Why Marijuana Should NOT Be Legalized.

            Under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug on the basis that is has “a high potential for abuse.” This means that the perception is that people get on marijuana, then become hooked and it begins to dominate their lives. This unquestionably happens in some cases, but is about as common as alcohol abuse. Marijuana may seem to yield considerable medical benefits for many Americans with ailments ranging from glaucoma to cancer, but these benefits have not been accepted well enough, on a national level. Medical use of marijuana remains a serious national controversy. Making marijuana legal to tax it may put us worth off economically. $14.5 billion in taxes are generated from alcohol but $185 billion are lost due to alcohol-related costs. The same with tobacco as $25 billion is collected in tax revenue, but $200 billion is lost.

            Rapidly accumulating new research shows that marijuana use is associated with increases in a range of serious mental and physical problems. In a recent weekend accident survey, 8.6% tested positive for marijuana. That’s nearly four times the percentage of drivers with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.8 dl/dl (2.2 percent). In another study of seriously injured drivers admitted a Level-1 shock trauma center, more than a quarter of all drivers tested positive for marijuana. In Washington 12.7 % of fatally injured drivers tested positive for marijuana.

            Marijuana contains known toxins and cancer-inducing chemicals, which are stored in fat cells for long periods of time. Scientific research relates marijuana use to damaged bran cells and respiratory systems, decreased hormone production in both sexes, acute memory loss, lowered immune systems, and impaired motor skills. THC and marijuana smoke have been directly linked to miscarriage, in-utero fetal death, stillbirth, and infant death just after birth, along with behavioral and biological abnormalities of offspring. Also, contrary to reports concerning medical use of marijuana, there are no reliable scientific studies showing that marijuana is an effective drug for treating nausea and vomiting. Although some studies show that pure THC, one of the many chemicals in marijuana, has some effect in controlling nausea and vomiting, this chemical is available in a pharmaceutical capsule for use by the medical community.

            Within minutes of taking the first drag, THC enters the bloodstream and gets down to work on a part of the brain called the hippocampus, the area responsible for memory function. Citing research from McLeanHospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, the ODEA says that regular users of marijuana “had impaired skills related to attention, memory, and learning for up to 24 hours after they last used the drug. These students had difficulty sustaining and shifting attention and in registering, organizing and using information than the control group”

            Long-term cigarette smoking is bad for your lungs, but unlike for pot, there are not millions of people who believe that tobacco makes you intoxicated, lowers your IQ, and makes you slow and stupid. While studies conflict, many confirm what millions have perceived, that routine pot use leads to serious mental health issues. On the other hand, a nightly glass of red wine has the opposite reputation, of not making anyone slow or stupid, but of sustaining health and even decreasing the likelihood of dementia.

            Many studies show serious problems, for example, with schizoid psychosis while smoking. Marijuana can also act as a cancer-causing carcinogen and cause DNA damage, for pot smoke contains higher levels of certain toxins than tobacco, which is why pot smokers face rapid lung destruction, with the impact on lungs from one joint equaling up to five cigarettes. Pot also opens the door for the virus that causes Kaposi’s sarcoma. For pregnant moms, it can harm their unborn child by impairing growth and by causing long-lasting neurobehavioral problems. For habitual use is strongly associated with car crash injuries and smoking marijuana doubles the risk of fatal accidents.

            Studies show that chemicals in marijuana cause the body to kick its production of myeloid0derived suppressor cells (MDSC’s) into overdrive. Like the United Nations of the human body, the job of these cells is to keep the rest of the immune system in check. They make sure that just enough force is used to fight off infection, but not too much. An increased amount of MDSC’s basically causes them to abuse their power so to speak and suppress the immune system to the point where it can’t effectively fight off infections. Kind of like bringing a knife to a gun fight.

            Researchers and scientists have had a difficult time finding a direct correlation between smoking weed and lung cancer. The reason being they have a hard time finding people who have smoked marijuana and marijuana only. Generally, weed smokers also tend to indulge in tobacco which is proven to be a leading cause of lung cancer. What scientists have been able to nail down are the similarities in tobacco smoke and marijuana smoke, and the results are surprising. A 2007 study by the American Chemical Society compared the chemical make up of tobacco smoke to marijuana smoke and revealed they share similarities in their make up including the existence of ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, and nitric oxide. The startling difference was that marijuana smoke contained 20 times the levels of ammonia, and three to five times the levels of hydrogen cyanide and nitric oxide to that of tobacco smoke. A slightly more recent study in 2009 showed that since marijuana users typically tend to take longer drags and hold the smoke in for an extended period of time before exhaling, smoking 3-4 joints a day is equal to “the same degree of damage to bronchial mucus membranes as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day.”

            To those who believe marijuana will stimulate the economy, you are wrong. Any tax revenue will be counteracted by the cost of industry regulation. Marijuana will have to meet certain quality standards. Any plant that does not meet these standards is a waste of money in terms of water, food, land, workers, electricity, screening the plant for contaminants, and the technology needed to check for certain standards, such as THC concentration. The list goes on and on because you are going to need to add the cost to regulate the substance either through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or the Food and Drug Administration, which means opening up a new division in one of the organizations and paying each agent’s salary. On top of this is the cost to revolutionize laws, making sure underage sales do not occur and establishing drug influenced driving laws and technology to enforce that law. Employers are still going to have to pay for pre-employment drug tests, as I suspect a majority would still do drug screens. This will counteract legalization from the economic standpoint because people who would otherwise buy it will choose not to out of fear of employer-mandated drug tests.

            Comparing marijuana users to alcohol or tobacco users should not be done. The comparisons are of people who spent years of chain-smoking or decades of heavy drinking to moderate weed use. Also the comparisons never compensate for the number of users. 100 pot smokers are always going to cause fewer real problem cases than a million people using alcohol.

            We have made significant progress in fighting drug use and drug trafficking in America. Now is not the time to abandon our efforts. The Legalization Lobby claims that the fight against drugs cannot be won. However, overall drug use is down by more than a third in the last twenty years. The amount of good that can come from legalizing marijuana is far outweighed by the amount of harm it would bring.