Question: Should Cannabis Be Available as a Medicinal Alternative?

The legalization of marijuana is a complex issue. It's inevitable that it will be regulated and heavily taxed, making it as accessible to college students as alcohol. In fact, it's not uncommon to find marijuana readily available near college campuses or even in small towns. For instance, in my small hometown of 400 people, there are roughly 10 marijuana dealers. While I agree that smoking marijuana can have adverse health effects, similar to any substance inhaled that isn't oxygen, its medicinal benefits often outweigh the risks. Personally, I use marijuana to alleviate chronic knee pain and to help me sleep due to my insomnia. I appreciate your support for medical marijuana, but I'm disappointed that you don't extend that support to its recreational use.

I'm for Marijuana Legalization so I will take the side of Pro, I think Marijuana being a drug is a terrible excuse, Caffeine is a drug, so is Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Alcohol, and Aspirin. In addition, "Well it might help if you have cancer. But only for a little." is incorrect grammar, because these aren't 2 sentences.

Contention 1: Healthcare I have stated at the begining of the debate and as it states in the resolution that they should be used for recreationial use, not medicinial. Major difference and thus the argument is null and void. Contention 2: Drugs and violence. Here is a murder rate in the US History from the begining of last century to present. The murder doesn't start to drop off until the late 1930's were WW II is starting to pick up steam and FDR's New Deal Policy is getting Americans back to work. (. http://thepublicintellectual.org...) We can see that the crime rate drop that we've seen isn't due to the Prohibition, but it is due to unemployment. (. http://lindsaymitchell.blogspot.com...) So with that my argument stands as my opponent has no link to the impact for the debate and thus my argument stands. Contention 3: Economy Actually, if my opponent wants to get specific the United States has an unemployment rate of 5.9%. (. http://data.bls.gov...) Compared to Pro's numbers we can see that the US has less unemployment and thus my argument stands. Contention 4: Human Nature My opponent's own link states that support for anarchy was at it's highest in Spain. Anarchy never occured and any support for it was crushed in the Spanish Civil War. Contention 5: Addiction Though it may be concidered impossible I have sourced that there are deaths from it and massive hospitalizations in my last round. On my opponent's survey we can see that it is just a mear survey of randon people as my opponent could have targetted a select number of people and, because of this the survey is invalid. I also extend across last rounds massive hospitalizations numbers and economic harm. Contention 6: Strange Drugs. My opponent dropped this argument so I extend it across.

Before I begin my points, I would like to rebutt the points that you have laid out. Rebuttal There are no valid scientific studies that show alternative medicine has more effect than a placebo. This is not necessarily true as there are cases in which alternative medicine does work even though conventional medicine does not. An example of this is when Sally* had a skin condition that caused her skin to become pale. When she spoke to conventional doctors, they told her that it was incurable and would just spread all over her body, providing her with only foundation. However she then went to a ayurvedic doctor that used alternative medicines, who gave her a treatment that did reduce the amount of infection to only a small amount just under her chin. Although it did take some time, it did cure it and if she had listened to the advice of a conventional doctor her life would be a lot different than it is now. *This name was changed for privacy reasons. Negative Points: Conventional medicine, like all drugs, has side effects. If you overdose (take too much), you"ll die. This is especially true for paracetamol like panadol, that people often take. Even cold medicine that most people think is completely safe has side effects that can sometimes make people drowsy and tired, and sometimes increase their heart rate and cause them to be restless and anxious. This is only listing a few of the side effects that it has. When in surgery, surgeons use general anaesthetics to make the patient unconscious. If they use too much, the patient wont wake up, if they use too little the patient will wake up and feel the pain. It is a fact that conventional medicine, though tested in laboratories and approved by the AMA and FDA, still has many side effects that seem to sometimes harm patients more than it helps them. As a result of side effects, you begin to take more medicines to heal those side effects that the original medicine caused and so you're just continuing to harm your body even more. This shows that conventional medicine is risky and has side effects whether it is simple cold medicine or medicine for more serious injuries. Alternative medicine has helped many people by giving them an alternative to conventional medicine"s negative side effects and less natural beginnings. Alternative medicine also helps heal patients on a higher level than conventional medicine. Unlike conventional medicine, which generally only focuses on curing the immediate illness, alternative medicine works on both the cause and effect of the illness and uses herbs from nature, hands on techniques and even mental techniques like meditation to help the patient get better. Alternative medicine allows the patient to be involved in their own recovery by telling them to do, like exercise and therapy. This makes them think that they are helping themselves get better and so they have better morale, which contributes to their recovery. Instead of simply taking a pill as in conventional medicine patients take part in their own recovery and gain mental, physical, spiritual and emotional benefits. Conclusion Alternative medicine should be used more in today"s society which is mostly governed by the western culture, because it covers many of the faults that conventional medicine has. That concludes my case.

My bad I read the post wrong. I believe medical marijuana is a legitamate way of treating a sickness (within reason of corse. ) But marijuana that anyone can receive would catastrophic in that anyone could receive marijuana even younger children. Meaning that if my theoretical son Timmy wanted some pot to smoke with the cool kids and I happened to be in possession of it he could easily get it. Of course fast too he might be able to receive some from other children. And the transfer of marijuana would be legal too, as the government would have no way of determining who can receive marijuana whether the person is responsible or not. Also I never said alcohol nor cigerets should be aloud. In all reality they should be illegal as well but that's a debate for later

