. As a result, whether marijuana is still a kind of drug , it also becomes a controversy around the world. Besides, marijuana is a kind of psychotomimetic drugs. When people take marijuana, people will have illusion, and have a strong extent of excitement. However, compared to other drugs, its danger and side effect are much less than others, such as LSD, heroin and opium, so many people normally think that taking marijuana is not a serious issue. Therefore, in order to raise the awareness, we choose marijuana legalization as our essay topic. The research paper is to presents three grounds against marijuana legalization. In this research, due to resource, physical and psychological impact, marijuana legalization should be strongly opposed. The following reasons exemplify the grounds against the topic.
Body
Electricity waste & Carbon dioxide emission
The legalization of marijuana causes a great amount of electricity waste and carbon dioxide emission. According to the journal Energy Policy, the emergent industry of indoor Cannabis production utilizes highly energy intensive processes to control environmental conditions during cultivation. Perhaps people would think that it is just like the way that greenhouse cultivation of vegetables works. However, the final products have totally opposite impact on human beings. Beside, as a daily supply, vegetables is a necessity in our lives. But people can survive without marijuana. What’s more, marijuana cultivation estimates the energy consumption for this practice, and found the electricity waste cause from marijuana is equal to at 1% of national electricity use in the United States, or $6 billion each year(Evan Mills, 2012, p.58). The USA is one of the top three countries with high electricity consumption. Transferring to the actual data, according to the US Energy Information Administration, American cost about 12 billion kilowatt per day, which means marijuana cultivation cause 43.8 billion kilowatt electricity waste every year. Most of the electricity in the USA is produced by power generation and nuclear power generation, which are detrimental to the environment.
Moreover, one average kilogram of final product of marijuana cultivation is associated with 4600 kg of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, legalization would not change the situation materially without ancillary efforts to manage energy cost, provide consumer information via labeling, and other measures. Were product prices to fall as a result of legalization, indoor production using current practices could rapidly become non-viable (Evan Mills, 2012, p.58). Moreover, carbon dioxide causes global warming, glacier melting, ozone hole and so on. As a result, marijuana legalization has caused huge destroy on environment.
Gateway drugs
When it comes to gateway drugs, the first thing people come up with at the first second will usually be marijuana. Therefore, marijuana is regarded as gateway drugs. Many people announce that marijuana is not addictive, and do little harm on physical part. However, long-term marijuana users would start to have resistance and may turn to other harmful drugs. The vast majority of heroin users have used marijuana (and many other drugs) not only long before they used heroin but while they are using heroin. According to Robert L. DuPont, the legalization of marijuana increases availability of the drug and acceptability of its use (Robert L. DuPont,2016). Like nearly all people with substance abuse problems, most heroin users initiated their drug use early in their teens, usually beginning with alcohol and marijuana (Robert L. DuPont, 2016). The researchers concluded that 44.7 percent of the initial marijuana users eventually went on to consume at least one other illicit or illegal drug (Promises Treatment Centers, 2014). Therefore, marijuana legalization does increase percentage of drug heavy users. Those people who do not commit the crime now turn to struggle for illegal drugs, which means the increase of the crime percentage. Because of this result, we strongly stand for marijuana illegalization.
Physical impairment
Regular marijuana use can have neurotoxic effects on maturing brain structures. A 2012 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that people who taking marijuana before age 18 showed a greater decline in IQ and cognitive functioning than people who started toking as adults (Cassie Shortsleeve, 2013).
Besides, using marijuana can also mess with your sense of balance, distort your sense of time, turn your eyes red, and interfere with how you form memories, increase the risk of depression and schizophrenia and be connected to an increased risk of social anxiety (Erin Brodwin and Kevin Loria, 2017).When people start to taking marijuana, they will increase the time of taking marijuana, which also causes less time of other leisure activity. According to Lawrence Genen, those who are addicted to marijuana usually spend a great deal of time obtaining marijuana or using it. Even though those people know about that the marijuana use will cause physical problem being exacerbated, they still can’t stop themselves from using marijuana (Lawrence Gene, 2017). In addition to the effect, long- time marijuana users will also be suffered from severe disturbance of sleep and Cannabis-induced anxiety disorder. These syndromes will frequently happen, when people keep using marijuana, and are also tough to cure.
