Commentary on "Mary Jane and Me"

From the Love Administration’s blog, an article,“US Gov: Mary Jane and Me,” argues for the approval of recreational marijuana in America. The author includes numerous factors for the legalization of marijuana such as cognitive benefits to students, medication, and economic benefits.

He begins by explaining higher achieving students are more likely to improve their cognitive abilities using marijuana. This seems kind of counterintuitive considering marijuana is meant to slow down your neuropathways. I suppose by slowing down their neuropathways, they could roam through their thoughts calmly and have an “openness to experience” as the author considered. This was an interesting point of view, considering the stereotype of marijuana users are those who have a carefree view on schoolwork. Perhaps with more conclusive scientific evidence, this theory could become a beneficial factor when arguing for the legalization for marijuana. For now, I do not believe there is sufficient proof to this claim.

Next, he acknowledges the medicinal value of marijuana in reference to those who may lose their appetite or have insomnia. I agree with this claim since marijuana leads to drowsiness and the “munchies.” Also, many veterans who have PTSD use marijuana to alleviate stress and calm themselves from the terrors they experienced. Marijuana's ability to help natural chemicals work better also allows it to aid with pain from various diseases such as cancer and seizures. Though marijuana may cause negative side effects as well, its aid in PTSD and pain in general lead me to the conclusion that the good outweighs the bad.

Finally, he recognizes that legalizing marijuana would bring economic benefits by allowing this to become a billion dollar industry. I believe this could become a possibility. Currently, marijuana is considered illegal on the federal level, yet legal marijuana businesses must pay taxes for it since that is their source of income, which creates unhappiness and low morale in this industry. If America were to legalize marijuana, it would create fair tax breaks which would allow more marijuana business to fund areas of our government like education or the infrastructure. In conclusion, I agree with the author that legalizing marijuana would bring medical and economic relief to America.