Thanks for letting me fulfill my position.Here is my stance in this debate."1) It's extremely addictive for some people: If you don't want to take my word for it, listen to Dr. Drew Pinsky who has been working with addicts for decades. It would be malpractice to say that cannabis isn't addictive. Anybody who's experienced it, actually been addicted to it, knows how profound that addiction is.... The difficult thing about marijuana addiction is some people, even though they're addicted can do fine with it for many many years before they start to have difficultly, but eventually the high starts wearing off, people start smoking a lot more to try to get that high back and that's when they descend into difficulties. ...I've been treating cannabis addiction for 20 years. When people are addicted to cannabis, cocaine and alcohol the drug they have the most difficult time giving up is the cannabis. It is extremely addictive...for some people. I think that's where people get confused. It's not very addictive for many people. It's a small subset of people with a genetic potential for addiction. But for them it is really tough. You only need talk to them, they'll tell you how tough it is. Additionally, that "small subset" Dr. Drew is talking about isn't so small in a big country like America. "Of the 7.3 million persons aged 12 or older classified with illicit drug dependence or abuse in 2012, 4.3 million persons had marijuana dependence or abuse." It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the more legal and available marijuana becomes, the higher those numbers are going to go. 2) This experiment hasn't worked out so well for Amsterdam: Humans being what they are, just about any stupid idea we can come up with has already been tried somewhere else. Amsterdam is the most famous place across the world that has effectively legalized pot. It has even turned into a tourist destination for potheads. Legalizing weed has been a huge success there, right? Actually, not so much... Its citizens are now alarmed that their children are increasingly being exposed to it. Amsterdam today became the first city in the Netherlands to ban students from smoking marijuana at school. The city's mayor Eberhard van der Laan introduced the law after school chiefs complained about pupils turning up to classes high after rolling up outside the grounds. Marijuana is widely available in Holland as, although it is technically illegal, police can't prosecute people for possession of small amounts. But it has also had the unwanted side effect that Dutch children are frequently exposed to the drug in public areas. Additionally, contrary to the claims that legalizing it will reduce crime, in Amsterdam it’s been found that crime is now centering around the coffeehouses where marijuana is sold. …Certainly the outlook for coffee shops is bleak. Among the few policies that the three parties in the new coalition government agree on is the need to reduce their numbers. The governing agreement released last week laid out plans that will force them to become members-only clubs and shut down those shops located near schools. The coalition is also advancing the idea of prohibiting the sale of cannabis to non-Dutch residents, which amounts to a death knell for many coffee shops. ...The circumstances that led to the tolerance policies have changed in the past decade, as large-scale crime around coffee shops and the legal sex trade became more visible. In particular, the absence of legal means for coffee shops to obtain cannabis has highlighted their association with organized crime. But the open-minded instincts that helped foster the policies are also being questioned. And it is not just the far-right opposing coffee shops. The traditional parties of power on the center-right, the Christian Democrats and the Liberal VVD, have also moved against the policies they once promoted. That doesn't exactly sound like a success story, does it? 3) Marijuana is terrible for your mental health: Marijuana may even be WORSE than cigarettes. At least cigarettes don't peel points off of your IQ. A recent Northwestern University study found that marijuana users have abnormal brain structure and poor memory and that chronic marijuana abuse may lead to brain changes resembling schizophrenia. The study also reported that the younger the person starts using marijuana, the worse the effects become. In its own report arguing against marijuana legalization, the American Medical Association said: "Heavy cannabis use in adolescence causes persistent impairments in neurocognitive performance and IQ, and use is associated with increased rates of anxiety, mood and psychotic thought disorders." So, there's a good reason most habitual marijuana users come off as stupid. The drug is making them stupider, even when they're not high. You really want your kids on that? 4) Marijuana is terrible for your physical health: How bad is marijuana for you? It's even more toxic than cigarette smoke. Regular users are hit with devastating lung problems as much as 20 years earlier than smokers. Even small amounts of marijuana can cause temporary sterility and it has a terrible impact on the babies of women who smoke including "birth defects, mental abnormalities and increased risk of leukemia in children." If your standard is, "Well, it's better for you than Meth or Crack," that's true, but you're deluding yourself if you think pot is anything other than absolutely horrible for your health. 5) The drug decimates many people's lives: Movies portray potheads as harmless, fun-loving people who spend their time giggling and munching Cheetos, but they don't show these people when they're flunking out of school, losing their jobs, frustrated because they can't concentrate or losing the love of their lives because they just don't want to be with a pot smoking loser anymore. Even in the limited number of studies that are out there, the numbers are stark. A study of 129 college students found that, among those who smoked the drug at least twenty-seven of the thirty days before being surveyed, critical skills related to attention, memory and learning were seriously diminished. A study of postal workers found that employees who tested positive for marijuana had 55% more accidents, 85% more injuries and a 75% increase in being absent from work. In Australia, a study found that cannabis intoxication was responsible for 4.3% of driver fatalities. ...Students who use marijuana have lower grades and are less likely to get into college than nonsmokers. They simply do not have the same abilities to remember and organize information compared to those who do not use these substances. It's bad enough that we already lose so many Americans to cigarettes, alcoholism, and drunken driving. Do we really want to endorse the loss of millions more potentially productive Americans via Marijuana? Do we move on from there to Crack, Heroin or Meth? Some people would say, “If they want to do it, great, then it's no business of ours.” But, you can also bet that those same people will be complaining about all the junkies and welfare cases that will be created by the policy they endorsed. So, ask yourself a few key questions. Is legalizing Marijuana going to make this a better country or a worse one? Would you want to live in a neighborhood filled with people who regularly smoke marijuana? Would you want your kids regularly smoking pot? Now is the time to think about it because although it's easy to thoughtlessly legalize a drug like marijuana, when things go predictably wrong down the road, it will be a lot harder to put the genie back in the bottle than people seem to think." [1]Sources:[1] https://calmusa.org...;[2] http://www.celebstoner.com...;(Just to cite a couple of the many examples that this article cited).

I know that this topic is very well discussed throughout the United States, so i thought i would let my opinion be out there. I believe that Marijuana should be legalized because it would help put a fire into our economy. Think about it, really honestly, this economy would have an amazing bounce back if we legalized it, and put a tax on it. Think about how many people smoke Weed. If we taxed weed, and sold it in per-say Weed store, in similarity to a liquor store, more people would go and buy it legally instead of risking going to jail. The construction industry would boom back, because we would need people to make the Weed stores. The housing industry would come back maybe not as strong, but there would be plenty of investors, investing in Marijuana. The crime rate would seemingly go down, because we wouldn't be throwing people who didn't commit a "real" crime into jail, and we could focus more on the people who are actually hurting this world. More jobs would come into effect due to the legalization of marijuana, think of how many brand new stores, and businesses would open if it was legal, jobs would be abundant everywhere in the United States. Another strong point, Marijuana has so many things in it that scientists have yet to study, and it has been proven that there are chemicals in Marijuana that can help prevent certain sickness's. "Data in Dr. Tashkin's study suggest that people who smoke marijuana are less likely to develop lung cancer than people who do not smoke anything at all. Since marijuana smoke contains the same cancer-causing agents as tobacco and the only difference between the nonsmokers and the marijuana smokers was their use of cannabis, then it is not an unreasonable hypothesis that marijuana can prevent the development of cancer."(Swerdlow). If Marijuana was legalized we could study the chemicals in Marijuana in more depth and maybe find cures for such "UN-curable" diseases. Swerdlow, Lanny. "MARIJUANA CAN PREVENT CANCER, NOT CAUSE IT ." (2010): n. pag. Web. 26 Oct 2010. <http://cannazine.co.uk...;.

Weed at this point is being used a lot. All attempts by the government to stop people smoking weed has only made things worse. We should legalise it so we can regulate it, this way crime families don't make money off of it and the government can make sure it's safe to use.

Are you kidding me?I am four seconds away from wreaking havoc in my undies!Are you mentally retarded? Because I think perhaps your mother may have dropped you on your pathetic robot head as a child.Of course, that would imply that you're not still a child!You completely steered away from what my original contention was! Are you even aware of what debating really is? You stated that if weed was dangerous, why would it be a medicine? I provided a counterexample saying that Marijuana being a medicine does not prove it is healthy. Don't be so ignorant!And that wasn't even my argument! I was simply claiming that to be so up-the-weiner ignorant that you would support weed, you'd either have to smoke weed or be a Christian and I think both!The fact that you believe that literal brainwashing is real is sickening. I was talking about brainsoap through the media! That's how they're using brainwashing to legalize Marijuana! Can you even argue?!Don't you dare insult your elder! That's very poor conduct, you tittylicker!Did I ever say that everyone was going to smoke weed? Why don't you read my argument, you immature punk. "I'm still bamboozled."I accept your resignation then.You see? The Weed Agenda is making you perceive me as a troll now! Yet you are ignorant enough to believe this ridiculous Christian Plutocracy is not taking place! You remind me of Powder from the movie, Powder. You think you're so smart. Smarter then everyone in the universe. But one day you realize that you are no more than some albino! You just wait, and like Powder, you'll disappear in a cloud of lightning and never be seen again. Worthless immatue punk. Obviously brainwashed by confirmation bias and the weed agenda. You'll be hearing more from me, young man.

Thank you for accepting this debate :D I will define alternative medicine as: "Any of a range of medical therapies that are not regarded as orthodox by the medical profession, such as herbalism, homeopathy, and acupuncture," and will allow my opponent to state their point first

Marijuana has health benefits and is illegal. If you read the warning labels on alcohol or cigarettes, you definitely won't be finding any health benefits. And of course alcohol and cigarettes are both very much legal. Of course you might behave ignorantly, but nobody is the most intelligent while under the influence of alcohol either. Marijuana is a plant, that grows in the ground... and to say that we can't have this plant is ridiculous. I'm not saying I choose to do this. But I'm saying that I'm tired of seeing family and friends being taken away, for possession of a plant.


Question: Should Cannabis Be Available as a Medical Treatment?

