The use of marijuana in most jurisdictions in the United States is illegal, and there has been a debate on legalization of marijuana. Basically, there are three different positions on that issue.
The first position is to keep criminalizing the use of marijuana. According to this position, marijuana should be considered a gateway drug, even if marijuana is not so serious drugs like cocaine and LSD. In other words, once a person uses marijuana, he or she is more likely to want to experiment more serious drugs like cocaine. Thus, marijuana must remain as an illegal drug.
The second position is to legalize marijuana for medical purpose, and some jurisdictions in the United States followed this position. In other words, a person who suffers from terminal diseases, such as final stage of cancer and AIDS, can purchase marijuana from drug store with his or her doctor's prescription. The idea is that the patient with a terminal disease, who expects his or her death soon, can relieve some pain by smoking marijuana.
The third position is to legalize marijuana like other tobacco so that a person with age of 21 or older can buy marijuana from anywhere like gas stations, grocery stores, and pharmacies. This position suggests that smoking marijuana does not give more harm to an individual and a society than smoking cigarette which is the number one cause of lung cancer. The only difference between marijuana and cigarette is that the former is illegalized and the latter is legalized.
Based on the argument in the above, which position is appealing to you and why?
Dear Utku,
Thank you again. I do not know about the short-term effect of marijuana. You said it is more like drinking alcohol, which must be subject to a scientific experiment.
Also, you mentioned religious issue with the use of marijuana and I suspect that the use of marijuana is less tolerant in Turkey that has been influenced by Islam than many other countries. Is that right?
Don
Dear Utku,
Do you see the possibility that Turkey allows the use of marijuana for the medical purpose in the future?
Thanks.
Don
Dear Utku,
Thank you so much for your elaborated answer, which is very helpful to me.
I believe that the medication form is a very good idea.
Don
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Chemistry
- Pharmacology
- Pharmaceuticals
- Drugs