Legalisation of cannabis Essay

An issue that creates heated debate almost anywhere you go is the legalisation of cannabis. There are two different opinions one, that cannabis should non become legal because it behaves on to the use of harder drugs and causes more tiny crime. The second view is that if it became legal because fewer muckle would hand to sneak around to allow cannabis and therefore not take down caught up in the underworld of drugs, and that would stop the lead on to harder drugs. Also cannabis can be use for medical purposes such as a painkiller, and to economise the symptoms of diseases such as multiple sclerosis.I dont deal that the use of drugs necessarily leads on to the use of harder drugs. The argument that the use of cannabis leads on to the use of harder drugs is called the penetration Theory, which is now seldom utilise by the British Government. Yet some people continually state this as if it were a accompaniment, whist still others, rase some who advocate the full legalisa tion of cannabis, continue to insist that it is the social scenery in which cannabis is taken that leads onto hard drug use. Such arguments are often based on the idea that if one is in an environment where people are locoweed tobacco for example then, if they were smoking it before, they bequeath restart or if they had not done it before then they will start.The truth is that it is not because they are in that environment, but it is because they may be encouraged to start or restart by other people. There is nothing within cannabis itself that automatically leads the user to use harder drugs. In fact cannabis is less addictive than caffeine. And also users say that unlike cocaine or heroin, cannabis does not give you a high thereby removing the need to take an increased dosage to try and get the same high as the first judgment of conviction.On the other hand some people believe that the use of cannabis will lead on to the use of harder drugs. A prime example of the Gateway Theo ry is a newspaper article from the Daily Mail. A Professor Rey, conducted a study, and it concluded that xxx nine percent of children who admitted using cannabis had also used harder drugs such as Heroin, Cocaine, Ecstasy andamphetamines. other reason people give for the legalisation of cannabis is that it has medical purposes. It can be used as a painkiller or to relieve the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Even our own Queen Victoria used cannabis to relive the discomfort of menstrual cramps.Furthermore, some people agree that if cannabis were legal then it would take up less police time and public money, because police would spend less time arresting people for minor offences, and therefore could spend more time on all of Britains bigger problems. For example, in 1995 there were 93631 drug arrests and 76, 694 were to do with cannabis . So if the police didnt have to arrest people for cannabis offences then it would surrender a lot of police time. It would also save a great deal of public money as well because we would not have to site them through a trial or curb them in prison.Another argument is that even though some people may think that cannabis has some medical properties, this has not yet been proven. The planetary house of Lords even say that beside cannabis being intoxicating it can pose a risk to people with heart problems, it can exacerbate pre-existing mental illness, smoking cannabis is as bad for the lungs as smoking tobacco, and may cause cancer and also that regular heavy use can lead to psychological dependence, and in some cases to physical dependence, involving withdrawal symptoms.Furthermore people believe that legalisation will cause greater harm through increased use because of increased availability and tacit borrowing of these drugs by society . Other effects of legalisation may include increased crime and personnel resulting from the pharmacological effects of illicit drugs.In conclusion I accept that there are inviolable reas ons for cannabis to stay an illegal drug, but I still think that cannabis should become a legal drug, as there are many good reasons for it to become legal. I think that even if you were to keep it illegal it will not discourage people from using the drug, and people will keep using it for recreational use for many years to come.