Brad Wilkinson

Final Research Paper

Health 1050 Sp 16 - Roberts
May 4, 2016
Legalization of the drug Marijuana
Through much pondering about what to write this research paper on I have decided to do
more research on Legalization of Marijuana. This is a hot topic right now amongst multiple
states and the resident of those states. This is an interesting topic because it has its pros and also
its cons. I will be taking a look at different reasons and research of both sides. Some of the main
reason of why I feel like Marijuana should be legalized is because it can provide medical
assistance that other medications cant, it could potentially lower the crime rate, and provide
additional kick backs or tax money to the states. We are also going to take a look as some of
the cons for this drug and this topic and see which one has stronger points. From my personal
opinion I feel like the research is going to show a more positive trend towards helping than
destroying.
Before we jump into the research paper I want to cover our bases on what marijuana does
to your body. Marijuana is a drug that can cause mental and physical changes to the state of your
body. It will cause your body to shift from a normal state to a loser state. Marijuana affects a
lot of the interaction and signals that come from the brain. The reaction time of users of
Marijuana tends to be much lower than a person not using. It can also affect every organ in your

body, your nervous system and immune system. One of the main forms of death that occur from
smoking marijuana is a heart attack due to an increased heart rate.
Some of the neurological effects that marijuana can have on your body are Paranoia,
Anxiety, Depression, Short-Term Memory loss and distorted sense of time. Although these
effects are only short lived and soon after using Marijuana will ease up a few hours after using.
This drug can still be very dangerous to your body, mind, and overall look on life. For this
reason we have pros and cons to every choice that we make in life. We have the goods that come
from legalizing marijuana, but we also have to accept the consequences.
In just the past 3 year there has been a larger push across the United States to get
marijuana legalized. Some of the cases caused states to pass laws for the use of marijuana and
other have not. Currently there are 2 states that have legalized medical and recreational
marijuana. As of 2014 there are 23 states that have legalized medical marijuana. According to
the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Trafficking Area located in Colorado, Montana, Utah and
Wyoming here are some of the interesting facts about marijuana use. In youth ages 12 to 17
marijuana use has increased 20 percent in the young people. Colorado is #1 in the country for
marijuana use in kids 12-17. To put this in perspective Colorado is a 12.56% of youth that have
used marijuana. Utah is only at a 5.42%. In college aged students 18-25 years old they have
seen a 17 percent increase and again Colorado ranked #1 in this category. In adults 26+ there
was an increase in use of 63%. This is a massive amount of an increase from the year before
marijuana was legalized it is a 21% increase. Colorado is the winner in all three of these
categories for having the number 1 spot on all three.

It has been said that because of medical marijuana some patients with select conditions
have been able to deal with pain on a more manageable level. According to an article done on
cnn.com some of the medical purposes for Marijuana are dealing with pain, helping with MS
(multiple sclerosis), Nausea due to illnesses such as AIDS or from Chemotherapy, Epllepsy,
Concussions, Alzhelmers disease, and finally Bipolar disorder. These reasons alone provide
enough of a reason to legalize marijuana. I feel like there are some reasons as to why we should
not allow this use. It is my personal belief that although Marijuana is not as addictive as other
illicit drugs such as opiates. Marijuana still carries its own addictive properties and can result in
overdose and even death. If Marijuana is legalized it should be under severe control and watch,
and only be administered under the direct supervision of a licensed doctor. This will help
regulate who gets the drug and how much they can take.
With the legalization of marijuana you could see a potential decrease in the amount of
crime surrounding marijuana. Frequently in the news here in Utah you hear of reports of people
whom have been arrested because they are transporting marijuana. You also hear of robberies or
even murders over an addict to marijuana. Legalizing Marijuana could help decrease the need to
steal or kill for marijuana. According to the denver.cbslocal.com website these are the results of
legalization of Marijuana in the state of Colorado. Marijuana-related traffic deaths increased 32
percent. Almost 20 percent of all traffic deaths were marijuana related compared to only 10
percent less than 5 years ago. Marijuana related emergency department visits increased 29
percent. Marijuana-related hospitalizations increased 38 percent. Marijuana- related calls to the
rocky mountain poison center increased 72 percent. This is comparing data from the year 2013
(when marijuana was legalized) to 2014 so a change over a year. This goes to prove how

dangerous this drug can be and all signs report to not positives. If we could regulate this drug
better we might be able to avoid statistics like this.
One of the ways that the government and people of the states can benefit from legalizing
Marijuana is to place a tax on the drug. Aurora is using this money to help in different areas of
need. Whether it is to help with the recovering process of addiction, providing homes for the
homeless, or putting the money towards helping further education. These are good ways to
improve the overall society in the states where these drugs are legal. There was an article in the
denver.cbslocal.com that talked about how the state used the funds from marijuana taxes to help
the homeless. The article reads The network is getting $220,000 of $1.5 million set aside this
year for the homeless programs from Auroras local tax on recreational marijuana. This is
allowing for the city of Aurora, Colorado to give back to the community and provide for those
that cant fend for themselves. Later in the article it talked about how part of the total taxes
earned (expected to be just over $8 million) will be used for transportation projects. Some will
go towards building a recreation center. I feel like this is one of the strongest points that are a
pro for legalizing Marijuana. This is again a great way to help out in the community.
In conclusion and based off of the research that I have done with past history of the state
of Colorado it appears that the cons outweigh the pros. I have learned that all though Marijuana
can help medical patients in need where other medication cant reach them. The overall impact
that simply legalizing Marijuana can have on other is huge. We have seen that through just 1
year of legalization in Colorado main more deaths from traffic accidents and more emergency
room visits have happened. We did however find that Aurora, Colorado is using the taxes they
are receiving to submit a positive change in their community. I was under the impression before
writing this paper that legalization of Marijuana has a majority of positive changes.

If a state could figure out how to regulate the use of Marijuana better then it would be a
positive idea to legalize marijuana. It would be similar to trying to control/regulate the use of
alcohol where you are not going to limit the number of drunk drivers. So if they can get a
system in place where they can control this and only provide Marijuana to those that absolutely
need it, we will be able to have a better change. This could either be done through drug testing
more frequently in the work place and at public institutions. We would especially need to come
up with a plan to keep young kids away from this drug.

Bibliography of Cited Source

1) http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/09/15/feds-release-marijuana-stats-to-show-negativeeffects-of-legalization/
2) http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/07/health/gallery/uses-for-medical-marijuana/
3) http://www.rmhidta.org/default.aspx/MenuItemID/687/MenuGroup/RMHIDTAHome.ht
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