Legalization of Marijuana
Cannabis sativa, commonly known as marijuana, is a drug that is in use by many people in this century but is also illegal in many countries, it is a drug that if abused can have very negative effects to human health. This drug is composed of dry shredded green and brown mixture, the main active chemical in marijuana is known as delta9tetrahydrocannabinol. Activists all over the world are coming up in protests that this drug be legalized, they argue that the drug has no negative effect but the truth is when one smokes this drug, the effect is immediate and the person experiences a change in character, it normally takes about 3-4 hours in the human body before it completely subsidizes.
There are different ways that marijuana can be consumed, its either you smoke it after it is dried and crushed into small particles or it can also be used to cook or bake brownies and cookies, normally the effect are not the same, when one smokes it, he/she feels the effect immediately, and it ends after 3-4 hours, but when an individual eats it in cookies or brownies, it takes longer for the effect to be felt and even longer for it to end. Different where this drug is illegal have different penalties for its possession and use ranging from very severe to lenient.
The debate of whether to legalize it or not has been one of the major issues that is of concern in the United States, activists are bringing in many reasons as to why it is important to legalize it, some of the reasons that they put across are; Cannabis sativa can be used as a source of revenue by the government, when the government legalizes it, the taxes that are imposed on it should be high so that it discourages people from using it and for those who have the capacity to get some, pay a hefty amount for it. The other reason is that it is used as a drug, many people who are sick are at times prescribed this drug as medication, so it also saves lives; they say that it has physical, psychological and spiritual benefits.
A report produced by the united states government National Institute on Drug Abuse, Bureau of Mortality Statistics, indicates that marijuana has no percentage of annual deaths in America that are caused by abuse of drugs, tobacco tops the list with about 400,000 people per annum. Activists argue that the drug does not cause brain damage because it does not kill brain cells or induce violent behavior, this however is a comment that can be disapproved any time for it has been proven that people who abuse this drug have high chances of brain damage and are also violent incase he/she is provoked or feels like causing chaos.
Cannabis is a drug that has been in use for thousands of years and how an individual uses it is what brings the issues of legality, many countries have used capital punishment as the penalty for use or possession of this drug, in America nearly 5.9 million people have been arrested on marijuana charges, this number in itself is greater than the entire population of Alaska, it simply shows how many people are determined to use this drug no matter what and it should be a wakeup call to the governments to start considering making the drug legal, the only modalities that they should think of is how to control its use and eliminate its abuse.
States like Washington are the new entrants in the list of places where Cannabis sativa has been legalized, in this country/ state it is allowed for recreation purposes and only the adults can use it, people who support the step that has been taken by Washington say they hope that with the passage or legalization of marijuana, federal law would also be changed, this however is a topic that is quit technical for it will be hard for the federal law to be changed. The law was officially in used at 12:01 am on the 6th day of December 2012. Many residents of the state where happy and celebrated all over the town.

Cannabis has many effects on the human body and health, both negative and positive, mostly the negative side is the reason why many governments have made the drug illegal, some of the negative effects include; more frequent and acute chest pains, although people say that the smoke produced by the drug is better than the one produced by tobacco, excessive consumption of it also affects your lungs, causing you to have daily coughs and phlegm production; smoking it frequently can cause burning and stinging of the mouth and throat; the drug also affects the brain, and when eaten as food it brings about delusions, hallucinations and impaired memory; the heart is also affected because when the drug is inhaled and begins its functions, the heart starts to beat faster and the blood pressure drops, this combination of rapid heartbeat and decreased blood pressure is the perfect recipe for heart attack, users of this drugs are more prone to having heart attacks that users who don’t smoke it.
Despite this drug having very toxic negative effects, with controlled consumption it helps a lot I the human body, by physical, spiritual and psychologically, some of the benefits that this drug posses to human being are; the chemical substance known as delta9tetrahydrocannabinol, reduces or slows down the progress of Alzheimer’s disease, the substance slows the formation of amyloid plaques, this is done through blocking the enzyme in the brain that mainly manufactures them, the drug can be used to treat the eyes, it prevents blindness from glaucoma by decreasing the pressure in the eyes; it also relieves arthritis discomfort, this is done by reducing pain, inflammation and promoting a lot of sleep; the drug also reduces the side effects one get after being treated for hepatitis C, effects such as muscle aches, depression, loss of appetite, nausea and fatigue are significantly reduced leaving an individual free to undertake more of the treatment; controlled usage decreases anxiety but when taken in plenty it tremendously increases it; it also eases the pain of multiple sclerosis, the delta9tetrahydrocannabinol substance binds receptors in the nerves and muscles to relieve pain. The drug is also said to give relief to patients who have AIDS, keeping in mind that this is an illness that has given many doctors problems even in discovering its medicine.
Other benefits that have been said to be related to consumption of the drug are; treatment or reduction of side effects of diseases and effects such as, seizures, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, cachexia, brain tumors, alcoholism, mad cow disease and many other more, many of this are said by individuals who have the diseases and use the drug to feel relief, it is also said that the oil extracted from the seeds of this drug could be useful and may be used as fuel and the hemp fiber which can be used to manufacture ropes, clothing’s and paper hence creating an entire industry on its own. Since the drug is hard to come by because of its illegal state in many places, convincing research is yet to be done on it. Many paper and cloth manufacturers may be against the legalization of this drug but the benefits far much outweighs the negative aspects and would benefit many people.
The debate of whether to legalize the drug or not is one that is and will go on for some time to come and the activists should work extra hard to instill the correct information into the minds of the top authorities to try and look at the possibility of legalizing it. Cannabis sativa may be having negative effects, but this is only when or if it is abused and governments of many if not all countries should look into ways in which they can control the use of this drug and also reduce its abuse so that they can reap the benefits that it carries with it, as we have seen it does not only have high potential in treatment of many diseases but it also bring with it high income for the government to channel back into the economy for useful purposes.
References
Astaiza, R. (2012). All The Reasons Pot Is Good For You. Business Insider .
CARROLL, L. (2002, January 29). Marijuana’s Effects: More Than Munchies. The New York Times .