...Supporting the Legalization of Marijuana For the past years whether marijuana should be legal or not has been a popular debate topic in the media. This is not only discussed between government officials, but also the general public. It is often a heavily debated topic with two strong opposing opinions. Each side often has a great argument or point of view when it comes to marijuana legalization. There is a lot of concern behind making marijuana legal everywhere which is understandable. What people can sometimes forget is the benefits brought upon by marijuana. Marijuana being more beneficial or more hurtful has been the main issues discussed when it comes to legalizing marijuana. Marijuana should be legalized in every state because it...
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...Medical Marijuana Marijuana legalization one of the most argued and discussed subjects worldwide. The topic is argued for it to be legal for medical uses, and recreationally. Opposing these arguments are the ideas that it’s a “high potential for abuse,” and it is harmful to those who ingest the drug. On the other hand, don’t a majority of prescriptions, drugs, and medicines that are legal, and are heavily used, all have a “high potential for abuse?” Medical marijuana being legalized for specific illnesses such as: epilepsy, crohn’s disease, and multiple sclerosis, will be life changing for those who suffer from those illnesses and diseases. This drug is the most widely used controlled substance in the world. Since marijuana has been illegal...
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...Alexa Berkman Professor Hughes SYG 2010 01Z 2 November 2015 Marijuana Abuse and the Legalization of Marijuana The debate of whether or not to legalize marijuana has been a dispute for years. Marijuana is the most abused drug in the United States especially among teens and young adults. Since 1970’s Control Substances Act, marijuana has been considered a Schedule 1 drug (Odabasi, 45). It still is a Schedule 1 drug, but now these laws are starting to be reevaluated. In recent years many states have begun to pass laws to allow marijuana use in their boarders. However, the state laws conflict with the Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling against using medical marijuana in the United States (Odabasi, 51). Cannabis, weed, pot, and Mary Jane are just a few...
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...Health Marijuana Legalization 11-2-15 People say that marijuana is a helpful medical drug, similar in significance to chemotherapy. It helps people calm down and sleep better, in some cases. It has been helpful in suppressing nausea in chemo patients, and even helps with seizures. There may be a place for marijuana use in medicine, although that use is different than recreational marijuana use. Some say that recreational use it isn’t as harmful or bad for you as alcohol and other hard drugs. Maybe legalizing it will even help the economy. Those are some reasons why many might want to legalize recreational marijuana use. I disagree, recreational marijuana should stay illegal in the United States because if it is legalized it will cause negative effects on physical and mental health. Marijuana is a gateway drug....
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...In this paper I am going to argue why Marijuana has medical usage and the benefits of having it legalized for that purpose. Does marijuana have any medicinal use? Quite a few say yes marijuana does have medical use and yes it should be made legal for that purpose. The people that think this way are correct marijuana does have medical use. It has been used as medicine since 2727 B.C. were the first recorded use of cannabis as medicine in Chinese pharmacopoeia but not only was it used in China but every part of the world. Humankind has used cannabis for a wide variety of health problems for not just centuries but over a millennium. But there are still people who deny that marijuana had medical use. These people who are wrong marijuana does have medical use. They also have their own scientific studies...
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...Seventy-seven years ago marijuana became illegal in the United States. There are two very distinct views looking at marijuana. One side is totally for it and sees it as an amazing plant that can heal countless medical problems, help with mental well-being, makes cells more active, and even more. But the other side is totally against it and sees it as the devil’s creation. Destroying lives. Making people dumb. Killing people. This side usually doesn’t have much knowledge about the drug, so they are ignorant to the facts. They rely on what the media tells them, what their old teachers and mentors told...
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...this letter to express my disapproval to the Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol Act. Marijuana is such a controversial topic of debate in America because some are for it, others are against it. According to the DEA Marijuana is both a harmful and addictive drug. Neither my town nor community who is full of people will benefit or be influenced by this act. Studies have shown since Marijuana has become legalized in Colorado that crime rates have decreased marginally because individuals no longer use it illegally. Yet since Marijuana is now legal, the study has failed to mention both short and long term effects from the continual or increased intake. Regulating Marijuana like Alcohol will not grow the economy exponentially, but it would drift the economy off the...
