Legalizing Marijuana Debate Essay

Over the years, drugs and alcohol have become more and more prevalent in our society, as mainstream media has completely glamorized the use of the mind-altering substances. Countless numbers of people die daily due to drug overdoses; however, studies have shown that marijuana has never been linked to the direct cause of a person’s death. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, “alcohol is the number one abused substance in America” (2012). With that being said, marijuana still ranks in the top three misused drugs in the United States. The uproar surrounding the debate on the legalization of marijuana has held the attention of many for quite some time now. Minnesota is amongst the majority of states in our …show more content…
Many people do not agree with the idea of legalizing cannabis due to how powerful the drug can be. With so many recreational users of marijuana that are already misusing the drug, the thought of opening the doors for all to legally misuse it can be frightening. On the contrary, if marijuana does become legal then it presents a much bigger opportunity to conduct research and analyze the population of users of marijuana, which then allows for a potential better understanding of the long-term risks and benefits. Presently, doctors are not conveying the necessary information to inform society on the gamble that they very well may be taking a chance on when using marijuana. But, if the state of Minnesota were to pass a law making marijuana legal, doctors would likely offer up more information in an effort to inform their patients more about the drug to sway them to try it as an alternative method of pain relief. Currently, our people are misusing marijuana because they have not been educated enough on the long-term effects of the drug, but with honest counsel and further deep-routed studies there is hope that there could be a decline in the number of