Counter Argument
The main reason that people are approved to marijuana legalization is about its medical use. Nowadays, Many people announced that marijuana can be used when people have those following syndrome: muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis, nausea from cancer chemotherapy, poor appetite and nerve pain. When marijuana is legal, these syndromes can be cured or relieved by marijuana.
However, according to National Institute on Drug Abuse, the truth is that medical marijuana includes tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which contains more than one hundred cannabinoids and can make people have a huge of excitement and also come along with a great number of side effects, including dizziness, drowsiness, short-term memory loss, euphoria and seizure disorders. What’s worse, there are more serious side effects including severe anxiety and psychosis. (Anne Harding, 2013). In most of the countries, marijuana is also called “Drug of last resort”, which means that this drug can only be used when people have no choice. Besides, there are also others medicine that have similar cure effects as marijuana that called cesament or marinol.
Therefore, it seems to be unnecessary to use marijuana as medicine. Besides, according to Mary Papenfuss, there is insufficient or no evidence, however, to support — or refute — use of the drug for several other ailments and problems including cancer, epilepsy, addiction, schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease, the report concludes (Mary Papenfuss, 2017). Consequently, whether marijuana can really be used as medicine is still a question. However, the side effect and its addition is definitely the truth. According to what we mentioned above, the marijuana legalization only do harm on our body and our lives. Therefore, marijuana legalization should be strongly opposed.
Conclusion
To sum up, people should strongly against for the marijuana legalization. If marijuana is legalized; first of all, it can destroy our environment by causing a huge amount of carbon dioxide emission and generating electricity waste. Second, as a gateway drug, marijuana can make those drug users have resistance and make people struggle to get others harmful drugs. The last but not the least, making physical impairment on those people who use marijuana and become addictive. Therefore, because of its bad effects on either surroundings or humanity, people should strongly oppose to marijuana legalization.
Member:
Min-Chi Una Chung 鐘民淇
Wen-Hsin Lois Jiang 江文馨
Level 9, UG2B, 1104202098
Level 9, US2B, 1104203084
Teacher:
Yi-Min Ivy Chiu
Hui-Yi Grace Lin
May 10, 2017
Introduction
Marijuana legalization is always a controversial issue in every country. At the beginning of twentieth century, marijuana is widely illegal in most countries.
However, nowadays many countries have announced the legalization of marijuana, including Canada, Uruguay, Czech, Korea, Belgium, and 23 states in USA. As a result, whether marijuana is still a kind of drug , it also becomes a controversy around the world. Besides, marijuana is a kind of psychotomimetic drugs. When people take marijuana, people will have illusion, and have a strong extent of excitement. However, compared to other drugs, its danger and side effect are much less than others, such as LSD, heroin and opium, so many people normally think that taking marijuana is not a serious issue. Therefore, in order to raise the awareness, we choose marijuana legalization as our essay topic. The research paper is to presents three grounds against marijuana legalization. In this research, due to resource, physical and psychological impact, marijuana legalization should be strongly opposed. The following reasons exemplify the grounds against the topic.
Body
Electricity waste & Carbon dioxide emission
The legalization of marijuana causes a great amount of electricity waste and carbon dioxide emission. According to the journal Energy Policy, the emergent industry of indoor Cannabis production utilizes highly energy intensive processes to control environmental conditions during cultivation. Perhaps people would think that it is just like the way that greenhouse cultivation of vegetables works. However, the final products have totally opposite impact on human beings. Beside, as a daily supply, vegetables is a necessity in our lives. But people can survive without marijuana. What’s more, marijuana cultivation estimates the energy consumption for this practice, and found the electricity waste cause from marijuana is equal to at 1% of national electricity use in the United States, or $6 billion each year(Evan Mills, 2012, p.58). The USA is one of the top three countries with high electricity consumption. Transferring to the actual data, according to the US Energy Information Administration, American cost about 12 billion kilowatt per day, which means marijuana cultivation cause 43.8 billion kilowatt electricity waste every year. Most of the electricity in the USA is produced by power generation and nuclear power generation, which are detrimental to the environment.