Marijuana should be a medical option
Thank you for the opportunity to present my case. I will address my opponent's arguments and provide evidence to support the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes. Legalization of a substance My opponent argues that legalizing marijuana will lead to increased usage and harm. However, the evidence shows that legalizing marijuana does not necessarily lead to increased usage. In fact, studies have shown that states with medical marijuana laws have lower rates of teenage marijuana use than states without such laws [1]. Furthermore, the argument that legalizing marijuana will result in higher usage is not a valid reason to deny patients access to a potentially life-saving medication. Medicine My opponent states that marijuana is harmful and has no medical benefits. However, the evidence shows that marijuana has a number of medical benefits, including pain relief, nausea reduction, and appetite stimulation [2]. In fact, the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, and the American Nurses Association have all called for further research into the medical benefits of marijuana [3]. Furthermore, marijuana has a much lower risk of addiction and overdose than many prescription drugs [4]. Individual harms My opponent argues that marijuana use leads to a number of negative health outcomes, including lung cancer, heart disease, and mental health problems. However, the evidence shows that marijuana use is not associated with an increased risk of lung cancer [5]. Furthermore, while marijuana use may be associated with an increased risk of heart disease and mental health problems, the evidence is not conclusive and more research is needed [6]. In fact, some studies have shown that marijuana use may have protective effects against certain types of cancer [7]. Addictive My opponent argues that marijuana is addictive and harmful. However, the evidence shows that marijuana is much less addictive than many other drugs, including alcohol and tobacco [8]. Furthermore, while marijuana use may lead to dependence in some individuals, the withdrawal symptoms are generally mild and do not pose a significant health risk [9]. Conclusion In conclusion, the evidence shows that marijuana has a number of medical benefits and is not as harmful as many other drugs. Furthermore, denying patients access to a potentially life-saving medication is not a valid reason to maintain the current prohibition on marijuana. I urge my opponent to reconsider his position and support the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes. References: [1] "Medical Marijuana and Teen Use: What the Data Say." NORML, 2021, norml.org/issues/medical-marijuana-and-teen-use-what-the-data-say. [2]

I will just go over some quick points. I would like to talk about the stigma around smoking. Many people agree that smoking is bad for human lungs, and that is used to make arguments against legalising weed. Those arguments should fall flat on the grounds that smoking is one of many forms of to benefit from weed's effects. Some alternative methods include edibles and pills. With more methods are being studied the smoking is bad argument becomes less important. There is also a common argument about it being addictive. Caffeine is vary addictive, and many people have more of it than they should in a day. There is caffeine in a lot of drinks, but there are not many people fighting to ban coffee. http://www.fda.gov...

Weed can help A LOT with getting off debt from other countries; Weed is very useful with helping people who may always be in pain and relaxe those from doing thins stupid; and can just have a good laugh with your peers. For gods sake weed is just a PLANT ! And there is nothing wrong with doing it with your family or friends as long as u can really trust them; enough to not lace it with something more dangerous. LEGALIZE MARY-J !!!!!!!!!! :D

My opponent has not addressed several salient points I made in the former round, in conclusion though the health problems associated with cannabis are debatable, and though there would be certain social benefits as a result of legalisation (e. g. weakening of organised crime, gang violence) my opponent has failed to explain how society would overall benefit from easy access to hard substances such as heroin. This clearly is not a drug that could be licensed and regulated, even countries with liberal drug policies would not indulge this. Thus I strongly urge a Con vote.

I will begin my rebuttals now. Rebuttals"I believe my opponent is aware that marijuana is a drug not commonly connected with overdoses. "I am aware. "I do not believe he has ever heard of an overdose of medical marijuana or addiction to it because neither have I or most people on this Earth. "That is right, I have not. My opponent then gave a long quote about how the FDA approves medical marijuana but not recreational marijuana. It is true that they do this, however it does not mean medical marijuana is safe. It simply means medical marijuana is the only known method of treating the certain disease or disorder. "One can easily be addicted to pills, tablets, serums, and other forms of medications, but medical marijuana is rarely a substance that is addicted to. I do not deny that marijuana, when used in a large amount, is damaging, but you are aware that medical marijuana overdoses and addictions are virtually unheard of, yes? "I am aware, yes, however, as I stated in my previous argument, I said nil about addictions. I have been talking about the dangerous side effects of medical marijuana. My opponent seems to be aware of these side effects when he said "I do not deny that marijuana, when used in a large amount, is damaging. ""Marijuana, when abused and overused, will be termination instead of salvation. "I concur. "I argue, however, that medical marijuana can be salvation for victims of epilepsy and other such conditions when used properly. "Is my opponent aware that it doesn't always work and that it had more unfortunate side effects than relief? "However, marijuana can be bred to have a low percentage of chemicals that cause you to be high and a high percentage of chemicals that affect the desired parts of the body in question. Marijuana has two main components: THC and CBD. "I am aware of this, however it is still not the point I am getting at. I am not talking about the dangers of recreational marijuana, I am speaking of the undeniable side effects of medical marijuana, even when bred a certain way. "He quoted webmd. com, which said "cannabinoids in marijuana can weaken the immune system. " The key word here is 'can'. It does not necessarily mean it will. "Indeed, however the percentage makes it more of a 'will' than a 'can'. "Next, the source says, "long-term use of marijuana can make lung problems worse. " Again, there is a key word that must be acknowledged: 'long-term'. Not all patients will take medical cannabis for the long-term. "Not all will take it long-term, but most will. Things like epilepsy take a long time to cure. "Also, my opponent has chosen to ignore the fact that marijuana does not need to be smoked. "I have not denied this, but have expressed and accepted it clearly. "He also states potential side effects medical marijuana may cause. They are, according to his source, "[d]rowsiness, dry mouth, giddiness, hunger, insomnia, red eyes, respiratory issues, short-term memory loss, and uneasiness or anxiety. " These side effects, when you truly think about it, are minor. "Minor? Since when are respiratory issues, hunger, and giddiness minor problems? My opponent quoted my statement: "As you can see, it can be used to help people, but . .. is different depending on the person. " He then said this: "This statement and, really, my opponent's entire argument is not sufficient. I urge the viewers and judges to carefully consider this. "How is my statement not sufficient? I am clearly stating the undeniable dangers of medical marijuana use. "My opponent makes arguments that are proven false by mine. I would like to point out an aspect of this debate he ignored fully. I said and sourced, "[m]arijuana has two main components: THC and CBD. CBD (cannabidiol) will reduce brain activity and will lower the occurances of seizures. THC is what causes one to be high. Breeding marijuana to have low THC and high CBD will be effective. This, along with other genetic modifications, will make marijuana a safe treatment. " My opponent fully ignored this statement. "Um. .. Why would I not 'ignore this statemtent' when it was not yet time for rebuttals? I was simply following my opponent's rules. I have already refuted this anyway, so there is no reason to do it again. "There is another aspect my opponent has chosen to ignore. I made the following statement: "One can easily be addicted to pills, tablets, serums. .. "Again, it was not time for rebuttals. "This means that traditional medicine may not be the best choice. This means that marijuana is a very, very safe alternative drug to treat certain conditions and diseases. This has been fully ignored by my opponent. I want him to address this in his refutations. "I did not ignore it, I simply did not wish to break the rules. Secondly, the only reason we do not use the traditional medicine is because we have not discovered it. Instead, we are using a dangerous alternative. We should focus out research on finding safer alternatives. "My opponent, again, ignored key aspects of my argument. For certain conditions, there are no successful treatments yet. Now, I adore science and I know a lot about it, so I do know that safer treatments will be found in the future. However, for now, marijuana is the safest alternative to addictive pills and tablets. "Yes, it is the safest, but not safe. It has serious problems. ConclusionIn conclusion, I have refuted all of my opponent's arguments and have proven them incorrect. I patently await my opponent's final rebuttals.

