Self Analysis

When I first I set out to write on marijuana legalization, I thought I would focus on the economics of legalization and medicinal use. I did not think the topics of social effects and health effects on normal users were strong enough to have arguments made. As I researched more and more, I discovered that marijuana is generally beneficial in all aspects. Before, my argument was somewhat one sided, but it eventually developed into a much more well rounded case.

I’ve learned much about cannabis in the past month which has changed my opinion on it. Once, I believed that marijuana was moderately beneficial, but only in the economic sense. I mean, the government should have the people’s best interest at heart, so marijuana must have more disadvantages to justify the criminalization, right? Apparently it does not, because past mistakes have influenced the continued illegalization of cannabis of all forms, including hemp. But wait, if marijuana is a supposed malevolent drug, then why are there so many studies showing that when used responsibly, marijuana is not harmful (safeness of use, lack of addictiveness, not causing psychological disease), or socially negative (no gateway effect, doesn’t cause traffic fatalities, betters police protection). Furthermore, I was previously unaware of the benefits marijuana consumption has on Alzheimer’s disease, brain and lung cancer, and HIV/AIDS. As more studies and information are discovered on the effects of cannabis use, people’s attitudes and arguments for and against marijuana are destined to change accordingly, but as of now, I am pro legalization of marijuana.