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...Violence Surrounding Marijuana The violence that surrounds marijuana is a major concern for a lot of people, some people believe that it can be changed by legalizing it and therefore taking away the drug cartels number one source of income. The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy ... says that more than 60 percent of the profits reaped by Mexican drug lords are derived from the exportation and sale of cannabis to the American market (Armentano2). It is ridiculous to think that the United States can put out a statistic like this and ignore the fact that if they legalized the drug there would be less violence because there would be no point for Mexican drug cartels to try and smuggle the drug into the U.S. In the article “Blame Prohibition, Not Pot Smokers for Violence in Mexico”, published by AlterNet.org, Tony Newman tells us how the people who run the “Just Say No” campaign against drugs have a new scheme in which they plan to blame people who smoke pot for the violence in Mexico. They are hoping to stop younger people from smoking marijuana if they associate it with the murder of people by the drug cartels in Mexico. There are a few problems with these campaigns: They are inaccurate in some cases, and downright dishonest in others.Office of National Drug Control Policy It is disingenuous to connect the average American's marijuana consumption to the horrific violence of Mexico's drug war. The average pot smoker's growing and purchasing of marijuana has no relationship...
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...Position Paper Khadijah Shabazz CNSL 5203 Dr. Sampson Prairie View A&M University 9/20/2015 The legalization of drugs is one of the most controversial and debated topics of the 21st century. There are both negative and positive reasons to legalize them as well as negative and positive reasons to keep them prohibited. According to LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, drug prohibition is the true cause of much of the social and personal damage that has historically been attributed to drug use. It is prohibition that makes these drugs so valuable – while giving criminals a monopoly over their supply ("Why Legalize Drugs? | LEAP").LEAP goes on to say that criminal gangs are driven by the huge profits from this monopoly, criminal gangs bribe and kill each other, law enforcers, and children and as such their trade is unregulated and they are, therefore, beyond our control ("Why Legalize Drugs? | LEAP"). It is LEAP’s belief that by eliminating prohibition of all drugs for adults and establishing appropriate regulation and standards for distribution and use, law enforcement could focus more on crimes of violence, such as rape, aggravated assault, child abuse and murder, making our communities much safer ("Why Legalize Drugs? | LEAP"). Another positive aspect of the legalization of drugs is financial gains. According to the International Business Times in a study for the Cato Institute, Jeffrey A. Miron, senior lecturer on economics at Harvard University and a senior...
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...Legalization of Marijuana Jimmy Martin, II Saint Leo University Author Note This paper was prepared for Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior CRM 328, taught by Dr. Pappas. Abstract With exception to the debate surrounding the Affordable Health Care Act and the attacks on the United States Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, public policy regarding legalization of recreational and medical marijuana has reached a boiling point in most state legislatures. However, possession and use of marijuana is still viewed by many as comparable to consuming an alcoholic beverage. Regardless, it (marijuana) is still classified as a Schedule I Controlled Substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Introduction After prohibition of alcohol was rescinded by the Twenty First Amendment, years later the focus from the United States government shifted to prohibition of drugs. But there have always been varying ulterior motives. According to Baylor University Professor of Sociology, Dr. Diana Kendall, the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed solely to criminalize marijuana by taxing it; this would dissuade migrant Mexican workers who smoked marijuana to seek employment elsewhere and not take jobs from U.S. citizens as the country struggled during the Great Depression (Kendall, 2010). Last year, voters in Colorado and Washington State approved legislation that supported the commercial growth, sale, possession and use of recreational marijuana. In response, United...
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...Global Politics: The feasibility of universal drug liberalization as an emerging phenomenon RWaterhouse Globalization & The War on Drugs: Assessing alternatives to criminalization The purpose of this paper is to address universal drug liberalization as a feasible alternative to the current drug control regime specifically in North America and potentially applicable elsewhere. With an in depth analysis of the historical regulation, implementation of law, and resulting consequences we will be able to see how nations are effected by complex drug politics and why there has been a global paradigm shift in looking spiritedly at the ideal of decriminalization. I argue in favor of liberalization by bringing to attention the violence associated with the commodification of illegal drugs, what the re-directed costs of control could mean for domestic investment into proactive drug awareness education, and finally recognizing Portugal’s success and weaknesses in the adoption of a compete legalization agenda. Following will be a discussion of concluding thoughts centered on the efficacy and feasibility of universal liberalization in today’s globalized world. Historical Context Libertarianism has almost always had position in political discourse but has been majorly popularized through public attention within the era of globalization. (article) Control of drug consumption has always been a contemporary ingredient in the political reform of Canada and the America’s and...
