George Bierson’s "Marijuana, the Deceptive Drug", was written and put in the Massachusetts News in 2000. Bierson stated that marijuana is bad for the body in many ways, including damage to the brain, reproductive system, and immune system. He also states that marijuana is a "gateway drug", which means that it leads people to want to take other drugs. The fault in Bierson’s arguments is that he is basing things on what most people assume and not hard facts. I have found that several of his points, when looked at logically, do not reach his conclusion.
One of Bierson’s claims is about the physical harms of consuming marijuana. He argues that tests on a monkey's brain show evidence of brain damage. Although, he doesn’t bring up the fact this test was discredited afterwards. the monkeys were given extremely high amounts. Much higher than most marijuana users. Also, the test’s sample size was way too small to prove anything. More recent studies show that people who smoke marijuana very often have no brain damage. Even the American Medical Association has supported the decriminalization of the substance. Also ,both of his claims that the reproductive and immune systems are damaged by …show more content…
Bierson states that if we stop the use of Marijuana then the use of other drugs will slow, if not completely stop. According to government surveys, an estimate of 80 million American have tried marijuana. Only 20 million people admit to using it recently though. If it was a gateway drug, we would see more people using it more often, along with other drugs. Most people who use marijuana often quit on their own before turning 34. If anyone still believes the "gateway drug" idea; In Holland, marijuana had been partially decriminalized in the 1970's. Reports show that the use of cocaine and heroin had significantly decreased. This proves that Marijuana is most definitely not a gateway