comparing legal and illegal drugs
marijuana, alcohol, tobacco
comparing the following three drugs
Marijuana
proven health benefits
-helps depression by increasing the dopamine hormone in the body.
-helps anxiety by relieving stress stored in muscle tissue.
-helps back pain my relaxing muscles.
-increases appetite for any chemo patients.
-CBD's found in some marijuana strains attack cancer cells.
-helps with insomnia and sleep disorders.
Alcohol
proven health benefits
-helps prevent heart disease when consumed in the right amounts.
-helps to keep a healthy liver when consumed in the right amount.
Tobacco
proven health benefits
-there are no health benefits in tobacco only negative side effects
-however this product is still legal?
research paper written by Hayden Welter
Hayden Welter
Mrs. Grubbs
English IV
Comparing alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana
What do you think America’s number one cause of death is? Car crashes in the U.S. kill forty thousand people a year. ("Car Crashes Kill 40,000 in U.S. Every Year." ) However, this is not the leading cause of death. Cancer is the leading cause of death in the U.S. annually. The death toll each year reaches nearly 564,800. Almost half of these fatal cancer cases are cancers in the lungs, liver, and throat. (the American Cancer Society. N.p., n.d. )
The FDA, which is supposed to help and protect the American people’s health does not even bother to try to remove some of these cancer causing items. One huge cause of these cancers is what America’s southern economy was built on, tobacco. Health professionals have proven how harmful and toxic this plant is when it is used improperly, yet they still allow it to be sold in public stores.( "Jeff Pearlman.")
The American people claim that it is their freedom to smoke, dip and chew as they please however they beg for government loans when they need a medical treatment that they cannot afford. Also, guess where the government makes most of its profit, our income tax. Your money that you worked for might be going to help pay for some medical expense. That might not sound like a bad thing, but our economy is hurting and cannot afford to be taking care of those who knowingly harm their own bodies by filling it with toxic ingredients. States need to raise the sales tax for Tobacco to at least what the equivalent is to alcohol. In the majority of the United States, the sales tax for a pack of cigarettes, dip and chewing tobacco is less than a dollar but even cheap wine and spirits sales taxes can reach almost seven dollars.( "State Sales, Gasoline, Cigarette, and AlcoholTax Foundation.) Also increasing the cost of these products would likely cause less people to buy them. The people who really wanted to use these products would have to pay a higher tax to pay for the governments health loans. This would help benefit our country’s economy and it would help the overall health of the American people.
This product has been outlawed in the United States before and is the cause of thousands of deaths each year due to overdose. Alcohol, alcohol is a huge killer in the United States each year not just from drinking but causing the lack of judgment behind the wheel.
In the year 2012, nearly 10,000 traffic deaths were due to drunk driving. States are really cracking down on drunk driving; however, it still tends to be a problem. Alcohol also has major negative health effects; however, it also has beneficial health effects. When alcohol is consumed in a mature responsible way, it is beneficial to the body. Some of these beneficial health factors include helping to prevent heart disease and reducing the risk of having a stroke. Alcohol is proven too thin the body’s blood and therefore helps the heart receive somewhat of break from overworking pumping thick blood. Alcohol lessens the risk of blood clots which could lead to a stroke.
However, alcohol has many more negative side effects than its positive side effects. Alcohol is a poison to the body when it is consumed in more than the suggested healthy amount. The liver is responsible for filtering out all toxins in your body. When a drinker consumes large amounts of alcohol, it overworks the liver and may lead to liver damage or even cancer. Also when a drinker consumes large amounts of alcohol, it goes into the blood stream and into the brain causing drowsiness and impaired judgment. It also can cause harm to the brain cells if the drinker consumes too much. Alcohol, while it is in the body, grabs a lot of your body’s vitamins and minerals and sends them right to the liver to be flushed out. After drinking become very dehydrated. When people wake up all hung over and feeling like crap the next day, it is because they practically poisoned their body the night before. A drinker wakes up and is super dehydrated so now your heart has to work harder and pump thicker blood and the drinker urinated out the majority of you vitamins and minerals.
Marijuana is the number one selling drug in the United States and is one of the most controversial topics today. Marijuana has become legalized in some states, and all people have their different views on marijuana and whether they believe it should be legalized or not. Most people believe what others have told them as far as whether or not it is bad for a person or how it makes someone less intelligent. Just take a look at the studies people have performed with this drug. One of the biggest lies is that people have not been able to do a study on marijuana because it has not been around long enough. That is a complete lie; some Native American tribes would smoke before going into battle to help calm them. The drug reappeared in the 60’s and 70’s a time of change in America. Desegregation was taking place, we were at war for some of this time, and people were intrigued by this drug. So forty to fifty years is plenty long enough for someone to do a study on this plant and its effects when a person smokes it.