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...The so-called “War on Drugs,” as declared by the Nixon administration in the signing of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, marked the beginning of the current era of mandatory minimum sentencing, racism, privatized prisons, and a powerful constituency that profits as a result of the prohibition of drugs. Psychoactive substances have been apart of the human experience as long as humans have walked the earth. There is little hope that drug production will ever be curtailed, so long as there is a demand; a demand that has remained steady even though it has been forty years since the beginning of said war. As Judge James P. Gray from the Superior Court of Orange County has so plainly put it: “Where did this policy come from? Unfortunately I have conducted an inquiry into this and I have determined that drug prohibition laws came for reasons of racism, empire building, and ignorance.”(Booth) The War on Drugs is politically motivated as a means of profiting. One may ask them self how government can financially benefit from such policies. In fact, they benefit in a myriad of ways. The government spends an exorbitant amount of money in an attempt to combat drug production and drug usage. The U.S. government has spent over a trillion—that’s right a trillion—dollars in its attempt to eradicate the drug problem. With so much time, effort and money there should be something to show, right? Wrong. Today drugs are more prevalent, more potent and cheaper than...
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...An Argument Against Proposition 19 Abstract This rhetorical analysis examines a response from Stainlislaus County about their feelings and arguments against Proposition 19. Their arguments that they use to refute their opinions had many fallacies, even though they tried to appeal to their audience as much as possible by using pathos, logos, and casual arguments. Proposition 19 was a bill that failed to pass because it was unfavorable. It stated that it would legalize the usage of marijuana along with marijuana related activities, it would allow for the government to regulate the activities and also allow the government to place taxes on it, and it would authorize criminal and civil penalties by the local government. This is an ongoing debate in many states today, and will continue to become more popular because of the uprise in popularity of marijuana. Keywords: Proposition 19, Stainlislaus County, marijuana, legalization An Argument Against Proposition 19 The controversy of the legality of marijuana has been a huge subject for debate for years, even decades. Currently, in modern society, the number of supporters for legal use of marijuana has increased significantly. People often question why this topic is an enormous concern and it is because here in the United States marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug. It has been recorded by The National Institution on Drug...
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...Should medical marijuana be legalized nationwide? Team A BCOM/275 October 9, 2011 UoP Instructor Should medical marijuana be legalized nationwide? The use of marijuana for the treatment of patients with serious health conditions is currently one of the top contentious debate topics in the United States. Until its prohibition in 1937, marijuana was one the top three most prescribed medicines in the United States. To date, 13 states have statutory laws legalizing medical marijuana; however, it is not legal at the federal level. Several pros and cons exist to support whether medical marijuana should be or not be legalized nationwide. The primary arguments in debating the pros and cons of legalizing medical marijuana nationwide focus primarily on medical benefits, disease prevention, medical risk, substance abuse, and legal issues. Many scientific professionals and patients claim medical marijuana provides some sort of medical benefits. Although it has been a contentious battle between the states and federal governments to legalize or not medical marijuana nationwide, there are three important points to take under consideration; first, marijuana is a potent analgesic in patients with chronic pain. Second, it is a strong anti-emetic for patients receiving cancer chemotherapy treatment. Third and most important, medical marijuana should be legal, so patients do not have to break the law to receive treatment. Across the nation state organizations...
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...Legalizing Marijuana Thomas Hendricks SOC120: Introduction to Ethics & Social Responsibility Instructor: Wendell Johnson 11/18/13 Introduction The legalization of Marijuana has long been a debate and will no doubt continue. While it has its supporters it also has opposition against legalizing it. This paper will look at the argument for legalization and the argument against legalizing it. It will also look at Marijuana use for medical purposes and how that too affects the arguments on both sides. There has been a long debate to legalize marijuana for many years. It now appears that many Americans are favoring legalizing Marijuana and this may have gotten a boost from accepted medical use in some states. Many states allow the use of medical marijuana for cancer patients, multiple sclerosis patients and as Dr. Sanjay Gupta who worked on a documentary called “Weed” for CNN stated the case for medical use of marijuana when he answered a viewer question on his change in opinion of medical use marijuana “Take neuropathy, a severe nerve pain that's often treated with narcotic pain relievers. Yet marijuana has proven to be effective, with few side effects. Every 19 minutes, someone in the United States dies from a prescription drug overdose, usually narcotics. I couldn't find one documented fatality from a marijuana overdose. Marijuana can also ease nausea from chemotherapy treatments, tremors, and epilepsy. Still, I'm very concerned about young people using pot recreationally;...
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