Marijuana: Demon Weed, or Deserving to Be Freed?

Marijuana: Demon weed, or deserving to be freed?

A short look into the Australian marijuana debate

Robbie Coombs

Ever since its discovery in north India thousands of years ago, the use of marijuana has been a heated topic around the world in every country that it finds its way into. Since it's introduction it has been used widely in the fabric and textile industry, but with newer synthetic materials being superior for the most part, many now argue for its legalisation for its unique assistance in medicinal pain relievement. On the flip side of the argument though, you would hear about the numerous hazards to the body associated with recreational use of marijuana when taken through any means of smoking devices. There is also the danger to youth in particular respect to the risks linked with schizophrenia, depression, long-term memory and anxiety. Another angle to the debate, is the potential lost revenue over the legalised and controlled sale of marijuana. These are just some of the points being raised in the national debate of legalisation of marijuana in Australia, and are but some of the keys ones I shall focus on in hopes of convincing you of the overall benefit of legalising marijuana in Australia.

One of the biggest arguments made by marijuana reform supporters is that "if tobacco is allowed to be legalised, then why not marijuana?" It's a fair point at surface level for they share many similarities in how much physical damage they both do to the body. However, despite these similarities, there are quite serious psychological long-term side-effects that play a major stake in this argument. Whilst tobacco has few psychological long term side-effects apart from being highly addictive, marijuana's list on the otherhand is rather more extensive. The recent linking of marijuana to schizophrenia is the key argument for a lot of anti-marijuana protestors. It been suggested that marijuana can increase the likelihood of schizophrenia by up to 30%, and up to 1 in every 7 cases of schizophrenia could have been avoided by taking marijuana out of the equation. With close to 300,000 people in Australia suffering schizophrenia, that equates to roughly 43,000 schizophrenics in Australia whos condition can atleast be partially contributed to marijuana use. Other psychological side-effects include depression, increased anxiety and panic attacks. These are undoubtably worrying figures, that deserve the attention and concern they are attracting. When one looks at the phychological short-term effects of marijuana however, the scales begin to tip the other way.

Marijuana