...INTRODUCTION Cannabis use has always been a topic of controversy both legally and socially. In recent years, there has been a steady move towards ending the prohibition of cannabis. This shift can be seen today in countries such as the Netherlands and Portugal and several states in the US where cannabis has been decriminalised for both medicinal and recreational purposes. On the other hand, many jurisdictions view cannabis as a harmful substance that needs to be controlled under strict laws. Cannabis is derived from the Sativa or hemp plant and has been used for centuries for medicinal and agricultural purposes. The prohibition of cannabis was only brought to the fore as recently as the 1920s. Before then, cannabis was legal and there was...
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...the most controversial proposition is Prop 19; the legalization of marijuana. This is not the first time that a proposition regarding marijuana has been on the voter’s ballot. In 1996, California Proposition 215 (the Compassionate Use Act) passed, allowing the use of only medical marijuana. Proposition 19 takes marijuana legalization a step further, creating full legalization in California, and treating marijuana more like tobacco or alcohol. Proposition 19 should be passed, making it a stepping stone towards a national referendum on marijuana decriminalization and leading to a reduction the national debt. If passed, Proposition 19 will legalize the use of marijuana under California state law. It would permit local governments to regulate and tax the commercial production, distribution, and sale of marijuana. But with the legality of the buying and selling of marijuana, there would come many rules and regulations that are stated in the proposition that would adjoin to users. According to Yeson19.com, the proposition was very carefully written to protect medical user’s rights while at the same time, written to regulate the use and impose constraints on those same individuals (Control & Tax Cannabis). In addition, these laws could be viewed as fairly similar to current laws regarding the use of tobacco and alcohol. Some of the major parts of the bill in regulating the use of marijuana are to control marijuana like alcohol, place age restrictions, limit location to where possession...
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...Medical Marijuana Laws and their Effects Keith Reese COM/156 7/23/2014 Jennifer Preus Medical Marijuana Laws and their Effects In 1936, George Herliman produced the propaganda film “Tell Your Children”, later titled “Reefer Madness”(“IMBD”, 1990-2014). This film, financed by a church group to display the exaggerated consequences of marijuana usage, was intended to inspire fear in parents and children alike. Though marijuana legalization has become a front burner topic, one would assume that our technological advances would invoke more rational responses from the general public seeking facts to support claims. However, the same type of fear induced media messages are employed today by anti-marijuana groups and politicians to sway public opinion. Contrary to the seemingly credible publications throughout the media, the legalization of marijuana, medical or recreational, does not increase crime. As the debate regarding the legalization of marijuana, both medicinal and recreational, has heated up, several groups have been formed to speak out about the perceived consequences. Former Congressman Patrick Kennedy has co-founded the anti-marijuana group, Project SAM, with Kevin Sabet who also is the director of the organization. After the Justice Department allowed Colorado and Washington to move forward with their respective marijuana legislation, Kennedy claimed, “we can look forward to more drugged driving accidents,...
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...Legalizing Marijuana in the United States Jennifer Wilkins English Composition I Engl 1301 July 21, 2009 Bertha Webster Legalizing Marijuana in the United States Introduction Marijuana is a substance that has become very much a part of American culture. By definition, marijuana derives from the Indian hemp plant thought to have originated in the mountainous districts of India, north of the Himalayan Mountains (http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861628419/marijuana.html). Nearly 95 million Americans have either used marijuana occasionally or regularly (Belville, 2009, p.60). Marijuana’s history is long and extensive. Marijuana comes from a Mexican word meaning “Mary Jane”. Marijuana has been grown for medical use for thousands of years. It is an established scientific fact that marijuana is not toxic to humans; marijuana overdoses are nearly impossible, and marijuana is not nearly as addictive as alcohol or tobacco (http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/60959/?page=2). Today in the United States there is an ongoing debate whether marijuana should or should not be legalized. Legalizing marijuana can cut the cost to the government for the on-going “war on drugs”, be used medically in numerous proven ways, and eliminate the failure of prohibition. