It’s Friday night. Boys and girls all over the world are getting ready for the party. They want to feel relaxed and less anxious. They want to dance like no one is watching and not be afraid to flirt with strangers. Alcohol has been doing this magic for many years. No wonder, it is on every corner. Drinking alcohol became socially acceptable. According to the survey conducted in 2015 in the U.S., almost 90% of the adult population reported drinking alcohol at least once in their lives.
More than that, all holidays are alcohol-fueled at this point:
- Oh, thank you, I’m not drinking tonight.
- How? But we are celebrating!
You have probably witnessed this kind of situation at least once.
From another hand, we never speak about the negative effects of alcohol on our bodies. We are so excited to go to the new bar with friends that we simply ignore what alcohol can cause. Six people die every day because of alcohol poisoning in the United States. We are speaking about 2190 deaths per year. Most of the victims are men.
When someone tells us ‘let’s go for beers,’ no one says out loud that there will be, most probably, more than just one bottle of beer. At this point, 15 million people have an alcohol use disorder. It means, they can’t control the amount of alcohol they drink. They also feel cravings, and experience withdrawal symptoms.
Despite all this, we can buy alcohol anytime and anywhere. Our drinking costs $90 billion (!) dollars per year. So, big companies don’t want us to look for other substitutes and think about the long-term effects of drinking alcohol.
Let’s imagine a world where people can buy a pack of marijuana joints instead of a bottle of vodka after a hard day at work. How would that world look like?
No Marijuana Crimes
The latest survey shows that half of the American adults smoked marijuana at least once. People do discuss their experiences, share the contact of a guy who knows a guy who sells it. Let’s not forget about the planting drugs. It might not even be yours, but you will still be punished for it because drugs are illegal — all drugs, except for alcohol of course.
In some cases, however, people are prosecuted; they get fines or even spend years in jail. So, it is a lottery because you never know where you will end up for smoking weed.
However, if someday government legalizes marijuana, there will be fewer prisoners who live at the taxpayers’ expense.
Fewer car accidents
Drunk driving statistics are pretty disturbing. Based on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) up to 20.ooo Americans are killed, and around 300,000 people are injured every year because of drunk drivers.
According to a study conducted by Norwegians in 2016, drunk drivers are more likely to crash than high ones. On the other hand, smoking marijuana also increases the risk of a road accident by 30%.
The risk of being involved in a crash after smoking weed is still high since this drug impairs reaction time and motor coordination. So, drug-impaired driving should remain illegal. However, we should keep in mind that there are still more accidents on the road under the influence of alcohol.
Less aggression
It is not the secret that alcohol triggers the increase of violent behavior, and there is scientific proof for this. Scientists at the University of New South Wales in Australia used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan blood flow. They discovered that participants who drank alcohol at the beginning of the experiment had enormous activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain and behaved more aggressively.
Two hundred forty-eight thousand people die worldwide every year because of alcohol-attributable violence. Visit Canada where you can order marijuana right to your doorstep from sites like Cannabismo and see for yourself how calm people are when they are stoned.
Drinking is the main factor that triggers 40% of violent crimes in the U.S.
When it comes to illegal cannabis, its users are less likely to behave aggressively, according to the latest study.
If people start consuming more marijuana instead of alcohol, it will reduce violence. This statement isn’t just a fantasy. We can see this pattern in the US states that legalized weed consumption.
Violent crime fell by 12.5 % in the States that border with Mexico.
Less addicted people
There are many addictive things in this world. Heroin, nicotine, caffeine, crack cocaine, methadone, alcohol, and methamphetamine. Where is cannabis on this list though?
The latest study shows that people are more likely to get addicted to cigarettes than to cannabis. There is still a chance to get addicted to it though. About 9 % of users smoke weed on a daily basis. We might obtain other statistics on it once marijuana is legalized globally.
From another hand, we shouldn’t wait for a long time. Let’s take a look at the Netherlands where weed was legalized in 1972. The number of addicted weed smokers in there isn’t higher than in the United States.
Reducing the death rate
As mentioned above, there is a big number of deaths caused by alcohol. From another hand, have you ever heard of a marijuana overdose? You need to smoke at least 500 joints a day to die out of smoking weed. It’s the same with chocolate. The one can die out of it after eating around 5-6 kg of unsweetened dark chocolate but who will be able to eat so much?
Less pain
There is no hangover in the world where cannabis is the most popular psychoactive substance. There is just no such thing as a weed hangover. Can you imagine a world without a horrible headache, constant tiredness and unquenchable thirst?
Let’s not forget, that marijuana is considered a medicine. It can treat pain in cases of cancer, AIDS, PTSD, and epilepsy.
More than that, cannabis can also treat menstrual cramps. Some women have horrible period pain, and they would love to do anything to get rid of it and relax. Even Queen Victoria knew about it!
Kids would smoke less
Quite ironically but true. Since weed is illegal in most States, there are a lot of drug dealers on the streets. It is easier for kids to buy pot than a bottle of beer because in the first case no one asks them to show their IDs. Legalizing marijuana can solve this problem. Weed will be sold in the grocery shops, just like they sell beers right now. It will put street dealers out of business.
Better sex
According to research published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, cannabis improves sex drive since it is a natural aphrodisiac. It can help you to last longer in bed and make sure your partner gets multiple orgasms. By the way, when you are high, orgasms are more intense. Alcohol, on the other hand, doesn’t help people to attain an erection and perform well in bed. People could smoke weed in bars and have a better sex life.
More creative people
Famous people like Bob Dylan, Lady Gaga, The Beatles, Steve Jobs, Hugh Hefner have something in common. They all smoked weed from time to time. Of course, weed didn’t make them famous. However, there is a connection between cannabis and creativity. Marijuana can produce psychotomimetic symptoms. As a result, users can connect unrelated concepts and generate new ideas. Indeed, it helps to think outside of the box.
It would make restaurants more profitable
Marijuana has a massive impact on people’s taste receptors. Once you smoke pot, your receptors get activated, and it leads to “marijuana munchies” – a strong desire for fat carbohydrate-rich foods. Let’s not forget that food combined with marijuana tastes so much better than usual. Thus, legalized marijuana can help to increase restaurants’ profits.
The state government would be richer
Alcohol and tobacco are heavily taxed at the moment. Governments could make money on weed as well. People illegally buy cannabis from street dealers anyway. On the other hand, the whole process of selling and buying could be legalized and supervised by the government.
Cannabis could become a great substitute for alcohol. Obviously, it causes fewer problems than vodka or an enormous amount of beers. People would be less aggressive. The number of car accidents and domestic violence cases would decrease. We would be able to live longer, treat chronic pain and get even more satisfaction from sex and food. Hopefully, society will experience it one day.
