Just Some Bad Logic
"The Battle For Medical Marijuana in The War on Drugs" is an article written by William E. Stempsey debating over why the dispute against the legalization of medical marijuana "is just bad logic." The article is clearly for the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes and gives several opinions on why opponents of this issue are incorrect with their arguments. Stempsey argues three main points in this article and I feel that all three contain fallacies. I oppose legalization for medicinal uses because I feel that it is just a cover for outright legalization. Many promoters deceitfully claim that their only goal is to help the seriously ill but there are legitimate prescription drugs out there that can already accomplish the same task. The issues of pain relief and legalization are distinct and separate. The nausea-relieving, appetite-stimulating properties of marijuana can be and is reproduced in pill form. On the other hand, taking those pills may not be as pleasant or as effective to a patient when compared to lighting up a "joint". Stempsey claims that marijuana's medicin
al effectiveness has been proven "by the thousands of patients who have used it illegally." He then asks, "Should it matter whether the relief of nausea and pain is the result of some 'scientifically proven' direct chemical action of marijuana or is the result of a marijuana-induced euphoria?" But then again, why should we subject such people to the more than 400 toxic chemicals found in street "pot"? Though the medical profession has not been as responsive as it should have been in relieving pain and other symptoms of those suffering from major diseases, that is no reason to leap to legalization of mind-altering drugs. Stempsey insists, "Marijuana has been so effective in many cases that people have been willing to risk imprisonment in order to obtain this relief." But what about all those hundreds of thousands pot smokers out there? Are they not "willing to risk imprisonment in order to obtain" that same relief, or does that just not prove how "effective" marijuana really is? In Stempsey's final point, he argues against the claim that marijuana is a gateway drug, meaning that it opens up a path to more s
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 750
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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