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Medicinal or Recreational: Should marijuana be legalized?

Have you ever wanted to experience marijuana or looked upon people who have experienced marijuana and realized that you couldn’t try it because it isn’t legal? Well, marijuana is the most used illegal drug in the United States. Many sources say that if it were to be legalized the use of smoking it would increase. However, marijuana should be legalized regardless of the effects it has on the human body. If people wish to smoke marijuana then they should be able to have that option without the fear of law enforcement hanging over their head.
Marijuana is the common name for a crude drug made from the Cannabis Sativa plant. Its active ingredient is THC but there are more than 400 more chemicals in this plant. THC acts on the receptors of the nerve cells and influences them into activity influencing pressure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory, and time perception and coordination movement. (T, Buddy) When a person smokes marijuana immediate effects are a faster heartbeat, pulse rate, bloodshot eyes, dry mouth, and dry throat; it also reduces your short term memory, alters your sense of time, and reduces your sense of coordination, concentration, and reaction time. (Fact Sheet - MARIJUANA) Now, don’t get me wrong these symptoms sound horrible and very unhealthy for the human body but people still have the choice. The earlier people start to smoke marijuana the more likely they are to experiment with other drugs which can also lead to their learning process and their interest in schoolwork. Using marijuana leads to many mental and physical problems.
Legalizing marijuana was compared to the legalizing of gambling. (Dr. Robert L. DuPont) When gambling was legalized it increased instead of decreased. This is in turn saying that the legalizing of marijuana would lead to more users throughout the world because it is already the most common abused illegal drug around the world. Marijuana is currently the leading cause of substance dependence other than alcohol in the U.S. If it were to be legalized the use of marijuana would increase and currently there are 15.2 million marijuana users. Medicinal purposes for marijuana are basically for chemotherapy patients, patients with Parkinson disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and glaucoma.
A solution to marijuana is just legalizing it. I don’t believe that legalizing marijuana will be just as it was when gambling was legalized, I believe that the use of marijuana will be decreased. I compare it to children wanting to do something and their parents not allowing them to do it. When a child really wants to do something they figures out ways to do that something and if their parents are to say no then they want to do that thing even more than before. If their parents were to allow them to do that thing yes, some kids would still do it but I also think that some kids wouldn’t be as interested because it’s not “on the edge” anymore. Government should make the usage of marijuana legal. If government were to make marijuana legal they would be able to profit from the tax placed on it, and also it’s not terrible because you cannot get physically addicted to marijuana unlike alcohol and other substances.
In conclusion, marijuana should be legalized giving people the power to choose whether they want to smoke or not. People will continue to use marijuana whether legalized or not so why wouldn’t the government want to profit off of it. Cigarettes, alcohol, and other drug substances cause addiction marijuana has mostly medicinal use and when people smoke if most of time it’s for relaxation of some sort. Again, I say marijuana should be legalized because it might help the government to make more profit just as they do off of cigarette sales.

The Ferocious Beast Gets Conquered

In the darkness a big and ugly monster dwells. An environment of windy cliffs, wolf dens, and mist that steams like black clouds. Mankind is afraid of his strength for with his teeth he can bite down and break every bone in their bodies. This monster was known to the people as Grendel. Grendel was an offspring of Cain, from the biblical story of Cain and Abel. Cain’s offspring were basically evil, wicked, and destructive beasts, monsters, creatures, and demons; Grendel was a part of this lineage. I believe that the things that a person, or in this case a thing, does always catch up with it; it is just as the saying says what goes around comes around. Grendel was faced with a challenge that he had never seen before and he buckled under pressure.
Grendel would hunt his prey during the night when all of the guards of Herot would be sleeping. He would lurk into the halls and snatch men one by one, leaving the King’s army lessened. Men were afraid of him and no man would want to even enter Herot, “It stayed deserted for years”(Beowulf, line 61). For nothing that the King could offer Grendel would satisfy him except human sacrifice. Grendel was mankind’s enemy, bloodthirsty and horrible in his actions. For twelve long years Grendel killed men innumerably so, that the King’s misery traveled all the way to, the strongest of the Geats, a man named Beowulf. This ferocious monster feasted on the lives of mankind during the night and their families would never see them again until word travels to a man that could be Herot’s “salvation” from Grendel.
Beowulf arrives and there is a big feast. Later that night Grendel arrives with Beowulf still being there waiting with all the other guards. As soon as Grendel sees the strength of young Beowulf he begins to second guess whether or not he should run. “Grendel’s one thought was to run from Beowulf, flee back to his marsh and hide there: this was a different Herot than the hall he had emptied.”(Beowulf, lines 437-439) This quote shows that no matter how much bigger you are than your enemy, and ugly that doesn’t mean that you should get intimidated and run away from the fight. Grendel recognized Beowulf’s strength and was terrifyingly afraid of finally being conquered by such a man as strong as he.
When Beowulf and Grendel really begin battling Beowulf takes him down. Grendel finally reveals his weak side to the men that he hunts down. “In the darkness, the horrible shrieks of pain and defeat, the tears torn out of Grendel’s taut throat, hell’s captive caught in the arms of him who all the men on earth was the strongest.”(Beowulf, lines 468-472) Grendel cries out very loudly when Beowulf rips his arm off. The biggest and the most ferocious did not win this battle. Grendel had been taken down and all the people of Herot rejoiced and praised Beowulf because he was the greatest.
Grendel is a big, evil, wicked beast that feeds on the men of Herot as he lurks throughout the night. When he is faced with a challenged he buckles under pressure and in turn dies in the result of his fear, even though he continued to fight. He was the reason that the town Herot remained deserted and when he let out his cry alarming the people that he was in excruciating pain they rejoiced and praised Beowulf, the strongest of the Geats, for his good works. Even when times are hard and it seems as if the other opponent will win because of an advantage in any way, continue to have faith and keep fighting.