.. To begin with, I am going to evaluate his sources. My opponent sites sources such as: www. drugabuse. gov www. abovetheinfluence. com www. teengrowth. com sites that OBVIOUSLY have a bias. this debate is about a subject which the government STRONGLY opposes, and so there really isn't a way that we can credibly site the government, and expect them to be completely honest. Yes, I did use government sources, but they just provide solid facts about yearly fatalities from legal substances, not substances that they stand solidly against. If we were debating the intelegence of African Americans when compared to caucasians, for example, we wouldn't trust a white supremacy site, now would we? In the same way, we cannot trust websites like www. abovetheinfluence. com, because that would be TOTALLY ridiculous! In the same sense, you cannot quote an organisation about something that they were designed to take a stance against! Now that that has been said, allow me to take apart this semi-truthful warped view of the so called "facts". "Prohibition of Marijuana does control consumption of it because it severely limits ACCESS to it. People who are addicted to Marijuana will go to extreme costs and pay even more to have access to the drug, but legalizing it would mean everyone would have constant access to it and then millions of more pe0ple would increase the number of those addicted to the drug and the side effects it causes. .. .. " To begin, I do not see any proof that marijuana is addictive, at all! I have personally, (along with the majority of the people I know) have used marijuana for YEARS, and I have had to quit for a while (either for court, or a job interview, etc. ) and have NEVER experienced physical withdrawal that an addict would feel. Yes, if you use marijuana every day like I have before, and then abruptly stopped, then you will see some differences, but that happens with everything, including soda. Does that stand to reason that we can become addicted to soda, and therefore will stop at NOTHING to get it? no, because that is ridiculous. Also, if a substance is that harmful to your body, and it is something that people wouldn't do normally, what makes you think that legalizing that substance would cause more people to do it? If heroine were to become legal tomorrow, I still would not use it. I do not need the government to save me from myself, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. as far as it limiting access, that is a complete lie. Marijuana is generally in the top 10, if not the number one cash crop in pretty much every state in the union. This excerpt was taken from abcnews. com: "Contrasting government figures for traditional crops -- like corn and wheat -- against the study's projections for marijuana production, the report cites marijuana as the top cash crop in 12 states and among the top three cash crops in 30. " The study estimates that marijuana production, at a value of $35.8 billion, exceeds the combined value of corn ($23.3 billion) and wheat ($7.5 billion). Now, how in any way is that limited? "1 in 6 teenage marijuana users become addicted" This is actually based on teenagers who are in rehab for marijuana. Now, the reason those teens are in rehab is because they are given two options by most judges: Do a CRAZY amount of time in jail, where you have no freedoms, or go to rehab, where you can usually still get to live at home, and still have a lot of the freedoms you wouldn't if you were in prison. Now, what would that teen choose? "Marijuana deteriorates memory, attention, and learning skills" cite one study that proves this. "People who have used the drug feel less physically and mentally healthy" actually, speaking from personal opinion, it actually helps me become more creative, and do things like write stories, ( or debate. :D ) and I have not had any negative effects that I can name. Things like poor diet can also make you feel this way, but we shouldn't go around trying to make Cheetos illegal, now should we? "As of 2012 guess how many deaths in the US involved Marijuana" now, if you will, please tell me where you got these statistics for a year that hasn't even happened yet? Until you can, then please do not cite whatever study THAT was. now, I think that I have refuted my opponents arguments adequately. thank you for your time!

There are many arguments for both sides, let's hope we have an interesting and engaging debate. I'll begin with a bit of topic analysis: The resolution is as follows "All drugs should be legalized. " This means we're not only debating the legalization of Marijuana or Shrooms, but also the legalization of hard drugs that cause real psychological, physiological, and neurological damage, like Heroin and Crack Cocaine. Let's go through his arguments, point by point. "1. They can be taxed, more income that people would be happy to pay. " What makes you think that there wouldn't be a black market for drugs, even if they were legalized? There is a very lucrative black market for guns, it wouldn't be any different for drugs. Furthermore, what you're in essence saying is that it is good for the government to make money off of depraved and deranged addicts who will do anything for another fix. "2. Many of them are harmless in the short term. " Sure, but we're debating ALL drugs, not SOME drugs or MANY drugs. Heroin is devastating from the first time it is injected or inhaled, same goes for Cocaine, Crack, and LSD. Furthermore, if the drugs are laced with other substances we can't even guarantee that an inhalation of a relatively harmless drug like Marijuana will be "harmless. " "3. We've wasted more money on the war on drugs than we would have simply TREATING addicts and ignoring casual users. " I agree with you, but this is not an argument for legalization. It is an argument that advocates for a new approach to drug crime legislation, an approach that would focus on rehabilation over retribution. "4. Most of these drugs are only psychologically addictive (Weed, Shrooms, etc) and are no more dangerous than chocolate. " Psychological addictions can be just as devastating as physical ones, first of all, and patterns of abuse can occur very easily. Secondly, while "most" might only be psychologically addictive, many others are physically addictive, and these ones are the worst ones. In a debate over the legalization of all drugs, there is no way that this is an argument for Pro. "5. There is actually little conclusive evidence supporting many of the claims made by anti-drug persons. My own father claimed marijuana causes testicular cancer (when most research has actually shown is cures cancer, or prevents it)" What? Do you have any evidence that the claims made by anti-drug advocates are false? Do you have any evidence that shows that "most research has actually shown that [marijuana] cures cancer, or prevents it"? This is a ludicrous argument, baseless at best. "6. By taking the illegality away we would destroy the underground drug markets, all of the drug related deaths around the world would CEASE to exist because drug cartels no longer have power since clean industrial production would be created. " This is false, as I demonstrated earlier when I cited the black market centered around arms smuggling. Even if drugs were legalized there would still be an underground market for them, perhaps for cheaper prices or for a way to get around government restriction. In fact, if we gave more power to "clean industrial production" you can guarantee the drugs might get even more dangerous, packed with nicotine like cigarettes are. Marijuana would become physically addictive! As can be seen, each argument my opponent gives can be neatly rebutted with an obvious and clear counter-argument. My opponent goes on to say that since we can do things like buy cigarettes and vote at 18, we should be able to get addicted to heroin and ruin our lives at 18, too. Obviously his position endorses irresponsibility and societal unrest. For these reasons I urge a Con vote.

My Argument On Healthcare is Void?If drugs are legalised for recreational use they would also be available for medical experiments (in the same way alcohol is) therefore my argument stands.Drugs and ViolenceWhen Alcohol was legalised in the US violence went down [1]. In fact a large bump in the murder rate can be linked to the prohibition of alcohol in the US. During this time gangs took over the alcohol trade and this increased violence. When alcohol became illegal violence went up and when alcohol became legal violence dropped.This same parallel works for drugs. When drugs are illegal crime goes up because the drug market is taken over by violent criminal gangs.EconomyWhat if we compare the unemployment rate of the US as a whole with the Netherlands? Remembering that the Netherlands has far more Libertarian drug laws than united states. The Netherlands has an unemployment rate of 6.6%, its neighboring country Belgium which has much more authoritarian drug laws has an unemployment rate of 8.5% [2].Human NatureI showed that there were working anarchist communities in the north of Spain before and during the Spanish civil war [3].AddictionIt is considered impossible to overdose on marijuana [4] I can find no record of anyone who has died of marijuana.(Marijuana is illegal in Scotland) I took a survey of 20 people under the age of 16 living in Scotland and this is the result.65% Had been offered alcohol over the last six months.80% Had been offered class B drugs over the last six months.65% Had been offered class A drugs over the last six months.Furthermore remember that the total cost of alcohol in medical bills every year is £6 billion [4], vastly more than marijuana.[1] http://madeinamericathebook.files.wordpress.com...[2] https://www.google.co.uk...[3] http://en.wikipedia.org...[4] http://www.dailymail.co.uk...

