Category Archives: Blog Post 1

Throughout history the United States has faced an abundant amount of difficulty legalizing tobacco and alcohol. Today in the 21st century we face this boundless problem again, but this time its Marijuana. I think Marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes, however to a certain extent.

Although Marijuana makes one imperative in terms of recreational use, it is not as harmful in regards to medicine.  As the renown research professor of the University of Mississippi stated, “cannabis as a plant that is rich in chemical components, would have potential for producing useful drugs”. On the contrary Marijuana is “4-5 times more potent in terms of psycho activity, before getting into the bloodstream”. Essentially some specific components of Marijuana should be utilized in the aid for the cure of cancer, diseases, and AIDS.

Also there is no need for people to depend on a plant to ease their pain because that is not a way to solve problems. People should not thrive to be in a certain state of mind to be away from their problems. Instead people should face their problems and their fears because that will uplift their personality. Another way people should approach to ease their pain is to seek help professionally or exercising. If an individual harms himself he is also harming the loved ones around him.

Additionally popular celebrities and social media portray major support for the legalization of Marijuana. I think a significant reason celebrities and social media praise Marijuana is because they want to grab the attention of the people. Some notorious celebrities such as Snoop Dog and Lil Wayne smoke Marijuana for recreational use. As a result causing a negative influence especially towards the teenagers.

Ultimately we need to set the line for narcotics because legalizing Marijuana will be a gateway to other drugs. Further the legalization of Marijuana should not even be a priority for us because there is another matter that needs to be legalized-immigration. Although I understand people supporting the legalization of Marijuana for an economic reason, people’s lives should not be valued over money. It does not matter what the statistics employ because Marijuana is an addictive drug and it makes an individual imperative. Finally a famous governor once said, “drugs are the enemies of ambition and hope – and when we fight against drugs we are fighting for the future.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XKhlJ6U_Rw

I don’t drink or smoke, and certainly don’t condone it, but I am a sucker for needles. Seeing them effortlessly glide across the surface of my dad’s old 60s records is enough to completely fascinate me. Music has been an integral part of me for as long as I can remember, and my record player, alongside the vinyls I’ve collected over the years, wins the number one spot on my list of most prized possessions.

Growing up, my taste in music was far different from that of the other kids my age, no doubt. (Elvis, Frank Sinatra, The Temptations, The Beatles, and Etta James, to name a few.) My dad wasted no time in exposing me to the artists of the 60s and 70s that we now both love. In older music, the mention of marijuana in song lyrics was undeniably less “in your face.” The artists merely hinted at the use of pot, leaving the listener to infer that that was what they were alluding to.

“Cloud 9,” a late 60s song by the Temptations, has a few lines that are cleverly written so that we can pretty much assume they were talking about weed.

“Needed something to ease my troubled mind. Depressed and down-hearted, I took to Cloud 9… I’m gonna sail higher up and away to Cloud 9.”

I think that the legalization of marijuana would benefit our society more than harm it. I believe every individual is free to make his or her own decisions. If someone wants to smoke pot, then they’re going to do so, whether it is legal or not.

In addition to the medicinal qualities marijuana provides to certain illnesses, legalizing it would not only help our economy, but also cause drug trafficking to slow. Although I understand that those who are opposed to the legalization of pot argue that it is harmful and could easily be abused, I do not think keeping marijuana illegal helps with either of these reasons. Alcohol and cigarettes are just as harmful, if not more, and are abused around the world every day, so why are those legal meanwhile marijuana is not? 

We need to open our eyes and realize that our society now is more affected by media than anything else, and with the constant reference to marijuana in most songs, movies, and TV shows, people are not going to quit using this drug despite it being against the law.

To end with some groovy reggae lyrics by Peter Tosh: “Nurses smoke it, judges smoke it, even the lawyers too… Legalize it- don’t criticize it.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9lHgBBoizU

Hi, my name is Rosalio Reyes and I am from San Antonio, TX. Personally I have never engaged in the use of marijuana, but whenever I state that I fall in the sided spectrum of against its legalization I am often told that according to society I simply “do not know what I am talking about” due to my lack of engagement with the drug. However, marijuana has affected my life in a way that has shaped my opinion.

Back home we had a very close family friend that I have known since I was born. This friend, whose name I shall not reveal, was considered part of our family even until the day his job had him transfer to the state of Colorado. Once there, I began to hear my family talk about him briefly on occasion at dinner stating that he began to smoke marijuana. I was shocked at first when hearing this news. I would have never imagined a close family friend smoking pot until the day when I realized I was not to imagine it.

Months later, receiving news over time from my parent, it became known that this friend of ours began to engage with other illegal drugs such as methamphetamine, LSD, etc. and later passed away due to the effects of these drugs.

Although, many may say it us up to the user on how they handle such drugs, marijuana is a gateway drug in some cases such as in the story above. Marijuana if legalized will give the notion that it is okay, and over time with this notion in the minds of individuals in society it can lead to a sort of craving for something better, something ultimately more dangerous.

The reality of this happening drastically across the country may be slim, however, the possibility itself should be a good enough reason to restrict and stop the legalization from happening.

In all honesty, I do believe in the benefits of it as a medical use, however, the thought of free consumption is my worry. The negative reality of it is just embedded into my mind after the passing of our good friend, resulting in my opinion. And possibly I might be fine with an agreement between these two outlines that could be set on the national table.

My name is Valerie Reyna, I grew up in Dallas; more specifically in the Pleasant Grove area. The neighborhood that I grew up in, it was not strange to see gang members hanging out on the corner of my street and it really wasn’t strange to see people abusing the substance that is marijuana.

