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Why Marijuana Should be Legalized, an argumentative essay
Abstract and Figures
Much debate has been conducted regarding the legalization of marijuana, with an unusual
amount of contradicting research. There are many perspectives to take into account, and they always
seem to come down to the personal motives of the debater. Whether it’s being argued from a medical,
political, or economical perspective; it continually comes down to whether Federal Government should
be our dictators or we should be responsible for our actions.
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This report was prepared in response to a request from Change the Climate. Dan Egan provided excellent research assistance. Executive Summary • Government prohibition of marijuana is the subject of ongoing debate. • One issue in this debate is the effect of marijuana prohibition on government budgets. Prohibition entails direct enforcement costs, and prohibition prevents taxation of marijuana production and sale. • This report examines the budgetary implications of legalizing marijuana in Massachusetts. • The report estimates that legalization would save Massachusetts $120.6 million per year in government expenditure on criminal justice enforcement of prohibition. • The report also estimates that legalization, if tolerated by federal authorities, would yield tax revenue of at least $16.9 million annually. • Whether marijuana legalization is a desirable policy depends on many factors other than the budgetary impacts discussed here. But these impacts should be included in a rational debate about marijuana policy.
It has been reported that several uncompetitive NMDA receptor ion channel blocking agents (phencyclidine, ketamine, dizocilpine, dextrorphan) cause transient reversible vacuolation in neurons in the posterior cingulate cortex of rats. Similar effects have also been observed with competitive glutamate antagonists such as CPP, CGS 19755 and CGP 37849. This transient morphological change has been noted to be coincident anatomically with brain regions showing hypermetabolism after administration of uncompetitive NMDA receptor ion channel blockers and competitive glutamate antagonists. These results therefore indicate that the functional consequences of NMDA receptor blockade with competitive glutamate and uncompetitive channel antagonists are ultimately the same. These changes do not appear to be a prelude to irreversible damage except after relatively high doses of the receptor ion channel antagonists but they have given rise to concern over the safety in use of NMDA antagonists as neuroprotective agents. In contrast, vacuolation has not yet been demonstrated with agents acting at the glycine (L-687,414) or polyamine (eliprodil) modulatory sites of the NMDA receptor complex suggesting that agents acting at these sites may have a greater potential therapeutic window.
As debate about the legalization of marijuana continues in Canada, physicians are joining the fray. Ottawa family physician Don Kilby is working hard to make it easier for ill patients to use the marijuana that alleviates their symptoms. A recent case in Toronto indicates that the courts are starting to share these views.
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- Charlotte Gray
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majority of canadians would legalize marijuanan, but not other drugs
- Mario Canseco
Canseco, mario. "majority of canadians would legalize marijuanan, but not other drugs." 15 April 2010.
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Chinese Materia Medica: Vegitable Kingdom
- Frederik Smith
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