While it may be true that marijuana is less dangerous than cigarettes and alcohol, that does not make marijuana the no-risk factor drug. That just makes the United State's legalization of cigarettes and alcohol illogical. While there is no recorded death from marijuana overdose, that does not mean there is not a risk. A user may not die from the plant itself, but they could die from what else is in the drug. Drug dealers line their weed with all sorts of other things to make it seem like the user is buying more weed, some of them that may be lethal to the user. Sometimes the dealer lines it with something like cat litter, or sometimes it is line with a drug like crack cocaine [1]. It is known that as many as 15,000 deaths were caused by cocaine use [3]. Also, many marijuana plant growers grow the drug using plant hormones and steroids to "push" the plant to produce the most potent marijuana possible [1]. The logical argument to this information is, of course, that the legalization of marijuana would stop drug growers from having to grow it this way because it would be regulated like tobacco cigarettes and alcohol. This is not true. Why would drug growers want to stop making more money out of their marijuana by adding cat litter and crack to the drug? Why would people want to stop buying more potent drugs? All legalization would do is make it so the growers and users would not have to do it in hiding. Legalization would not stop the dangerous ways of growing and selling marijuana, it would increase it. You claim that marijuana does not damage the brain. It does. According to [2], "Some studies show that when people have smoked large amounts of marijuana for years, the drug takes its toll on mental function...Marijuana affects memory, judgment and perception...If you use marijuana a lot, you could start to lose interest in how you look and how you"re getting along at school or work." The choice to use marijuana despite its affects is all on the user, but kids and teens are pressured into using it all the time. If marijuana was legalized, kids would think it was okay, and they would be smoking it like cigarettes and binging on it like alcohol. If an adult wants to mess up his life, then fine, but a kid would not really know what the consequences could be if he started smoking weed. The illigalization of the drug at least warns kids that they should not smoke weed. Legalizing the drug would throw concern for child drug abuse to the wind. You claim that marijuana use is not linked to cancer. It is. According to [1], "Marijuana contains known toxins and cancer-inducing chemicals, which are stored in fat cells for long periods of time." "Scientific research relates marijuana use to damaged brain cells and respiratory systems, decreased hormone production in both sexes, acute memory loss, lowered immune systems and impaired motor skills. THC and marijuana smoke have been directly linked to miscarriage, in-utero fetal death, stillbirth and infant death just after birth, along with behavioral and biological abnormalities of offspring," [1]. You say that alcohol is more addictive than marijuana. This may be true, but that does not make marijuana non-addictive. According to [1], "Long-term marijuana use can lead to addiction in some people. That is, they cannot control their urges to seek out and use marijuana, even though it negatively affects their family relationships, school performance, and recreational activities." Marijuana users can also develop tolerance, according to the same source. This means the user need larger and larger amounts of marijuana to get the same desired effects as they used to get from smaller amounts in the past. Marijuana can, in fact, be an addictive drug. People have been known to be violent or use violent measures if it means getting their weed. The drug war IS costing taxpayers billions of dollars just to have weed smokers imprisoned. Legalizing marijuana would not help that problem! Many drug users would still end up in jail, not merely just for smoking weed, but for what they do because they are high on the drug. Legalizing marijuana would not solve that problem. Yes, people do have their rights. I suppose people do have the right to smoke pot if they so desire, but people also have the right to be safe as well. Someone who is high on marijuana and in need of more could and would do a lot to get it, and that could involve injuring an innocent victim, or worse. Parents also want their kids safe from pressure to do drugs and from having the availability of a drug like marijuana in the first place. The legalization of it would get rid of what little barriers we have and make it so much easier for someone to get a hold of it, and everyone would, because there would be no consequences. 1.http://www.nytimes.com... 2.http://uodos.uoregon.edu... 3.http://www.egoastra.com...

Ok i see you point I was wrong about the medical use but studies have shown and you can search it up your self that the drug cause more wrecks and crimes just because jt gets people high.

Marijuana has health benefits and is illegal. If you read the warning labels on alcohol or cigarettes, you definitely won't be finding any health benefits. And of course alcohol and cigarettes are both very much legal. Of course you might behave ignorantly, but nobody is the most intelligent while under the influence of alcohol either. Marijuana is a plant, that grows in the ground... and to say that we can't have this plant is ridiculous. I'm not saying I choose to do this. But I'm saying that I'm tired of seeing family and friends being taken away, for possession of a plant.


Question: Should Cannabis Be Available as a Medicinal Option?

Marijuana should remain illegal and not be legalized for recreational use.

Counterarguments:
1. "Marijuana has fewer harmful effects than alcohol, cigarettes, and guns." This claim is inaccurate. Marijuana can harm the lungs as much as tobacco and has been linked to lung cancer and lung damage. Moreover, while alcohol and marijuana may have similar effects on the brain, they are not comparable in terms of their risks. Guns are not used to get "high," and comparing them to marijuana is irrelevant.
2. "Marijuana is not addictive." This statement is false. Approximately 9% of users who try marijuana for the first time become dependent on it, with the rate increasing to 17% among teenagers and 25-50% among daily users.
3. "Marijuana is not illegal to smoke." This is incorrect, as marijuana is illegal in many jurisdictions.
4. "Marijuana can benefit those facing mental illness." While medical marijuana may have some therapeutic benefits, this does not mean it should be legalized for recreational use.

Arguments:
1. Marijuana can have significant negative effects on mental health, including persistent impairments in neurocognitive performance, IQ, and increased rates of anxiety, mood, and psychotic thought disorders.
2. Marijuana can cause depression and withdrawal symptoms that can lead to suicidal thoughts.
3. Marijuana can have severe physical health consequences, affecting the nervous system, heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels, potentially leading to heart attacks and death. It can also irritate the lungs, causing bronchitis, coughing, and other respiratory issues.
4. Smoking marijuana during pregnancy can result in defective development of nerve cells in the fetal brain and affect the baby's cognitive functions and memory formation.

In conclusion, the legalization of marijuana should not be considered due to its potential negative effects on mental and physical health, as well as its impact on fetal development. The risks associated with marijuana use far outweigh any perceived benefits.

I don't really believe that marijuana is illegal for health reasons, or addiction! I don't believe that pot is any more dangerous than most products that are readily available! Without going into my argument against the Pharmaceutical companies or the alcohol and tobacco industries, I have to point out the amount of harmful substances that are mainstream and extremely addicting that cause serious health conditions! Sugar is the wolf in sheep's clothing while cannabis is the sheep in wolves clothing! Preservatives are in almost everything and even meat has been known to increase tumor growth! The cotton industry along with the tobacco industry forced out marijuana (competition) with propaganda and dogma surrounding the plant to stir up a malicious campaign against Hemp and Marijuana! If you watch refer madness now its good for a laugh, but back then it manipulated people with racist and ignorant messages! Apparently they were stupid enough to believe it and now we have the biggest contradiction in the history of America, and a prohibition that simply cost the tax payers money with very negative results!

Why should marijuana be illegal? It isn't a nasty concoction of a drug; like meth. It is a plant that grows in the ground and does no harm to anybody. So many people do it anyway, so why not just legalize it and stop people from being taken away from their families and friends. Opinions please!

"I hope you aren't implying that weed is the reason that they are in such a situation"No I'm not. I'm straight up saying it has something to do with it. Not the direct cause, but I'd have to have my head up my own @$$ to say it had nothing to do with it. "All you did was name two things that are within a similar category."Yeah, because it's something called experimentation. However, I don't actually think the gateway theory exists. i was just stalling the argument because I was prepping a big gun. An undeniable argument why weed should not become legal.Right now, weed is popular. It's cool. And the best part, I do agree with you that it's about as addictive as other non-harmful things, such as video games. And like I just said, It's not that harmful. But one of the main reasons people want to smoke weed (besides the fact that it's a psychadelic and people love that s***) it's illegal. It's cool in society to be a troublemaker, so weed is an easy way to break the law a little bit without putting your life at risk. So imagine this if you will - weed stops being illegal. People might still smoke it recreationally, but it would mostly be used medically. Nobody would be saying "come on, just smoke some weed, it's cool." Thay'd just smoke weed a little. Guess what happens then? Cocaine becomes cool. Ecstasy becomes cool. All the things we're afraid weed is a gateway drug to. Those drugs are lethal, severely addictive, and ruin lives. They'll become the new cool thing on the market, because most people have an unquenchable need to rebel. You won't see people with cannabis posters on their wall listening to ragae music. They'll have sold all that stuff to get their fix. Weed is perfectly fine, but we shouldn't legalize it because it's the lesser of two evils.

What does legalizing marijuana have to do with more drunk driving. It could also help people with depression because personally I am 15 and depression pills don't really work for me and it can help people with epilepsy. p.s dont make false accusations about me thx.

This is my first debate here and I think this will be an interesting topic. I have not seen it on this site. As Pro I will contend marijuana should indeed be legalized. Con will argue it should NOT be legalized.

I, pro, will be arguing for the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana, also known as weed. Format: Round 1 - Opening statements (not arguments) Round 2 - Pro begins opening argument, con rebuttals Round 3 - Final arguments and statements Rules: 1. Don't troll 2. Use correct grammar and spelling 3. You will have 72 hours to respond. This should be more than enough time and both person's are expected to submit their arguments during this time frame to prevent bugs and glitches 4. Be civil 5. There is a max of 8,000 characters. If you need more, put it on a Google document and post the link as your argument. 6. If you need extra time or wish to continue the debate, message your opponent.

