Speech to Persuade Making Marijuana Legal

Course Title:                Speech Communication

Date:                         June 30, 2014

Type of Speech:         Persuasive

Purpose:        To persuade my audience about the reasons Marijuana should be made legal..

Thesis:         The Consumption of marijuana can have so much health benefits to those who use it

Introduction:        

Attention Getter – The war on marijuana has been lost! While its controversial, many people believe that marijuana should be made legal. What do you think?

Marijuana users are indeed aware of the health hazards their addiction to marijuana may lead to, but no authority of law is capable of preventing them from smoking marijuana as one of their favorites. The only way to a better control it, is to legalize marijuana. Don’t you agree with me? Because by making it legal, it would lead people from turning to the other illegal drugs out there that are more expensive and much more dangerous.

 Legalizing and regulating marijuana will bring the nation’s largest cash crop under the rule of law, thus creating jobs and economic opportunities in the formal economy instead of the illicit market. Tonight I will tell you why marijuana should be made legal. Marijuana should be made legal for its medicinal purposes, for religious use and the cost benefits that can be derived from it. for the country.

Body:

Medicinal purposes

Individuals deserve the right to make choices for themselves and the govt only has a/the right to limit those choices if and only if the individual’s actions endanger someone else. People, legalization implies better control and when better controlled, marijuana would serve those who need its healing properties.  It has been proven that it is not more dangerous than tobacco or alcohol. This plant has been in use for centuries for its medicinal purposes, because it does have healing properties. Unlike tobacco and alcohol, marijuana can serve people in a number of ways such as:

• It Improves appetite
• Prevents weight loss in patients with AIDS
• Helps glaucoma patients lessen eye pressure
• Reduces nausea caused by radiation and chemotherapeutic treatments.
• It is also an effective pain killer for persons who suffers from arthritis and inflammation in the body.
• A 2003 study showed that marijuana can also aid in the control of epileptic seizures.
• A study also shows that marijuana smokers are slimmer than the average persons and have healthier metabolism and reaction to sugars, even though they end up eating more calories because of the munchies.

Religious Purposes:

Why not exempt marijuana for genuine religious purposes?

Alcohol like marijuana is a drug with potentially harmful effects, but if alcohol is widely accepted for religious use among Jews and many other religions, marijuana should too.

Many people use marijuana as a religious sacrament and forcing them not to use it clearly prohibits the free exercise of their religion. Take for example, the Rastafarians use marijuana in their religious rituals to enhance their consciousness of the relationship between God, Creation and the individual soul. These people should be able to have the freedom to practice their religion as they see fit.