When a person smokes marijuana or consume marijuana, they are taking in two chemicals, THC and CBD. These stand for tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol. Both of these two primary active ingredients in cannabis play different rolls to the body. Some strains of cannabis have higher percentages of THC and some have higher levels of CBD. There are different strains of marijuana. There is sativa strain and an indica strain. The sativa strain has a higher percentage of THC, which is what triggers more of a mind high, as people say. The indica strain has higher percentages of CBD, which is what triggers more of a body high, as people say also.
Marijuana as far as health is concerned has proven to be great. You might be thinking how can smoking something be good for the lungs? There was a study done at Boulder University in Colorado. This study shows that while people smoke marijuana, they try to inhale it deep into the lungs and therefore it increasers your lung’s overall air capacity. Many people who do not exercise but do smoke marijuana have healthier lungs than people who do nothing but go to work every day. Americans who do not exercise practice shallow breathing everyday, therefore are only using sixty five percent of their lungs overall capacity and not exercising that muscle of the diaphragm.
You have probably heard that marijuana lowers your intelligence levels. Marijuana does destroy brain cells. Alcohol also destroys brain cells. Cigarettes which the active chemical in that is nicotine closes blood vessels in the brain. So the answer to that question is yes marijuana can make you less intelligent.
Marijuana has very many positive benefits. These benefits greatly help cancer patients and people who experience caesuras regularly. Marijuana greatly helps kemo therapy patients re gain their appetite back to fuel their body with the nutrients it needs to help fight the cancer. It also has been proven in studies that CBD’s attack cancer cells in the body and helps fight them. CBD’s or indica strains have many more health benefits than sativa strains. Indica strains play less effect on your mind than a sativa strain because it is CBD dominate. Some examples of CBD beneficial effects are, sleep aid, pain reliever, muscle relaxer and it helps to fight off cancerous cells. Sativa strains do have health benefits such as, relieving anxiety, helping with depression and relieving stress.
All three of these products I have gone over have health risk, some more than others and some more beneficial than others but I’ll let you make the decision on which is the worst for you and which it the better choice.
interviewing a marijuana user and an alcohol user
(marijuana user), (alcohol user)
under the influence have you ever felt
nauseous or sick? ( yes)( yes)
have you ever felt angered or easily
provoked to fight? (no)( yes)
the following day after use did you feel
drowsy or tired? (no)( yes)
did anyone ask you if you were impaired
while you were under the influence? (no)( yes)
did you feel that you received a good night
of rest after use? ( yes)( yes)
being a user have you noticed any
physical health problems?( no)( no)
do you feel the urge to be active while
under the influence? (yes/no)( yes/no)
do you feel it is harder to communicate
properly while under the influence? ( yes)( yes)
have you had any friends or family
members die from an overdose of
this substance? (no)( no)
do you have any family members or
friends who have suffered after chronic use
of this substance? (no)( no)
Narrative
Hayden Welter
Mrs. Grubbs
English IV
English narrative
I decided to do my English project on the comparison between marijuana and alcohol. In this paper I will be comparing the mental and physical effects of the two. I chose to write my paper about this subject because I have seen this controversy very much recently in my life. Medicinal marijuana was almost legalized in Florida and I believe it will be passed once we vote again in 2016. I want to inform and educated the reader on the benefits of both marijuana and alcohol as well as the harmful affects of the two. Many adults are against marijuana these days; I believe it is because they view marijuana as a DRUG. Marijuana is not a drug it is a plant that has much more benefits that the majority of other plants, Tabaco for instance. Tabaco has always been legal in the United States yet it causes lung cancer continually each year.
Another reason I chose to write my paper on this subject is because I have experienced this in my life. I have many friends and family member who participate in this. I have seen people who are high and I have seen people who are drunk and the differences in their behavior are completely different which I will talk about.
I am excited to inform the reader about the profitable benefits that Colorado and Washington has had after legalizing marijuana and I hope before you vote next you will think about all the benefits it could bring to your community.
poetry
Hayden welter
English IV
Mrs. Grubbs
It has always been here,
It will always be,
The little great flowers,
Their color so green,
People persecute this plant,
I don’t understand why,
It helps people who are feeling low
Touch the sky,
The plant brings peace not death,
But for whatever reason,
You won’t vote yes…
Crime rates go down
Your community gets money from tax
Before you judge this plant please,
Know the facts.
Written by
Hayden Welter
poetry
Hayden welter
Mrs. Grubbs
English IV
Natalie
Apr 2
weed
I like the way it burns my lungs
It feels so bad, I feel so young.
I take a hit, I inhale deep.
I sigh, my brains asleep.
April 18, 2013
France
poetry
Hayden Welter
English IV
Mrs. Grubbs
It burns bright, it burns slow,
You only know you’ve been high,
When you’re feeling low.
You seek peace,
You seek escape,
You can find this, when you
Medicate
It is a plant,
Not a drug.
I think its time to
Educate everyone.
You can check,
Zero deaths,
Maybe next time
You’ll vote yes…
Written by
Hayden Welter