COURSE NAME 

ARGUMENTS AGAINST LEGALIZATION 

Recent studies have shifted the cultural attitude of people towards recreational and
medical use of marijuana. On the contrary, there are ample reasons why one must think of the
hazardous consequences of consuming it on our body. Consumption of marijuana affects brain
development. A study conducted by researchers at Duke University from New Zealand claim
that people who started smoking marijuana in teenage lost an average of 8 IQ points between
ages 13 and 38. It also causes various breathing problems and increased heart rate upto 3 hours
after smoking. Legalization will remove the fear of legal consequences from people’s mind thus
making it more acceptable for users to consume it.

With tobacco and alcohol already causing a lot of problems in the country, introduction
to a third drug might worsen the current scenario. Introduction to marijuana will also see a huge
amount of teens involved in smoking weed as a legal product would no longer fear them from
using it.

EFFECT OF LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA IN COLORADO AND

OTHER U.S STATES
1. HEALTH EFFECTS

 
 
 
 

Within one year of legalization,there was 29 percent increase in cannabis related emergency
room visits and 38 percent increase in cannabis related hospitalizations. The data from the graph
clearly suggests that after legalization ingestion of cannabis among youth is steeply increasing
and also the exposure calls to poison centre has increased substantially.

2. ​ACCIDENTS
There has been increase in the no. of accidents or injuries associated with usage of
marijuana since the legalization of the drug in Colorado and many other states of U.S.

Data from the graph clearly shows a substantial increase in number of cases of traffic accidents
in which cannabis influenced drivers were present. Also, the graph shows that there might be
very less impact of accidents in whole United States but the percentage of fatal accidents in
states which have legalized marijuana namely Washington and Colorado have risen sharply.

 
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INDIAN SCENARIO
According to NDPS, marijuana is a class one illegal drug in India with high potential for
abuse and there are huge fine amounts for cultivating, dealing or even possession. Although
consumption of bhang is legal in most parts of India as it is considered a “cannabis plant” by
NDPS and do not fall into the category of the drug “cannabis”.Different states follow their own
laws regarding the consumption of bhang.

If marijuana is made legal in India, it might lead to series of harmful consequences which
might be the reason that it is yet to legalized in India. According to Global Adult Tobacco
survey, nearly 30 percent of Indian population use alcohol and millions of them consume
tobacco leading to nearly 4.3 million deaths. Introduction of marijuana will not on worsen the
current scenario but will also serve as a gateway for one of this carcinogens. Once legalized,
many cannabis marketing companies would excel and the vulnerable population including youth,
poor illiterate would be most affected. It might also lead to more number of accidents following
the case of Colorado. Legalization might also harm the society as it is observed that people tend
to lose control over their mind after consuming it and go to different state of consciousness that
eventually affects the people around.

 
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