Bhang | EssayIvy.com

Surname 1

Student’s Name

Professor’s Name

Course

Date

Alcohol versus Marijuana

Over the past decade, the rate of consumption of both alcohol and marijuana has

increased by a significant percentage. The prevalence of both substances among underage

children is a cause for alarm for both the law makers and parents. Despite legal measures placed

to reduce teens from accessing both alcohol and marijuana, both are still the main ingredients in

parties and other recreational activities the youths common among the youths. However, the

youths are not the only market for weed or pot, slang for marijuana, since even older adults use

marijuana despite it being illegal. This paper will analyze the health benefits and strains,

relationship with crime, legalization and what the future hold for alcohol and marijuana.

Health issues associated with Alcohol and Marijuana

Research indicates that both drugs are beneficial to users’ health when used in small

amounts. A survey conducted in the US, indicates that 69 percent of Americans believe that

alcohol has more dangerous effects as compared to marijuana. Only 15 percent thought

marijuana was more harmful than alcohol. Moreover, scientists and health professional

recommend a glass of alcohol per day due to its ability to prevent pre and post- menopausal

breast cancer. Consumption of a glass of alcohol per day also reduces the risks of heart diseases

and stroke. Similarly, marijuana users have the same health benefits, in relation to heart-attack

Surname 2

and stroke, like the moderate consumers of alcohol. In the United States, alcohol is only legal for

21years and above. However, recent research indicate that most of the alcohol consumed by the

Americans, underage teens form a significant percent of that population.

Several states in the United States have legalized the use of marijuana for instance

Colorado and Washington states. The legalization was due to the public amending the policy that

considered marijuana as an illegal substance (Ghosh et al. 25). However, even the states that

consider marijuana illegal, grant people with clinically proven need for marijuana as a pain

reliever (Cohn et al. 83). Chronic pain, migraines and patients in palliative care often use

marijuana as a sedative. Moreover, some countries use marijuana in operating theatres both as

euthanasia and a sedative.

Despite the health benefits mentioned above, both alcohol and marijuana are also harmful

to our health, behavior and cognition. Excessive consumption of alcohol is increases the risk

several types of cancers like mouth and liver cancer. The advancement of alcohol related

breathing problems are still to be linked with its progressive nature to cancer of the liver. Binge

drinkers are predisposed to gain which may leady to obesity. Moreover, the metabolism of

alcohol interacts with active drugs a person may be talking as a prescription. This explains why,

many prescription drugs prohibit the patients from consuming alcohol while on medication.

Alcohol reduces or increases the amount of the active drug in the body thus inhibiting its

effectiveness in treatment.

Additionally, researchers found that approximately 88,000 deaths are recorded from

alcohol induced problems. These problems range from car accidents, alcohol related diseases and

cancers. Moreover, scientists record that a person can die after five minutes of binge drinking as

Surname 3

compared to the chances of over smoking marijuana. As compared to the alcohol related deaths

mentioned earlier, marijuana has zero recorded deaths from overdose. The chances of alcoholics

forming a dependency on the substances are higher than those of bhang and so is the level of

crime rates associated with drinking. Alcohol impairs the nerves and stability of a person while

at the same time increasing the rate of risky behavior. As a result, many alcoholics report to

sustain permanent body injuries and risky sexual behavior while drunk. Furthermore, a

significant percentage of alcoholics suffer from anxiety, memory loss and depression.

Both alcohol and marijuana affect the health of unborn babies when pregnant women

consume either of the two. These children are often born underweight, premature and sometimes

with under developed brains which predisposes psychiatric issues later on in the baby’s life

(Volkow et al. 2222). In extreme cases, still births are experienced. The US has placed strict

laws for mothers with a drug problem where social services take the baby away from the mothers

immediately after birth as these women are considered unfit to care for their children.

Marijuana increases the blood pressure and heart rate of a person though no severe cases

are recorded but these effects have a long term effect on the health of the person. Teenagers who

smoke bhang increase the onset of psychiatric disorders. The most common psychiatric disorders

induced by bhang include psychosis and schizophrenia (Nguyen-Louie et al. 741). A person

clinically diagnosed with the two disorders is addicted to the drugs before the onset of the

disorder (1). Moreover, cannabis use affects the thought process and cognitive or brain

development. As a result, students who use cannabis are poor in school as the drug inhibits

learning and paralyzes their memory. Inability to excel in class leads to dropping out of school

after which the person have to fend for themselves by any means they make money. The

aftermath translates to high we shall discuss further in the paper.

Surname 4

Legal system versus alcohol and marijuana

Legalization of any substance is done after in depth research on its benefits, side effects

and damages that it may cause upon consumption. Laws controlling alcohol consumption are

already in place. The effective of these laws are in question especially in the US, where teenagers

consume a huge percentage of the total alcohol produced in the country. However, alcohol is

illegal for people under the age of 21 or 18 depending on the constitution of a given country. In

many countries, marijuana is considered as illegal and harmful to the society. However, drug

cartels still find a way to smuggle the substance into the country and sell to both children and

adults without raising any suspicions from the law enforcers.

The DEA in America has recorded a lot of cases where people are arrested either selling,

buying or in possession of drugs. However, some states in the US, Colorado and Washington

have legalized marijuana making it accessible both for pleasure seeking people and those who

use it as a sedative. The rest of the states consider it a federal crime to be found in possession of

marijuana without the permit for medicinal use. The relationship of marijuana and crime is subtle

in Colorado despite allowing marijuana usage. Therefore, legislators should legalize the

substance as a way of controlling its availability in the market. Amendments to the prohibiting

policies will also help regulate drug cartels and gangs that cause violence and murders while

managing their drug business.