Moreover, one average kilogram of final product of marijuana cultivation is associated with 4600 kg of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, legalization would not change the situation materially without ancillary efforts to manage energy cost, provide consumer information via labeling, and other measures. Were product prices to fall as a result of legalization, indoor production using current practices could rapidly become non-viable (Evan Mills, 2012, p.58). Moreover, carbon dioxide causes global warming, glacier melting, ozone hole and so on. As a result, marijuana legalization has caused huge destroy on environment.
Gateway drugs
When it comes to gateway drugs, the first thing people come up with at the first second will usually be marijuana. Therefore, marijuana is regarded as gateway drugs. Many people announce that marijuana is not addictive, and do little harm on physical part. However, long-term marijuana users would start to have resistance and may turn to other harmful drugs. The vast majority of heroin users have used marijuana (and many other drugs) not only long before they used heroin but while they are using heroin. According to Robert L. DuPont, the legalization of marijuana increases availability of the drug and acceptability of its use (Robert L. DuPont,2016). Like nearly all people with substance abuse problems, most heroin users initiated their drug use early in their teens, usually beginning with alcohol and marijuana (Robert L. DuPont, 2016). The researchers concluded that 44.7 percent of the initial marijuana users eventually went on to consume at least one other illicit or illegal drug (Promises Treatment Centers, 2014). Therefore, marijuana legalization does increase percentage of drug heavy users. Those people who do not commit the crime now turn to struggle for illegal drugs, which means the increase of the crime percentage. Because of this result, we strongly stand for marijuana illegalization.
Physical impairment
Regular marijuana use can have neurotoxic effects on maturing brain structures. A 2012 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that people who taking marijuana before age 18 showed a greater decline in IQ and cognitive functioning than people who started toking as adults (Cassie Shortsleeve, 2013).
Besides, using marijuana can also mess with your sense of balance, distort your sense of time, turn your eyes red, and interfere with how you form memories, increase the risk of depression and schizophrenia and be connected to an increased risk of social anxiety (Erin Brodwin and Kevin Loria, 2017).When people start to taking marijuana, they will increase the time of taking marijuana, which also causes less time of other leisure activity. According to Lawrence Genen, those who are addicted to marijuana usually spend a great deal of time obtaining marijuana or using it. Even though those people know about that the marijuana use will cause physical problem being exacerbated, they still can’t stop themselves from using marijuana (Lawrence Gene, 2017). In addition to the effect, long- time marijuana users will also be suffered from severe disturbance of sleep and Cannabis-induced anxiety disorder. These syndromes will frequently happen, when people keep using marijuana, and are also tough to cure.
Counter Argument
The main reason that people are approved to marijuana legalization is about its medical use. Nowadays, Many people announced that marijuana can be used when people have those following syndrome: muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis, nausea from cancer chemotherapy, poor appetite and nerve pain. When marijuana is legal, these syndromes can be cured or relieved by marijuana.
However, according to National Institute on Drug Abuse, the truth is that medical marijuana includes tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which contains more than one hundred cannabinoids and can make people have a huge of excitement and also come along with a great number of side effects, including dizziness, drowsiness, short-term memory loss, euphoria and seizure disorders. What’s worse, there are more serious side effects including severe anxiety and psychosis. (Anne Harding, 2013). In most of the countries, marijuana is also called “Drug of last resort”, which means that this drug can only be used when people have no choice. Besides, there are also others medicine that have similar cure effects as marijuana that called cesament or marinol.
Therefore, it seems to be unnecessary to use marijuana as medicine. Besides, according to Mary Papenfuss, there is insufficient or no evidence, however, to support — or refute — use of the drug for several other ailments and problems including cancer, epilepsy, addiction, schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease, the report concludes (Mary Papenfuss, 2017). Consequently, whether marijuana can really be used as medicine is still a question. However, the side effect and its addition is definitely the truth. According to what we mentioned above, the marijuana legalization only do harm on our body and our lives. Therefore, marijuana legalization should be strongly opposed.
Conclusion
To sum up, people should strongly against for the marijuana legalization. If marijuana is legalized; first of all, it can destroy our environment by causing a huge amount of carbon dioxide emission and generating electricity waste. Second, as a gateway drug, marijuana can make those drug users have resistance and make people struggle to get others harmful drugs. The last but not the least, making physical impairment on those people who use marijuana and become addictive. Therefore, because of its bad effects on either surroundings or humanity, people should strongly oppose to marijuana legalization.