In my home we grew up with the mentality that “drugs are bad” “If you do drugs, you’ll end up just like them, and do you want that? NO!”  I was always the type of person that I would do what I wanted to do, I wasn’t easily peer pressured, and frankly I didn’t really care what everybody else did “to be cool”.  I mention this because, even though I was surrounded by all of this usage of marijuana, I never let it affect me and I never let it alter my parents’ words, because frankly, I did not want to end up “like them”.

Growing up I never really heard of medical marijuana, all I knew, was that it was a drug.  As I became older I became aware of all the different ways it could be taken and all the different reasons why it is taken.  I have heard and read from both sides on why it should be legalized and why it shouldn’t.  Frankly, using weed is no more dangerous or harmful to the body then alcohol is.  Marijuana has actually been shown to improve certain pains and aches while, alcohol is used for really nothing.

Amy Nordrum from The International Business Times  states, “In some ways, such an arrangement makes a lot of sense — liquor control agencies have decades of experience maintaining tightfisted control over a liquid drug that causes far more deaths per year than marijuana. Many of the public health goals for both marijuana and alcohol are the same — limit the amount that drivers have in their systems, for example, and keep it out of reach of minors. And, of course, the revenue that states stand to collect from hefty taxes on these products is substantial.”

Many people that do use medical marijuana have shown improvement in pains and aches, as stated before, I say if it helps you, go for it!  However, there is a thin line between using it as a pain killer and abusing the substance.  The only way to control those who cannot control themselves is to keep it illegal.  The only way that somebody could use it legally is by a prescription from a doctor.  My intake on this particular issue as one can see is not very passionate.  If it is legalized or if it isn’t it won’t really affect me personally. This particular issue I see it as, do what you want, if you decide to use it illegally you’ll do jail time.  If you truly need it for medical purposes then you’ll go through the right steps to get it prescribed by doctor.

Hola! My name is Itzayana Ramos and I am from Edinburg, TX.  Honestly, I have no experience with the use of marijuana and I’m not really heartfelt about the legalization of it. Though recently I was informed that my older sister tried it during her freshman year in college (She’s an aggie…..ewww). At first when I  learned about this I was in shock and thought she had just done it to be cool, ya know? But then I started to think. Yes, she is my sister. I care for her well-being and all but I am not responsible for the choices she makes in life because it is not mine. People are not forced to do marijuana, they choose to do it.

Literally the exact words I would hear in school, at home, on TV and pretty much anywhere I would be reminded about the dangers of drugs and marijuana. My mind was set on not smoking marijuana because it would ruin my life. I even remember in middle school when I took a health class and they showed us the consequences we would have to face if we chose the wrong path of marijuana.

That’s what we are taught, the rights and the wrongs in life. What if some people were born in a situation where marijuana was used daily in their presence? Wouldn’t they be used to that environment and believe marijuana isn’t all that bad as the outside world says? Or would they feel like they have to do marijuana because of this? No, this is not an excuse because you have a choice just like everyone else. So if you decide to do it then it was your choice and no one else’s.

Talks regarding the decriminalization of marijuana have been around for many years but recently the question has arisen again: Should marijuana be legalized? The reality of this question is that it will remain a disputable question. Everyone has their own beliefs the legalization of marijuana. According to Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States of America, “…smoking even one marijuana cigarette is equal in brain damage to being on Bikini Island during an H-bomb blast.” Basically, Reagan is warning that marijuana can kill you. On the other hand,  Bill Hicks, an American comedian and social critic says otherwise “They lie about marijuana. Tell you pot-smoking makes you unmotivated. Lie! when you’re high, you can do everything you normally do just as well…” So it all really depends on each individuals perspective of what is the right option for them. You choose your choice.

My name is Telana Weeden. People have asked me where I’m from at least ten times in the past four days and I always reply, “Dallas,” in the driest tone possible. However, I don’t consider myself “from” Dallas. Dallas has only been my place of residence for the past three years and where I attended high school. I was actually born and raised on the south side of the beautiful city of Chicago, Illinois. I grew up on the Southside where marijuana—or “weed”, as Chicagoans like to call it–was definitely not hard to come by. I grew up around it. Everyone knew where–and how–to get it. You would think it was legal based on how easily accessible it was.

If we’re being honest here, I have smoked before. I was peer pressured and had the idea that smoking weed would make me “cool”. I had the mentality that if everyone around me was doing, then I should be doing it as well. My friends were doing it and my cousins were selling it. It was a normal recreational activity.

Over some time, my viewpoint on the legalization of marijuana has changed from opposition to agreement. While I have seen what it can do to those who smoke it religiously and I’ve chosen not to smoke, it has been a great advocate to those who have health issues and experience pain. If it can be helpful to someone, then I am all for it. I feel as though if there is something out there that can help people it should be taken full advantage of.

There are those that say smoking weed is dangerous and it’s a bad thing to do…blah, blah, blah. These are the people who are unfamiliar with it and always assume the worst because of what is put into the media, but isn’t alcohol just as bad when abused as well? It’s more toxic, more addicting, and more harmful to the body. People have died from alcohol. Nobody dies from marijuana. As the prominent actress Jennifer Aniston puts it, “I enjoy smoking cannabis and see no harm in it.” If Rachel Green can smoke pot without being classified as the stereotypical marijuana user, it can be assumed that marijuana can’t be that bad.

Now whether or not marijuana is legalized will not stop the use of it because ultimately people are going to do what they want to do. It has been that way for decades now. Now if you ask me I think Mary Jane is here for the long run. It’s been here and I’m certain it will stay.