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Jordan Mendenhall
Allison Fernley
English 1010
21 April 2014
To Weed or Not to Weed
The legalization of medicinal marijuana moved up the legislative agenda in several
states this year. Even in the great red state of Utah, Governor Gary Herbert signed into law
a proposal allowing individuals suffering from intractable epileptic disorders to legally
possess and use a small amount of medicinal marijuana. Colorado and Washington seem to
be on a mission to end prohibition by passing legislation that allows any adult over the age
of 21 to legally purchase marijuana at registered stores.
At a time when our country is plagued by a sluggish economy, a staggering
unemployment rate, rising inequality, and multiple wars that seem to have no end in sight,
opponents of drug reform argue that the legalization fever, which is spreading across
America, may include symptoms of tunnel vision and an inability to prioritize. They
sorrowfully point out that the brightness of our childrens future is waning. Should we
really be telling them Look, we havent got jobs for you, your chances at marriage are
dwindling, you may be 30 before you can move out of your parents place into a home of
your own, but well make it up to you with pot, video games, and online porn (Frum). This
is a position that is often overlooked. The timeliness of legalization should be considered in
the legalization debate. However, I think that legalization can play a key role in recouping
the economical losses caused by the financial crisis and fighting two costly wars by
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introducing a tax on legal Marijuana. Colorado alone has generated around 3.5 Million
dollars in tax revenue for the month of January (Ferner). Think about it, if every state
legalized marijuana, tax revenue would be around 175 million per month. That is 2.1 billion
dollars per year! Although sales tapered off in Colorado after the first month, the potential
tax revenue is huge.
Opponents are not only concerned about prioritization; they are also concerned that
a country full of potheads is not exactly synonymous to a healthy society. They fear for the
general health of the public and believe that a healthy society should be both mentally and
physically fit. Negative health risks caused by the prolonged use of marijuana are a huge
concern for those in favor of prohibition. They claim that there is a risk of IQ reduction,
impaired lung function, and increased suicide rates in adults who persistently used
marijuana in their youth. Not only are they concerned with physical health risks, they also
claim that marijuana use can be associated with worse outcomes at school, work, and social
life (Frum). They look at marijuana as a simple pleasure that fails to promote a healthy
society that is full of integrated, coherent, and responsible people who use the powers of
reason, temperance, and self-control (Brooks).
Although negative health risks are a concern, especially to our youth, I dont believe
that marijuana is any more dangerous than Alcohol. In fact, I believe it to be much safer. I
found that there was little to no evidence to support any negative health risks to those who
use marijuana occasionally. I also found it hard to find evidence to support negative health
risks to those who use marijuana by means of ingestion. It is my belief that most people
who get high arent smoking every day all day. Just like most people who drink alcohol are
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not alcoholics. However, I do think that there should be strict laws put in place to keep
marijuana out of the hands of minors. Just like alcohol, there are obvious negative health
risks to those with developing brains. But, until there is current evidence to support
negative health risks to the average user, I dont believe that the former position has a
strong foundation and I do not believe that legalization will turn Americans into a bunch of
lazy, unhealthy, and irresponsible stoners.
There is another group that believes that a healthy society should consist of
integrated coherent and responsible people. They also support the legalization and
decriminalization of marijuana. However, they believe that prohibition encourages
irresponsibility and segregation by making a black market inevitable. Violence is generated
because the conflicts between the parties involved in the drug trade can't be solved by legal
means within the judicial system. They are forced into a twilight world in which they have
to shoot each other instead of hiring lawyers and taking the matter to court (Miron)
They also believe that a healthy society should not target minority groups and give
harsh prison sentences to those in possession of a small amount of Marijuana. Our prisons
are over run with those who have been convicted of drug charges and instead of offering
them treatment; they are thrown into a cell for months and sometimes years even though
they have never harmed another person. They claim that the War on Drugs has failed to
dismantle cartels and keep drugs out of the hands of Americas Youth. Those in favor of
legalization argue that if you believe in the American dream-freedom, individuality, and
personal responsibility, then drugs should absolutely be legalized. They claim that a

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responsible and healthy society should consist of those who are allowed to do whatever
they want, as long as they arent harming anyone else.
I have found that the last portion of the previous paragraph represents my core
beliefs surrounding the legalization debate. I strongly believe in the American Dream. I
believe in the dream presented by the founders of this country, but not in the current
stripped down version where youre only free if the government says so. I believe that
people should be allowed to do whatever they want as long as they arent harming anyone
else. What you do on the weekend should not be the governments business. They should
concern themselves with more important issues, like education, the environment, and
international relations. They should want to make the world a better place by promoting
freedom, individuality, creativity, and peace. A society that condemns its own people and
locks them up for self-medicating is in my opinion, extremely unhealthy. However, if
legalization is realized, then there absolutely has to be strict laws in place to punish those
who distribute drugs to minors because I believe that it can be harmful to those with
undeveloped brains. A healthy society protects, nurtures, and educates their youth so they
can grow up to be those integrated, coherent, and responsible people who use the powers
of reason, temperance, and self-control that we so badly need.





Works Cited
Brooks, David. Weed: Been There Done That. New York Times 3 Jan. 2014: A19. Print.
Ferner, Matt. Colorado Weed Sales Top $14 Million In First Month. Huffington Post.
Huffington Post. n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014
Frum, David. Dont Go To Pot. Commentary Apr. 2014: 23-27. Print.
Miron, Jeffrey. Is The War On Drugs Over? The Harvard Crimson. The Harvard Crimson,
n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.
















1. I didnt receive any feedback, but my rough draft was a little more than rough. If I were
to give feedback to myself, I would have said to incorporate my position more and connect
the paragraphs together.
2. I revised it by connecting paragraphs and sentences, compared and contrasted my
positions with those I had researched, inserted my position throughout the text, and ended
with a so what who cares.
3. I think I followed the instructions well, but I think I needed more positions or at least I
needed to go into a little more depth on the positions I was addressing. There was a lot of
information about cartels, harsh drug sentences, and the negative health effects of
marijuana that I could have presented in more detail.