Zoryana Rusak
English 111
Megan McGibney
25 April 2018
Marijuana: saving lives or taking lives?
Nowadays the question of legalization of marijuana is very controversial. Should it be legalized or not? How to weigh all the cons and pros? Who knows the answer? While some people think it might be addictive, there is another opinion on it – it is a powerful painkiller for some patients with terminal illnesses. For centuries people have been using marijuana for multiple purposes: medically, recreationally, as food, for making textiles, and for religious cultures. Today this plant has become a strong social and even political force with wide range of opponents and advocates. This can be seen before every election. Acknowledging the importance of this issue some candidates promise to legalize marijuana in order to draw more votes for themselves, but it was never done in some of the states of the US. At the same time alcohol and cigarettes are addictive and well known for causing certain diseases can be easily bought by any person 21 and older at any pharmacy, grocery, and liquor store with just the ID present. That can raise some eyebrows too. In the articles Op-ed: Pressure to push medical marijuana might just backfire written by Amber Maxfield and Marijuana Can Save Lives, written by Richard A. Friedman, both authors talk about the effects of marijuana on people lives, how it can be ruined by addiction to it and how it can be saved by substituting it for opioid painkillers thus lowering the risk of death from overdose.
In the first article Op-ed: Pressure to push medical marijuana might just backfire Amber Maxfield pin points the risks and consequences of using marijuana. She describes her friend’s life experience, who decided to divorce her husband because of his marijuana use and inability to quit. He was threatening her to commit a suicide if “he couldn’t have his marijuana and said he chose that over” her and their baby. Her other family members and friends also ruined their relationships and carriers because of the same reason. It is called marijuana. The author states that even though some people in Utah think that marijuana is not addictive and therefore it should be legalized for replacement of opioid painkillers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found evidence that “about 1 in 10 users will become addicted”, and “1 in 6 when the user begins before age 18”. She analyzes the history of opioid prescription growth from 1991 to 2013 and draws similarities in marijuana legalization. She states that in both cases “without understanding the broader consequences, but seeing the opportunity for profits”, both the pharmaceutical and cannabis industry pushing for widespread use of opioids for pain relief and legalization of marijuana respectively. But since there is no reliable dosing standards for marijuana, the medical community hesitates with prescribing it widely. Amber Maxfield lists the negative effects of marijuana on...