Con begins by suggesting that pot cannot be legalized, because people might smoke and drive. First, extend my argument that drinking and driving is infinitely more dangerous than smoking and driving [1] yet alcohol remains legal. For Con's argument to have merit, he would have had to argue that we ban alcohol (which has been tried and failed) though he did not. Second, studies show that driving under the influence of marijuana is not that dangerous, and that it could be more dangerous to drive while tired [2]. Nonetheless, smoking and driving should be illegal. Con is arguing that people might break the law to smoke and drive -- yet this defeats his own argument, as people could just as easily break the law and continue to smoke weed (and drive) now. My opponent's second argument is that smoking pot is dangerous because pot smokers inhale more smoke. There are several rebuttals to this (especially in regard to freedom) that I have already addressed and Con has ignored. However pot can be ingested which completely bypasses every single one of the dangers of smoking in terms of tar or other impacts on your lungs [3]. People can also smoke weed through vaporizers, which is another way to virtually eliminate all of the harm from smoking [4]. In conclusion, I would like to repeat my dozen arguments below. The ones in bold are the ones that my opponent has dropped. 1. Smoking pot does not infringe on anybody else's rights.2. Comparatively, smoking weed is minimally harmful.3. Legalization of pot would save a ton of money.4. Legalization would also be great for creating jobs,5. And adding a significant amount of revenue to alleviate tax payers.6. It's not fair to make pot smokers criminals and pay a lot of fines.7. Criminalization leads to arrests and records, making it harder to get jobs.8. Prohibition is ineffective and disproportionately targets minorities.9. Legalizing pot keeps money out of the hands of gangs and drug cartels.10. Pot has a lot of medicinal benefits and social benefits. 11. People become desensitized to pot's mild side effects. 12. People have the right to relax in a way that is not dangerous. These contentions, especially the ones in bold, must be awarded in my favor. I have proven that legalizing drugs is more just, fair and reasonable than criminalization. Thanks! [1] . http://www.techtimes.com...[2] . http://time.com...[3] . https://www.leafly.com...[4] . http://www.leafscience.com...

Should marijuana become legalized for recreational use? In this debate, I am taking the Pro stance, meaning I support the legalization. 1st round - State your stance. 2nd round - Evidence to support stance. 3rd round - Counter the opponent's stance. 4th round - Closing statement/Final evidence and/or opinion. I will not stand rude or childish responses. I'm looking for a fun, cordial debate between people who can handle the topic. Thanks in advance, and I look forward to debating!

Contention 1: Healthcare I have stated at the begining of the debate and as it states in the resolution that they should be used for recreationial use, not medicinial. Major difference and thus the argument is null and void. Contention 2: Drugs and violence. Here is a murder rate in the US History from the begining of last century to present. The murder doesn't start to drop off until the late 1930's were WW II is starting to pick up steam and FDR's New Deal Policy is getting Americans back to work. (. http://thepublicintellectual.org...) We can see that the crime rate drop that we've seen isn't due to the Prohibition, but it is due to unemployment. (. http://lindsaymitchell.blogspot.com...) So with that my argument stands as my opponent has no link to the impact for the debate and thus my argument stands. Contention 3: Economy Actually, if my opponent wants to get specific the United States has an unemployment rate of 5.9%. (. http://data.bls.gov...) Compared to Pro's numbers we can see that the US has less unemployment and thus my argument stands. Contention 4: Human Nature My opponent's own link states that support for anarchy was at it's highest in Spain. Anarchy never occured and any support for it was crushed in the Spanish Civil War. Contention 5: Addiction Though it may be concidered impossible I have sourced that there are deaths from it and massive hospitalizations in my last round. On my opponent's survey we can see that it is just a mear survey of randon people as my opponent could have targetted a select number of people and, because of this the survey is invalid. I also extend across last rounds massive hospitalizations numbers and economic harm. Contention 6: Strange Drugs. My opponent dropped this argument so I extend it across.

I'd like to start off by saying I don't support prohibition of any kind, however I will attempt to debate from a pro-prohibition mindset. **NOTHING I SAY IN THIS REPRESENTS MY ACTUAL VIEWS** Marijuana is currently legal in 7 states within the United States of America, and the US's citizens have been pushing for the legalization of marijuana. Many people believe marijuana to be a wonder-drug, with few negative effects, however this is not true. Marijuana can cause hallucinations, delusions, and psychosis when taken in high doses. As well as impaired memory even in low doses. Marijuana also affects brain development. When people begin using marijuana as teenagers, the drug may impair thinking, memory, and learning functions and affect how the brain builds connections between the areas necessary for these functions. Researchers are still studying how long marijuana's effects last and whether some changes may be permanent. For example, a study from New Zealand conducted in part by researchers at Duke University showed that people who started smoking marijuana heavily in their teens and had an ongoing marijuana use disorder lost an average of 8 IQ points between ages 13 and 38. Those who are depended on heroin, and other opiates are disproportionately involved in criminal activity. Here is an excerpt from an article from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... titled "Insights into the link between drug use and criminality: Lifetime offending of criminally-active opiate users" "We test whether the offending trajectory of those who test positive for opiates is greater than test-negative controls and whether the relationship is constant both prior to, and post, opiate initiation. We consider whether these relationships differ according to gender and offence type. The study provides an analysis of historical offending records in adults linked to test results for opiate and cocaine metabolites. Those testing positive for opiates were linked to treatment records to retrieve data on age of opiate initiation. Rate ratios (RR) were calculated to compare opiate positive testers to opiate and cocaine negative controls, separately by gender and adjusting for age and birth cohort. Age of opiate initiation was included in a second model as a time-dependent variable. Within-subject clustering was accounted for using generalized estimating equations. Opiate-positive cases had higher rates of offending than test-negative controls, both prior to, and post, opiate initiation. Initiation of opiate use increased the RR by 16% for males but doubled it for females. The RR increase in non-serious acquisitive crime was greater than that seen in serious crime. For males only, opiate initiation narrowed the difference in violent offending rate between cases and controls. A larger offending increase was associated with opiate initiation in female, compared to male, users. For most crime categories, the difference between groups is exacerbated by opiate initiation. The findings indicate that opiate prevention initiatives might be effective in reducing offending, particularly among females." It is clear that these substances cause crime, and can be quite dangerous. (NOTE: I threw this crap together quite sloppy, so please excuse improper grammar, and overall s**ty-ness of this argument) Sources used: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... http://www.drugfreeworld.org...


Question: Should Cannabis Be Available as a Medicinal Alternative?

Drug Policy Reevaluation

I appreciate the counter-arguments presented, and I will now address them to clarify why drug legalization, particularly for medical marijuana, is a viable and beneficial policy.

A. The War on Drugs

The colossal expenditure associated with the War on Drugs is indeed problematic. We are imprisoning a disproportionate number of individuals for non-violent drug offenses, with many inmates incarcerated for drug-related crimes. Overdose fatalities are at an unprecedented level. Legalizing drugs does not necessarily lead to increased usage; many individuals are well aware of the dangers associated with substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine, and opioids, and will not partake even if they are legal. Illicit drugs are easily accessible due to the presence of drug dealers, who profit immensely from illegal substances. The illegality of drugs does not necessarily lead to a decrease in usage; rather, it is education about drug risks that has contributed to reduced drug use over time. Despite stringent drug policies, drug use in the United States is higher than in any other country.

The War on Drugs is ineffective, as non-violent drug users are often incarcerated without receiving adequate treatment. Mexico has decriminalized drug possession, permitting citizens to legally possess small to moderate quantities of drugs. Yet, drug use remains relatively low in Mexico. Legalization would facilitate treatment and eliminate punishment.

B. Heroin

While there is concern about heroin potentially following the path of tobacco, laws can be enacted to maintain its purity. Many heroin users are imprisoned for non-violent drug offenses, and the criminalization of heroin may deter them from seeking treatment. Only a small percentage of heroin addicts receive treatment, making access to treatment more challenging than anticipated. If a user can obtain heroin easily to sustain their addiction without harming others, why should they be criminalized?

C. Psychedelics

It is true that tolerance to psychedelics can increase, necessitating higher doses for the same effects. However, psychedelics can still be used in moderation, with higher doses administered as needed. Tolerance only develops with prolonged and continuous drug use. Some sources indicate that psychedelics can have a positive impact on one's life, such as studies suggesting that magic mushrooms can expand the mind and Steve Jobs implying that LSD enhanced his creativity. Moderation and responsible use of psychedelics can lead to benefits such as enhanced creativity and expanded consciousness.

