Marijuana: Opponents Factual Brief

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Term Paper Title	Marijuana: Opponents Factual Brief
# of Words	1675
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	6.7

Marijuana: Opponent's Factual Brief

Marijuana: Opponent's Factual Brief

OPPONENT'S BRIEF

     Factual Proposition: Consuming marijuana is detrimental to one's health.

     Definition of key terms:

1. Consumption=  Smoking or eating  marijuana. 2. Marijuana=  Psychoactive mind
altering substance, also known as cannabis. 3. Detrimental=  Serious harm.

     Primary Inference:

     Smoking or eating marijuana is likely to create serious health problems
for most individual users or society.

     Overview:

     Since the 1920's supporters of marijuana prohibition have exaggerated the
drugs dangers.  Many of the “reefer madness” tales that were used to bring
support for early anti- marijuana laws , continue to appear in  reports today.
The most important studies of recent times took place in the 1970's in Greece,
Costa Rica and Jamaica.  These tests reported  on the effects of marijuana on
its users in there natural environment.    The reports covered marijuana's
effect on the brain, immune and reproductive systems. (1) These studies didn't
answer all the questions about the effects of marijuana on the user, but
supported the idea that marijuana for the majority of its users was not
detrimental to the health of the users brain, immune or reproductive system.  In
looking at all the reports that are published there are perhaps, random  studies
which may indicate greater toxicity of the drug. But in all of these cases,  the
research was flawed or inaccurate since the findings cannot be duplicated by
other scientists.

Contention I:  Marijuana does not damage brain cells.
     A. Claim:  Use of marijuana does not cause memory loss.
     1. Grounds:  In a recent study rhesus monkeys were exposed to the
equivalent of 4-5 joints per day for an entire year without any alteration of
hippocampal architecture.(2) Slikker, W. et al,” Behavioral, Neurochemical, and
Neurohistological Effects of chronic Marijuana Smoke Exposure in the Nonhuman
Primate,”pp219-74 in l. Murphy and A. Bartke (eds), Marijuana Neurobiology and
Neurophysiology, Boca Raton: CRC press(1992)
     2. Warrant:  Alteration in hippocampal structure results in memory loss.
     3. Backing:  A study reports “ Any alteration of the hippo campus, a
cortical brain region, results in negative consequences for learning and memory
in humans.(3)  Heath, B.C. et al, “Cannabis Sativa:  Effects on Brain Function
and Ultra structure in Rhesus Monkeys,  “Biological Psychiatry 15:657  (1980).

     B. Claim:  Use of marijuana does not cause cog...

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