Introduction
Target Audience: The paper is designed for adolescents and adults who are concerned with the issue of whether marijuana legalization is needed in the USA.
Purpose: To persuade people that cannabis legalization brings more harmful than beneficial consequences.
Curiosity kills a cat, and this statement is specifically true in relation to marijuana use. Cannabis is requested today thanks to movies, songs, and other popular culture products. That is why many people, especially young individuals, have strong desires to try this substance and experience its effect on their bodies. Numerous people believe that nothing harmful can happen after a single or recreational use of cannabis, which has resulted in the movement for marijuana legalization in the United States. According to Shaeffer (2021), cannabis was legalized in seventeen states and the District of Columbia in 2021, but now this figure has reached 19 states. Even though the US has a robust tendency to decriminalize marijuana use and possession, it is not reasonable to ignore potential harmful consequences. Thus, I will prove that cannabis legalization leads to higher crime rates, impaired cognition, worse academic outcomes, increased cannabis overuse rates, and other negative outcomes that significantly outweigh any advantages.
Presenting Harmful Effects
Many scholarly articles from peer-reviewed journals address the issue under analysis and comment on the adverse impacts of marijuana legalization. In particular, Cerdá et al. (2020) conducted a survey study based on the data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in the USA. These experts identified that the legalization of marijuana led to higher rates of cannabis use disorder. For example, the prevalence of the condition increased from 2.18% to 2.72% among teenagers of 12-17 years old and from 2.13% to 2.62% among adults of 26 years and higher (Cerdá et al., 2020). This evidence allows for establishing a direct link between cannabis legalization and its overuse in the community. Consequently, it is not reasonable to ignore this connection and advocate for recreational marijuana decriminalization.
In addition to that, some reputable resources insist that cannabis use adversely impacts people’s brain functioning. A scientific article by Hammond et al. (2020) is one of them, and the authors focus on the substance’s effects on mental abilities. In particular, these experts admit that cannabis use leads to short and long-term impairments in people’s cognition (Hammond et al., 2020). In addition to that, worse academic outcomes are found among those students who frequently use cannabis (Hammond et al., 2020). That is why it is logical to expect that cannabis legalization will lead to a greater spread of these problems.
Some experts also admit that higher marijuana use rates lead to severe health problems. In particular, Wang et al. (2018) conducted a retrospective study to analyze the effect of cannabis legalization in Colorado. To cope with the task, the scholars found and investigated the incidence of marijuana-related adolescent emergency and urgent care visits from 2005 to 2015 (Wang et al., 2018). The authors identified that this dramatically increased “from 1.8 per 1,000 visits in 2009 to 4.9 in 2015” (Wang et al., 2018, p. 239). This finding demonstrates that the state that legalized recreational marijuana use in 2012 saw a significant rise in cannabis-related visits. It is possible then to suggest that the decriminalization of this substance will lead to the same outcome in other states across the US. That is why this evidence represents another argument against cannabis legalization.
The information above summarizes the data produced by reputable authors in the sphere of science and research. Their scholarly works have been published in peer-reviewed journals, which leads to increased credibility and reliability of the findings. According to Roen et al. (2022), this approach is also known as the logical appeal that helps persuade readers. In other words, the stipulated quotations and citations present the experts’ opinions on the topic, which demonstrates that the legalization of marijuana can result in numerous harmful effects.
Refuting the Opposing Opinions
Even though the previous section has presented clear evidence against cannabis legalization, the process is still taking place across the nation. In fact, the given issue has faced a dramatic increase in public support because the percentage of supporters changed from 12% in 1969 to 67% in 2019 (Shaeffer, 2021). It is possible to expect that specific and robust arguments resulted in the given fluctuation of opinions. Thus, the following paragraphs will present them and include additional comments on why these arguments should not deserve attention.
Firstly, many people advocate for marijuana legalization because this fact will become a relief for the law enforcement system. This conclusion is found in the study by Firth et al. (2019). The scholars analyze the data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System to investigate the number of cannabis arrests in Washington State following marijuana legalization in 2012 (Firth et al., 2019). This study reveals that the event under analysis resulted in significantly fewer such arrests (Firth et a., 2019). The rationale behind this finding is that people became allowed to use and possess specific amounts of this substance.
Secondly, some individuals stipulate that this substance should be legalized because of its impact on people’s health. In particular, people with Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, glaucoma, and other issues can be prescribed medical marijuana. Many individuals are aware of this fact and stipulate that this substance should be decriminalized because of its health benefits (Shaeffer, 2021). However, one should admit that not every patient with the stipulated diseases should use cannabis. A health professional should analyze every case individually and prescribe the substance when its use is going to lead to advantageous outcomes.