D. Medical Marijuana

Alternative cancer treatments may not be as harmful as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, but they often target healthy cells as well as cancerous cells. Hemp oil

I don't really believe that marijuana is illegal for health reasons, or addiction! I don't believe that pot is any more dangerous than most products that are readily available! Without going into my argument against the Pharmaceutical companies or the alcohol and tobacco industries, I have to point out the amount of harmful substances that are mainstream and extremely addicting that cause serious health conditions! Sugar is the wolf in sheep's clothing while cannabis is the sheep in wolves clothing! Preservatives are in almost everything and even meat has been known to increase tumor growth! The cotton industry along with the tobacco industry forced out marijuana (competition) with propaganda and dogma surrounding the plant to stir up a malicious campaign against Hemp and Marijuana! If you watch refer madness now its good for a laugh, but back then it manipulated people with racist and ignorant messages! Apparently they were stupid enough to believe it and now we have the biggest contradiction in the history of America, and a prohibition that simply cost the tax payers money with very negative results!

This is my first time soooo, whatever, lets begin. There is a lot of evidence that some of the compounds in the cannabis plant, which is where marijuana comes from, can help people with certain illnesses. But for healthy people, using marijuana causes a number of bad side effects and negative health consequences. Short term marijuana effects include: Sleepiness and depression, an increased heart rate (which can cause a heart attack, anxiety and panic), and delayed reaction times. Long term marijuana effects include: Over the long-term the drug suppresses the immune system, causes growth disorders, lack of motivation and lung damage, changes mood and personality and lowers libido.

Con has forfeited, but I'll put my points up anyway. Marijuana should be legalized for three reasons. 1. Marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol and therefore applying the law to one and not the other presents a double standard that just isn't reasonable. 2. The criminalization of pot has contributed greatly to the upsurge in the already bloated American justice/prison system. 3. Keeping draconian laws on a nearly harmless substance that just recently passed a majority (over 50%) support for legalization isn't even democratic. As a nation, if we decide in majority that we want something legalized the argument is over. People might support it and they might not, but in a democratic society majority always wins, period. It's a matter of time. Give it a generation and it'll be made legal - I guarantee it.

First, my opponent says that I neglected his argument but where is the argument in round one? I can not spell, It is a hit or miss subject for me, if my spell check can fix it then good. My last debates have been more of testing ground for me, so I hope I can do better.legal legalize the plant, should it or should it not be mad legal is the qushtin.I will try to avoid the brick wall layout as most of the voters complained about that. so have fun guys and remember I can not spell to good so if you want clean writhing with out spelling arers then I am not it.This is his round one. It has no argument. Also legal legalize the plant makes no sense.I didn't post an argument because he is pro and I usually allow Pro to go first. How am I rude? He is showing rudeness and aggression by saying I am aggressive. I am going to do something different today. I will post my refutations and then my argument. Youtube video- for some reason youtube doesn't work on my computer, so I can't watch it. More or less, you can't post a video, expect people to watch and use it as evidence. You must type out your evidence.My opponent says that it make many people happy, but less use some deductive logic. If money can't bring you happiness and you use money to buy weed, then weed can't bring happiness. Weed only kills brain cells and makes people less reactant to their emotions. Also happy is an opinionated word, and can't be proven by facts. Also just because it makes people happy doesn't mean it should be legal. Killing people makes some people happy but it's illegal. Bigamy makes people happy, but it is illegal.My opponent says that this will keep jails free for the rapist murderers and robbers, but murderers, rapists, and robbers go to prison, not jail. My argument Weed causes health problems- weed can cause many problems, hindering the ability to learn, causes lung problems, and brain damage, making them unable to be productive in society. It also can make people get sick by lowering their immune health.http://www.theantidrug.com... Weed impairs motor usage- when marijuana users drive cars, they lose reaction ability. This could endanger the user and people around. By the way, if you do hit somebody, you could get a manslaughter charge, and that might send you to jail. Weed can cause cancer, birth defects, and hormone problems. These reasons and more are reasons why weed should be kept illegal. http://debatepedia.idebate.org...

I accept. With a normative resolution, we obviously have a shared burden of proof. RebuttalsPro says, "pot can cause problems such as mental health issues." Pro provides zero evidence for this claim, and fails to explain why, even if this were the case, states shouldn't legalize pot. Pro says, "they've done studies on this. this just causes disability and welfare spending to increase a lot more." If they have done studies on this subject, why hasn't Pro provided any? She is doing nothing more than making baseless assertions, and fails to connect her points to why states shouldn't legalize pot. Pro says, "most states should be monitoring colorado and washington to see how much the bad effects arise in those states." Note that she does nothing more than assume that there will be negative effects in Washington and Colorado, but provides no evidence that there is or will be. Monitoring these states is not a bad idea; it would allow states to effectively come to a consensus on the proper implementation of policy and what regulations would be effective at curbing any potential negative impact. But that is far different than maintaining current restrictive laws prohibiting pot. My Case C1) Bodily Autonomy Via Murray Rothbard: "The right to self-ownership asserts the absolute right of each man, by virtue of his (or her) being a human being, to “own” his or her own body; that is, to control that body free of coercive interference. Since each individual must think, learn, value, and choose his or her ends and means in order to survive and flourish, the right to self-ownership gives man the right to perform these vital activities without being hampered and restricted by coercive molestation" [1].This principle, which asserts a natural right to dominion over our own bodies, is important for several reasons. First, if we rightfully own ourselves, meaning that we are free from the coercion which would result from someone else owning or exercising constraint on us, we have the liberty to choose what goes into our bodies. Second, it treats people as fundamentally, intrinsicly valuable individuals capable of deciding for themselves whether it is best to engage in potentially harmful activites, such as using marijuana. Therefore, the government has no business in prohibiting substances in spite of whether or not it deems them to be dangerous.C2) Black Market The core problem with Pro's proposal, and the primary reason that you should vote negative, is that it only deals with legality. Keeping pot illegal has had much the same effect that illegalizing alcohol did: it drives people to black markets. It doesn't erase the demand for these substances, so necessarily people are going to look for other, more dangerous ways to sell and obtain pot, but it's even more dangerous in this way because the government isn't able to regulate it and prevent whoever sells it from spiking it with more dangerous drugs. C3) Victimless Crime Pro's proposal is, at its core, fundamentally unjust because it seeks to place people in jail for a victimless crime. Smoking marijuana does not in any way harm another person or impinge on their freedom. The government cannot and should not seek to protect people from themselves, as this would be a blatant disregard for the self-ownership principle. C4) Medicinal Value Pro's proposal suggests that states should not at all legalize pot, which fails to account for the fact that pot has medicinal value, particularly for cancer patients or people with severe pain. "Modern research suggests that cannabis is a valuable aid in the treatment of a wide range of clinical applications. These include pain relief -- particularly of a neuropathic pain (pain for nerve damage) -- nausea, spasticity, glaucoma, and movement disorders. Marijuana is also a powerful appetitte stimulant, specifically for patients suffering from HIV, the AIDS wasting syndrome, or dementia. Emerging research suggests that marijuana's medicinal properties may protect the body against some types of malignant tumors and are neuroprotective. Currently, more than 60 U.S. and international health organizations support granting patients immediate legal access to medicinal marijuana under a physician's supervision. [2]." C5) Economic Value of Legalization Dr. Miron from Harvard, in his paper entitled "The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition," found the following [3]: -Replacing prohibition of pot with regulation would save a total of $7.7 billion on enforcement costs, $2.4 of which at the federal level and $5.3 at the state and local level. -It would generate a significant amount of revenue -- $2.4 billion if taxed like a regular consumer good, or $6.2 billion if it were taxed like alcohol or tobacco. Sources [1] http://utahliberty.org...;[2] http://norml.org...;[3] http://www.in.gov...;

Marijuana should be de-criminalized for a few reasons, There is not one case in history that recorded a death due to only cannabis use, not one! Compared to the hundreds of thousands that die due to tobacco and alcohol!

