Legalization of Marijuana for Personal Use essays

Legalization of Marijuana for Personal Use essays I intend to discuss the issue of whether marijuana should be legalized or not. My audience will be college students. Because all issues related to marijuana are emotional as well as logical, I have to assume that individuals within my audience, a college class, will hold a wide variety of opinions. I expect that some will be opposed to the idea on various moral or practical grounds, that others will be in agreement based on logical or practical grounds, and that some will be in favor of it for personal reasons, most likely because they like to use it and would like to be able to do so without fear of being arrested, having a serious black market on their record, or of having to deal with illegal drug dealers in My own view will be that marijuana for personal use should be legalized but regulated in much the way we do alcoholic beverages. I can make several arguments for this view. One that at first seems very persuasive is that people are discovering legitimate medical uses for marijuana. AIDS patients report that when they use marijuana their appetite returns, supporting their general health. This can be lifesaving with a disease like AIDS. It has also been shown to help with the nausea that can come with chemotherapy, to help combat glaucoma, and even to get people with multiple sclerosis out of wheelchairs and walking again (Cella, PAGE). Those are all very serious illnesses and all can have devastating consequences, but because marijuana is classified federally as a drug with abuse potential only by the federal government, it can be very hard for these people to get the marijuana that they say helps them so much. However, this would not release marijuana to be used, for instance, in the way alcohol is legally with some important restrictions and safeguards. Even if approved for medicinal use, recreational users would still risk being charged with felonies and deali...