Beowulf's Values

Beowulf reveals the values of heroism, bravery, loyalty, and friendship. Beowulf is the hero of the epic slaying three very important people/things. He fights Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon that guards the treasure. When conquering the dragon it represented a besieged community facing evil forces that lurk in the cold darkness. Grendel also lurks in the darkness at night and is a threatening force to the people of Herot. Beowulf comes to Herot and they give him praise because of his bravery and heroic abilities to save people he didn’t even know. He was loyal to himself and the people he promised that he would kill Grendel; he possesses superior physical strength and supremely ethical standards. People in the town of Herot were in need of a rescuer and when Beowulf came along they couldn’t praise him enough, which lead later to him being king.

Grendel: Based From Epic Poem Beowulf

Grendel is based from the epic poem Beowulf, meta-fiction, which is about a man who became a hero to a town called Herot which is also the place where Grendel dwells and hunts down the lives of men. Grendel is an extremely ugly, and evil monster who hunts down the town Herot for twelve years. Grendel is totally opposed the story Beowulf. In Beowulf Grendel comes across as a horrible villain that only seems to care about himself and not mankind, in Grendel he takes the time to observe the life and ways of humans and later expressing his inner thoughts with the audience throughout the entire book. Beowulf is set in a world governed a moral code, and in Grendel it is full beauty, heroism, and patriotism. Basically all in all Grendel was portrayed to the audience in two very different lights in each epic story. Even though, he still turned out to be the villain in each story there was a different process to approaching it. Grendel had more of a background story so the audience could have their own opinion about this, so called monster, and Beowulf just put Grendel’s name into it without truly describing his backdrop except for the details about his horrible living conditions, also known as his lair, where he and his mother dwelled.

Significant Philosophies

In Grendel by John Gardner there are three significant philosophies. The three philosophies were solipsism, existentialism, and nihilism. Solipsism is a theory that only the self exist and nothing else. Existentialism is when the individual (main character) of the story is the creator of the meaning of the world. Nihilism is absolute destruction and the total rejection of any established laws and institutions. When the novel starts off in Chapter One: The Ram Grendel starts off expressing that the ram was just as he was last year stating that he had no change. In Chapter Two: The Bull Grendel starts with his solipsism type of philosophy stating that he alone exist just because his mother refuses to respond to he’s wails for her. When the Shaper arrives in Chapter Three: The Twins Grendel’s identity is challenged because the Shaper brings history causing Grendel to take a moment to look back on his life and also he creates a better world as he sings his songs to the people. As Grendel realizes himself in Chapter Four: The Crab he desires to join the society of men but can only join as their enemy. The dragon is introduced in Chapter Five: The Lion and has a major influence of Grendel. Grendel is no introduced to materialism, which is when only things matter. The dragon is a perfect example because of his hoard and it shows how the world can be so selfish and characterized with greed and conquest. Not only is the dragon a materialist but he is also a nihilist in that he promotes the destruction of the world. After getting a charm placed on him without knowing in Chapter Six: The Virgin Grendel has immediate joy because he is invincible but then it later turns into a curse because it makes him feel even more isolated from man. Grendel also later becomes a skeptic. He begins to doubt everything and look at every single one of their surroundings as their enemy. In Chapter Seven: The Scales Grendel is not balanced as he holds back from killing people he has some sense of balance. Within the first seven chapters Grendel has been transformed from a frightened solipsistic child to an angry skeptical killer. Throughout the rest of the book Grendel takes a turn into his death. Many signs warn him and give him an idea of what will happen such as the old lady, and the fact that his mother doesn’t want him to go out but certain things happen anyways to Grendel. It must have been his destiny.

Grendel As Narrator

Gardner made the decision to use Grendel as a narrator because he is isolated from the rest of society and also the source and symbol of evil throughout the entire story. Grendel’s status as an isolated and lonely monster affects the way he tells the story. He has this need to feel understood by the world and also to be connection with humankind. As he watched the ways and behaviors of the people that live in Herot, not being very fond of the way they carry themselves, wants to be a part of their society. He is just like a human in his actions, except for the fact that he eats humans, but is clearly and always will be viewed as a horrible monster that people will never accept into their world. Even though Grendel tries and tries to be a good character, he is always viewed t the audience as the villain.