Why Marijuana frowned upon as compared to Alcohol

Approximately 15% of the American population considers marijuana as more harmful

than alcohol. The societal perception and traditions accept alcohol despite the effects it has on

the population. As a result, marijuana users are faced with disapproval and opposition from

Surname 5

family, friends and neighbors (Capaldi et al. 97). Since drugs are associated with immorality and

risky behavior which violates societal norms, marijuana is therefore disapproved more than

alcohol. The primitive idea that alcohol is more like a beverage condemns marijuana as a

harmful drug despite its medicinal properties. Recently, the society is accommodating about the

use of marijuana due to the comprehensive research done on both the effects on cannabis and

alcohol. The comparison of pros and cons of both drugs made it easier to understand that alcohol

more dangerous that the condemned bhang.

Crimes committed by alcohol and marijuana users

Dependency on drugs accounts for over 30% of violent crimes committed in the US.

According to the DEA, most cases that lead to incarceration have offenders who tested positive

on drug and alcohol tests (Maier, Suzanne and Emily 136). As a result, the US prisons are full of

drug related offenders. According to research, areas occupied by drug cartels gang members

record high rates of homicides, murder, rapes and armed robberies. Moreover more than half of

the reported cases of domestic violence in the US were committed while either one or both

spouses were under the under the influence of alcohol.

Conversely, the steamed sensation experience from the use of cannabis reduces the

aggression and violence in a person instead of triggering violence. Instead crime associated with

marijuana use arises when the user lacks the means to feed his dependency on the drug.

Imminently, they resolve to robbery and mugging (Akers 1). Additionally, alcoholics and addicts

may sell their own properties without the consent of their spouses result to unstable and violent

relationships. Moreover, about 90% of violent crimes in colleges attribute to alcohol while 95%

of reported date rapes were perpetrated while drunk.

Surname 6

Majority of juvenile delinquents arrested by the state justice department were committed

crime while under the influence of either a drug or alcohol. Since cannabis is more common than

any other drug, it is easily accessed by the juvenile delinquents in America. After interrogations,

the teens confess to being abusers and addicts of illegal drugs. About 1.9 million juvenile arrests

involved substance abuse and addiction ( 2). However, only 68,600 juvenile victims were able to

received substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation while the rest succumbed to the withdrawal

effects of their addiction to drugs.

What the future holds

The prevalence of alcohol and substance use is rampant in the current generation. More

so, are the effects both long term and short term? Following the legalization of marijuana in

some parts of the US will lead to other states and countries doing the same. Scientists are still

refining their research on marijuana’s benefits to humans and in ten years’ time given the

advanced technology, they will give on a conclusive report which will obviously lead to approval

of marijuana as a medical drug with side effects like any other sedative.

Moreover, the current trend of alcohol consumption among teens may lead to even easier

access to alcohol among teens if no law is put into place. However, education will comprise of

intensive drug awareness as a life skill. Every year scientists are discovering the relationship

between drugs and chronic illnesses. In future, they may be able to tell how the new drugs in

market will affect the health. Most importantly, both short term and long term effects of

marijuana and alcohol will have ways of controlling and or coping with these effects.

In brief, the public should acknowledge the fact that alcohol is as poisonous as marijuana.

The efforts put by scientists are commendable as they assist the society and the government to

Surname 7

realize the health benefits of controlled use of both alcohol and marijuana. Contrary to popular

believe it is now clear that not all drugs cause violence and high levels of crime. Evidently,

legalizing marijuana will help control its supply and quality in the market. Debate about which

drug between alcohol and marijuana is a contentious issue which can only be solved by

comprehensive research.

NOTE

1. For more information on effects of marijuana on health visit this

websitehttp://www.pulselive.co.ke/bi/tech/marijuana-or-alcohol-we-compared-which-

of-these-two-is-worst-for-your-health-and-the-result-will-surprise-you-

id7594399.html

2. Further information on marijuana and alcohol related crimes visit

https://www.ncadd.org/about-addiction/alcohol-drugs-and-crime

Surname 8

Bibliography

Akers, Ronald. Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance.

Routledge, 2017.

Capaldi, Deborah M., et al. "The relationships of parental alcohol versus tobacco and marijuana

use with early adolescent onset of alcohol use." Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs

77.1 (2016): 95-103.

Cohn, Amy, et al. "The association between alcohol, marijuana use, and new and emerging

tobacco products in a young adult population." Addictive behaviors 48 (2015): 79-88.

Ghosh, Tista, et al. "The public health framework of legalized marijuana in Colorado." American

journal of public health 106.1 (2016): 21-27.

Maier, Shana L., Suzanne Mannes, and Emily L. Koppenhofer. "The Implications of Marijuana

Decriminalization and Legalization on Crime in the United States." Contemporary Drug

Problems 44.2 (2017): 125-146.

Nguyen-Louie, Tam T., et al. "Effects of emerging alcohol and marijuana use behaviors on

adolescents’ neuropsychological functioning over four years." Journal of studies on

alcohol and drugs 76.5 (2015): 738-748.

Volkow, Nora D., et al. "Adverse health effects of marijuana use." New England Journal of

Medicine 370.23 (2014): 2219-2227.

Surname 9

Place new order. It's free, fast and safe

Paper type

Deadline

Page count

550 words

Total price: $ 15.00

Our customers say

Jeff Curtis

USA, Student

"I'm fully satisfied with the essay I've just received. When I read it, I felt like it was exactly what I wanted to say, but couldn’t find the necessary words. Thank you!"

Ian McGregor

UK, Student

"I don’t know what I would do without your assistance! With your help, I met my deadline just in time and the work was very professional. I will be back in several days with another assignment!"

Shannon Williams

Canada, Student

"It was the perfect experience! I enjoyed working with my writer, he delivered my work on time and followed all the guidelines about the referencing and contents."