Now, it is necessary to present convincing arguments to explain why the opinions above can be refuted. On the one hand, when discussing crime rates, it is not reasonable to look at one side. Analyzing a comprehensive picture can reveal that an increase in illegal behaviors can be found in some areas. For example, many people indicate that cannabis legalization leads to a higher number of car accidents (Shaeffer, 2021). According to the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice (2021), the number of deaths caused by a car accident with a driver under the impact of cannabis rose by 150% from 2013 to 2019. Furthermore, the same agency stipulates that Colorado witnessed a significant increase in organized crime cases involving marijuana charges (Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, 2021). These two examples dismiss the statement that cannabis legalization frees up the law enforcement system.
On the other hand, one should stipulate cannabis’s positive effects on health are limited. It is necessary to admit that medical marijuana is appropriate for specific conditions, meaning that not all individuals should use it. However, the legalization of this substance is likely to result in many individuals with various health conditions consuming this drug. A potential negative aspect implies that it is impossible to predict how uncontrolled cannabis use will impact their conditions. A possible outcome is that the given drug can lead to more harmful outcomes.
Personal Opinion
If readers still doubt whether marijuana should be legalized, the given section will eliminate any hesitance. Since the information above relied on logos that included experts’ opinions, I would like to present an ethical appeal in this paragraph (Roen et al., 2022). Thus, I personally know a man who started suffering from cannabis overuse after this substance was legalized. He admits that when cannabis was illegal, he did not even think of using it. However, the free availability of the substance resulted in the fact that he became addicted to cannabis. Consequently, it is evident that the decriminalization of this substance increases the probability that more people will try cannabis and be subject to its abuse.
Furthermore, people who support cannabis legalization can imagine the following example. As has been mentioned, marijuana is a leading cause of traffic fatalities. Thus, if a person indicates that this substance is harmless, they should answer the following question. Will your opinion change if any of your relatives suffer in a car accident caused by an individual who is under the influence of cannabis? Even though this emotional appeal is aggressive, it can help people make correct decisions. Roen et al. (2022) stipulate that pathos is a powerful tool to persuade readers. Consequently, the given information demonstrates that logos, ethos, and pathos can be effectively used to make individuals understand that marijuana legalization leads to harmful outcomes for people and the entire community.
In addition to that, it is worth admitting that a comprehensive analysis of the given issue presents its adverse outcomes. While scholarly and official resources comment on the different effects of cannabis legalization on people’s health and social safety, my personal experience addresses the problem from an everyday perspective. According to Graff et al. (2021), the combination of personal opinions and expert findings is an effective instrument to persuade readers. This approach demonstrates that people with different levels of expertise and life experience identify that decriminalizing marijuana can bring many harmful outcomes to society.
Conclusion
The report has focused on the issue of marijuana use and possession legalization and found that this scenario can be harmful to individuals and the entire community. The evidence from scholarly and peer-reviewed articles reveals that cannabis decriminalization is wrong since it leads to people’s mental health issues, an increased number of motor-vehicle incidents, and higher drug abuse rates. Furthermore, the report comments on the statistical data from the states that have already legalized this substance, and this information presents numerous negative consequences. Since there are legalization supporters, the paper relies on credible evidence to refute their arguments and prove that decriminalization brings more harm. In addition to that, I presented an example from my experience to demonstrate how the issue can affect ordinary individuals. Thus, the paper relies on logos, ethos, and pathos to persuade readers that marijuana legalization is dangerous. These rhetorical appeals should help individuals understand that credible arguments from versatile areas explain why this drug’s relatively free use and possession should not be allowed.
References
Cerdá, M., Mauro, C., Hamilton, A., Levy, N. S., Santaella-Tenorio, J., Hasin, D., Wall, M. M., Keyes, K. M., & Martins, S. S. (2020). Association between recreational marijuana legalization in the United States and changes in marijuana use and cannabis use disorder from 2008 to 2016. JAMA Psychiatry, 77(2), 165-171. Web.
Colorado Division of Criminal Justice. (2021, July 19). Colorado Division of Criminal Justice publishes report on impacts of marijuana legalization in Colorado. Web.
Firth, C. L., Maher, J. E., Dilley, J. A., Darnell, A., & Lovrich, N. P. (2019). Did marijuana legalization in Washington State reduce racial disparities in adult marijuana arrests? Substance Use & Misuse, 54(9), 1582-1587. Web.
Graff, G., Birkenstein, C., & Durst, R. (2021). They say/I say with readings (5th ed.). W. W. Norton.
Hammond, C. J., Chaney, A., Hendrickson, B., & Sharma, P. (2020). Cannabis use among US adolescents in the era of marijuana legalization: A review of changing use patterns, comorbidity, and health correlates. International Review of Psychiatry, 32(3), 221-234. Web.
Roen, D., Rankins-Robertson, S., & Maid, B. M. (2022). The McGraw-Hill guide: Writing for college, writing for life (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education (US).
Shaeffer, K. (2021). 6 facts about Americans and marijuana. Pew Research Center. Web.
Wang, G. S., Davies, S. D., Halmo, L. S., Sass, A., & Mistry, R. D. (2018). Impact of marijuana legalization in Colorado on adolescent emergency and urgent care visits. Journal of Adolescent Health, 63(2), 239-241. Web.