93 808 63 07
ctpobla@ctpobla.cat

Above all, marijuana should remain a criminalized drug as Christians because it is not biblical. The Bible does not specifically refer to marijuana, but it warns of the dangers of drunkenness – the two have mind-altering ties. Ideological differences are evident within each party. About four in ten conservative Republicans (37%) say marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use, compared to a 60% majority of moderate and liberal Republicans. Nearly two-thirds of conservative and moderate Democrats (63%) say marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use. An overwhelming majority of liberal democrats (84%) say the same. Republicans are more cautious than Democrats when it comes to legalizing recreational marijuana: 45 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents favor legalizing medical and recreational marijuana, while 39 say the percent should be legal only for medical use. In comparison, 73% of Democrats and Democrats say marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational purposes; Another 21% say it should only be legal for medical purposes. Legalizing marijuana is not the answer. Rather, sound national drug policies include international cooperation, research, law enforcement, treatment, prevention and education.

When President Ronald Reagan adopted a similar strategy, illicit drug use by young adults dropped by more than 50 percent. While a majority of those who say marijuana should be legal say they have tried the drug before (65%), 34% of those who support legalization say they have never tried marijuana. Of those who say marijuana should be illegal, 29% say they`ve tried it before, while 71% say they haven`t. “Legalization campaigns that involve marijuana as a benign substance pose a significant challenge to educating the public about its known risks and side effects,” the American Academy of Pediatrics said. [156] ASAM “does not support the legalization of marijuana and recommends that jurisdictions that have not acted to legalize marijuana be extremely cautious and not pursue legalization policies until more can be learned.” [94] WADA “believes that (1) cannabis is a dangerous drug and, as such, poses a public health concern; (2) The sale of cannabis should not be legalized. [157] Marijuana contains THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). When someone smokes marijuana, THC enters the bloodstream through the lungs. From there, it ends up in the brain and other organs. Marijuana can affect teens` academic performance and cause or worsen many mental illnesses. Therefore, I believe that marijuana should remain illegal. If marijuana is to be “prescribed” by doctors and used as a medicine, it should go through the same strict approval process as other commercially available drugs.

The potential therapeutic components of marijuana should be studied, but should not be made available to the public until sufficiently exploited, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have demonstrated their efficacy and acceptable safety profiles. In addition, these compounds must be administered in a manner that poses a lower risk than smoking and dispensed by standardized and FDA-regulated pharmacies to ensure purity and concentration. Bypassing the FDA and approving “drugs” at the ballot box sets a dangerous precedent. Doctors should be discouraged from recommending medical marijuana. Alternatively, prescribing FDA-approved drugs (dronabinol or Cesamet) may be considered as the purity and concentration of these drugs are assured and their efficacy and side effect profiles have been well documented in rigorous clinical trials. But think about the benefits to society, say pot proponents. Legalizing marijuana would reduce drug-related crime, they say. But as states legalize marijuana, local demand will increase. Meanwhile, some reputable producers, manufacturers and retailers will refuse to manufacture or distribute the drug because of current federal laws and tort liability that take care of such a dangerous product. The vacuum is filled by illegal drug cartels and a black or grey market. There is evidence that the compounds naturally found in marijuana have therapeutic benefits for symptoms of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and cancer. If these compounds are to be used under the auspices of “medical marijuana,” they would have to go through the same rigorous approval process as other drugs prescribed by doctors, including randomized, placebo, and active controlled trials to evaluate safety and efficacy, not through referendum or state legislation.

Despite growing acceptance, decriminalizing marijuana should be a federal matter, and it should not be legal to use it recreationally. In contrast to the general attitude toward the legal use of marijuana, there are only modest differences in views between party groups: 64 percent of independents, 58 percent of Democrats and 54 percent of Republicans say the federal government should not enforce federal laws against marijuana in states that allow its use.