When you hear the word “weed”, what do you think? People can have different facts and opinions. Britannica, https://www.britannica.com, states some of the pros and cons of weed. Let's get into the pros.
The first pro to weed is, “Legalizing recreational marijuana results in helpful regulation of a safe drug, without increasing potential negative consequences.” Weed can help medically, but weed can also be used to get high. Getting high isn’t bad, but some people don’t know their limits. In my experience, if you take any mental health pills, weed can be more effective to your brain. You cannot overdose on weed, but what you can do is smoke too much. When we smoke too much weed, our bodies tend to calm down faster than usual so our brains cannot process this fast enough before we start panicking. Some people green out after smoking too much, (which just simply means throwing up). The plant (weed plant) itself doesn’t make you throw up. It is all determined by how much you have smoked. So, in addition, weed should be legal in all states medically, because if the doctor gives us prescriptions, how could we smoke or do too much, right?
The second pro is, “Legalizing recreational marijuana would end the costly, and frequently racist, enforcement of marijuana laws and debilitate the illegal marijuana market.” Weed can be more than the last bag you got. It all depends on who you get it from and what strain it is. The things that make some weed cost more is, what state you live in, is it illegal or legal. That means if any vape store is selling weed or anyone in that matter, it will be a higher price, just because of the risk.
The third pro is “Legalizing recreational marijuana boosts the economy by creating new tax revenue and jobs.” I don't really get this pro. When people smoke, they all react to it differently. For some people, it gives them anxiety to smoke. The reaction to weed is usually depending on the strain and if it’s sativa or indica. Sativa is an upper, meaning more active, more awake, and more energetic. Indica is a down, meaning it can make you drowsy, it could make you tired, and for some people, the sativa and indica effect people the same. There are some people that smoke and they could be shaky, which is not good for work. There are some that are really emotional or they laugh, which is not good for work. The only reason it would be good for work is if the doctor prescribed someone the right strain and the right amount of weed, which would help with pain and emotions.
The fourth, last, pro is, “Most Americans agree recreational marijuana should be legal.” This one really just depends on what state and where you live exactly. There are a lot of people that absolutely hate weed and say it is the devil's lettuce. Which, if you think about it, weed is grown from a seed that gets put in dirt and grows like any other plant/flower would. Scientifically, if you are a believer that is, God grew all the plants. Most of the devil's creations are man-made. There are a lot of people that love weed as their medication for the day, for calming them down and making their pain tolerable for work.
Additionally added to the pros, as to everything, there are cons. The first con is, “Legalizing recreational marijuana dramatically increases growth of the plant, which is bad for the environment.” https://daily.jstor.org says, ‘His research showed that cannabis plants produce volatile organic compounds or VOCs that can produce harmful pollutants.’ “If plants produce VOCs, there is a high possibility that under certain conditions, cannabis cultivation could impact the ozone,” Vizuete explains.’ But, https://www.pca.state.mn.us tells us that, “VOCs are in thousands of daily use products, including paint, varnish, wax, and various cleaning, degreasing, and cosmetic products. Exposure to VOC vapors can cause a variety of health effects.” If the exposure of the VOC vapors from the weed plant can cause a variety of health effects, then why has the weed, that a lot of people smoke, not killed anyone or gave them health effects? https://www.cancer.gov states that, “Formaldehyde is a colorless, strong-smelling, flammable chemical that is produced industrially and used in building materials such as particleboard, plywood, and other pressed-wood products. In addition, it is commonly used as a fungicide, germicide, and disinfectant, and as a preservative in mortuaries and medical laboratories. Formaldehyde also occurs naturally in the environment.” If formaldehyde already occurs in the environment, then it would be in any natural environment, then why is it only explained that weed is bad because formaldehyde comes off of weed. It also said, in the beginning of the paragraph about what Vizuete explained, ….”if weed plants produce VOCs, there is a high possibility that under certain conditions, cannabis cultivation could impact the ozone.” There are so many factories, for example, the Eastman factory, they provide key differentiated coatings, adhesives and specialty plastics products, and is a major supplier of cellulose acetate fibers. https://tennesseelookout.com states, “For nearly a decade, the Eastman Chemical Company has been emitting unsafe levels of sulfur dioxide into the communities surrounding its Kingsport, Tenn. plants in violation of national air quality standards.” So it is ok to breathe in this but not whatever was not scientifically proven? For anything to be proven, you have to make sure it is only on the weed plant and test it for months and try different things.
The second con is, “Legalizing recreational marijuana creates a “Big Marijuana” industry, while boosting illegal marijuana sales and use.” That is the point when we want to make the weed legal, more stores and more supply of it. It would be easier if every state had a marijuana industry. There would be more supply and more than likely, less money.
The last con is, “Health experts do not believe recreational marijuana should be legal.” The only thing that weed can do is make your lungs weak. That’s the same reaction for disposable vapes and cigarettes but you don’t see those illegal just because they have chemicals. Hell, if you want to be technical, cigarettes and disposable vapes and disposable cartridges have more chemicals and are more dangerous overall. We have not had a report of any one overdosing on weed but we have a lot of reports of little kids dying because of vapes.
In all, I believe that weed should become legal, medically, for doctors to prescribe. Doctors know exactly what strain you will need and how much. If weed is not legalized for just smoking, it should at least be considered to be legalized for medication that the doctors prescribe. It is the same thing as going to a therapist and getting medicine from them talking to you. Weed can make you creative, it can also make you energetic, and it can make you laugh a lot. You will also, occasionally, get munchies and dry mouth.
The side effects are not as bad as the mental health medicine. For example, https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au lists some of the side effects of mental health medicines: “Headaches,weight gain, dizziness, dry mouth, muscle spasms and cramps, nausea, loss of sex drive, and constipation.” On the other hand, https://nida.nih.gov states that the side effects, which for weed is would be called: ‘THC over activates certain brain cell receptors, resulting in effects such as’. “Alternate senses, (which is when there is a change in the pattern of sensory stimuli, followed by an abnormal response to such stimuli. Such perceptions could be increased, decreased, or distorted with the patient's hearing, vision, touch sensation, smell, or kinesthetic responses to stimuli. Meaning you will be lowly but relaxed.), changes in mood, (which is any pill you take, just worse.), impaired body movement, (again feeling calm and not fast working at the time.), difficulty with thinking and problem-solving, (weed calms down the mind and body, whereas, it doesn’t work as hard), and impaired memory and learning, (this is still in the category of your mind and body relaxing so you can just relax).
