Over the years, marijuana abuse has continued to be regarded as being damaging to the well-being of our society and, in most countries, it is illegal to possess marijuana. In spite of being generally rejected by the public, marijuana also has numerous supporters. Its supporters usually claim that the plant is not dangerous for its consumers and that it actually shouldn't be called a drug. For several decades, the drug has been considered to be harmless and not to have any long-term consequences.

However, recent studies have proved otherwise, that the drug is very damaging to its consumer. After having consumed the drug for longer periods of time, its users have been reported to experience memory problems.

Those that militate for the legalization of marijuana believe that the drug has been made illegal because of the massive propaganda from the early 20th century. (Scienceblog)

Apparently, one of the most disastrous effects that marijuana has on its users it the fact that they are more inclined to turn to other, more dangerous drugs that could be deadly. People that smoke marijuana have far more chances of entering an environment where drugs of a higher risk are dealt with. Young people are being corrupted by either friends or drug dealers to smoke marijuana. They are generally more vulnerable to drugs because they cannot tell the difference between drugs of a lower level of risk and drugs of a higher one.

Marijuana is perceived by many, mostly older adolescents as no more harmful than alcohol or tobacco and far less risky to use occasionally than crack or heroin." (Thomas W. Clark 1997) However, according to Clark, adults have been alarmed bytha fact that the number of teenagers that become marijuana users in the present has experienced a disturbing growth. (Clark)

Marijuana is not always regarded as being dangerous for humans, with the...

The recreational use of the plant however has proved to be dangerous for the human body. (Clark)
Anti-propaganda of large proportions has taken place during the 20th century in order to demonstrate the effects of marijuana use. The media became full with anti-propaganda movies, articles, and books. Some of them have been exaggerated as marijuana users had been shown as becoming criminals after consuming the plant.

According to James P. Gray, the tactics used in order to designate marijuana as being a dangerous drug had worked. The people from several states had been impressed by the media and marijuana swiftly became criminalized. (Gray 2001)

The movie "Reefer Madness" came out in 1936 and it quickly became popular among the people of those days. The plot showed how people that smoked marijuana performed abnormal activities as they had been driven by some devilish-like force. As the movie ends, all of the characters that have been involved in the selling or consuming of marijuana have their lives ruined.

The film's audiences found themselves horrified by the damaging effects that marijuana can have on perfectly normal people. "Reefer Madness" made people obsessed with the thought that practically anyone can be drawn into groups where marijuana is consumed.

Drugs are being smuggled over borders through several means, but one of the most common methods used by smugglers is by air, with the help of commercial airlines. Smugglers can be spotted by special trained agents before climbing aboard a plane. Those that smuggle drugs are usually distressed and want to hasten things as they go.

Works Cited

Gonsalves, Sean. (2000, May 23). Drug War Advocates Are Immune to Facts. Cape Cod Times.

James P. Gray. Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and what We Can Do about it. Temple University Press: 2001.

Thomas W. Clark, "Keep Marijuana Illegal - for Teens," the Humanist May-June 1997, Questia, 1 Mar. 2009 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002233523.

2001). "DRUG POLICY and the CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM." Retrieved February 28, 2009, from the Sentencing Project Web site: http://www.sentencingproject.org/Admin/Documents/publications/dp_drugpolicy_cjsystem.pdf