Contention 1: Economy The DEA has connected the link between Marijuana and terrorist activities. Legalization will only increase it as the demand will go up while the Cartels will use violence to keep the supply down. Here is a quote from the DEA regarding this issue, "The bombers swapped hashish and ecstasy for the 440 pounds of dynamite used in the blasts, which killed 191 people and injured more than 1,400 others. Money from the drugs also paid for an apartment hideout, a car, and the cell phones used to detonate the bombs." (http://www.policechiefmagazine.org...) Donnie Marshall, Congressional subcommittee on drugs has stated that legalization will not stop violence. Marijuana is addictive and can increase your heart rate by a factor of 20 to 100. Smoking 1 joint is the equilivent of smoking 5 cigarettes. The 'High' fallowed by a crash that can cause fear and depression. These last forever while a 'High' will only last a few hours. (http://www.charismanews.com...) We all know how expensive our health bills are. Well, when it comes to Marijuana in the year 2002, the ONDCP has found that the total cost of Marijuana injuries totaled over $52 billion, that's when it's illegal. Imagine if it were legal and opened up to the general population. Contention 2: Human Freedom For this response to what Pro had said last round I have three responses; Gonzalez V. Rich, application of Thomas Hobbes theory, and finaly the rights of the individual. In the Gonzalez V. Rich Supreme Court Case the Supreme Court ruled that the state law may not trump federal law. This case had to deal with medicinial marijuana in California, but since it could be shipped elsewhere for commerce and due to the Commerce Clause this makes what Colorado and Washington are doing unconstitutional. Sigmund Freud has stated that humans are selfishly aggressive. You could have easily done it just so you can feel good about yourself. Here he is quoted. "I have found little that is 'good' about human beings on the whole. In my experience most of them are trash, no matter whether they publicly subscribe to this or that ethical doctrine or to none at all. That is something that you cannot say aloud, or perhaps even think." Thomas Hobbes has also shown that humanity, by nature, is rotten. That we will rape and pillage everything unless we have a threat. This of course being laws and punishment. Otherwise we would end up in chaos and anarchy. (http://www.iep.utm.edu...) This shows that both Hobbes and Freud show that humans are terrible creatures and make terrible choices, hence the phrase, “Only human.” This is why we need the government to regulate many of these things otherwise we wouldn’t be able to do many things, because we would be so dysfunctional. Another piece of justification is that your rights end where the rights of other’s begins. Which would mean that all sale and purchasing drugs would lead to violation of other’s rights due to their bodily harm. (http://techcrunch.com...) Especially if they are any of the ones named in Contention 4. Contention 3: Addiction My opponent argues that legalized addiction will lead to lower addiction rates, but this is incorrect. The accessability will actually lead to an increase of addiction and especially that of children. (http://www.addictionblog.net...) What about Colorado? Aren’t they a good example of good Marijuana control and legalization? Sure…if you like to include that the very first day that they came into legalization that a total of 37 people died of overdose. (http://blogs.westword.com...) Contention 4: Crazy Drugs that will be legalized. I will leave this video here that details these drugs. () My opponent agreed to that it will be all legalized, so let me get into some of these. Devils Breath- this drug is used for amnesia (causes) them to do anything you want and they have no memory of it the next day. It’s a powder that you just blow into your vitiums face. Dipted- This causes ringing in the ears, distorted music and sounds for three weeps. Bromo Dragon Fly- This is like LSD but lasts three weeks, causes seizers, vein spasms and more. Jankum- Made from fragmented poop for a week. This causes hallusenations for 3 hours. You are smelling the methane from your poop. DNP- For weight loss, but this this raises your body heat from the inside to the point that you cook from the inside. Etrophine- Like meth and morphine, so strong that 1/1000th of a gram can knock out an elephant. Can you imagine if someone drops this into your drink. This is like a date rape, but tons a time stro

Are you kidding me?I am four seconds away from wreaking havoc in my undies!Are you mentally retarded? Because I think perhaps your mother may have dropped you on your pathetic robot head as a child.Of course, that would imply that you're not still a child!You completely steered away from what my original contention was! Are you even aware of what debating really is? You stated that if weed was dangerous, why would it be a medicine? I provided a counterexample saying that Marijuana being a medicine does not prove it is healthy. Don't be so ignorant!And that wasn't even my argument! I was simply claiming that to be so up-the-weiner ignorant that you would support weed, you'd either have to smoke weed or be a Christian and I think both!The fact that you believe that literal brainwashing is real is sickening. I was talking about brainsoap through the media! That's how they're using brainwashing to legalize Marijuana! Can you even argue?!Don't you dare insult your elder! That's very poor conduct, you tittylicker!Did I ever say that everyone was going to smoke weed? Why don't you read my argument, you immature punk. "I'm still bamboozled."I accept your resignation then.You see? The Weed Agenda is making you perceive me as a troll now! Yet you are ignorant enough to believe this ridiculous Christian Plutocracy is not taking place! You remind me of Powder from the movie, Powder. You think you're so smart. Smarter then everyone in the universe. But one day you realize that you are no more than some albino! You just wait, and like Powder, you'll disappear in a cloud of lightning and never be seen again. Worthless immatue punk. Obviously brainwashed by confirmation bias and the weed agenda. You'll be hearing more from me, young man.

I will add only add one more point in this round. A study found that THC, the main psychoactive substance found within cannabis, may actually strengthen one's nicotine addiction. In essence, if a person tried to wean themselves off of tobacco using marijuana, they would be more inclined to relapse and return back to smoking tobacco, thus defeating the object of using marijuana as an alternative. Source: http://www.hightimes.com...

(Dont worry about the delayed response, no harm done :) ) Ok lets get to it then 1) "Prohibition does not stop consumers from consuming it." Prohibition of Marijuana does control consumption of it because it severely limits ACCESS to it. People who are addicted to Marijuana will go to extreme costs and pay even more to have access to the drug, but legalizing it would mean everyone would have constant access to it and then millions of more people would increase the number of those addicted to the drug and the side effects it causes..... 2) "If used correctly Marijuana can be an alternative to many medicines". Now let me state that this is very true but there are 2 problems. The first is that it must be used correctly, If Marijuana were to be used for medical purposes it would have to be prescribed by a licensed doctor to only one individual who has a disease or ailment that Marijuana can alleviate. After that the prescription only can allow that single person access to a very limited amount of Marijuana so that it could improve his/her health without triggering an addiction. legalizing marijuana for all would cause many many people to abuse it and become addicted to it which would cause more health problems then it would solve since Marijuana only causes ailments to subside by causing a euphoria in the person using it. The second is that this argument is a good argument for the legalization of MEDICAL Marijuana (which i do support) but this debate is about the legalization of Marijuana as a drug. Legalizing it as a drug would make it available to millions of Americans who would most likely abuse the drug or suffer side effects from using it..... Marijuana is safer than tobacco and alcohol, this is true but your comparing it to two of the most harmful substances in the world. Marijuana is less dangerous than tobacco but Marijuana contains hundreds of chemicals that have been proven to be carcinogenic (cause cancer) http://www.abovetheinfluence.com... Marijuana also causes an enormous number of teenage addictions, in fact addictions to Marijuana are greater than addictions to all the other illegal narcotics COMBINED The dangerous aspect about Marijuana is that it directly causes very few deaths compared to other substances (both legal and illegal) but it causes many many other problems that could lead directly to death Marijuana plays a role in 15% of teenage car deaths, 1 in 6 teenage marijuana users become addicted, Marijuana deteriorates memory, attention, and learning skills which can cause people still in school to flunk People who have used the drug feel less physically and mentally healthy It can worsen psychotic symptoms in people which may cause extreme paranoia http://www.drugabuse.gov... http://www.abovetheinfluence.com... http://www.well.com... http://www.teengrowth.com... I agree that Marijuana is not as lethal (keyword lethal) as tobacco or alcohol, but i do believe that Marijuana should still remain illegal because it causes many harmful side effects that can harm people and play a factor (just a factor) in their deaths as well..... As of 2012 guess how many deaths in the US involved Marijuana, almost 64,000 deaths and well over 300,000 serious injuries for 2010 ALONE. roughly 370,000 deaths and 2.3 million serious injuries since 2001 http://drugwarfacts.org... Marijuana is a very harmful drug and it should not be legalized as a marketable product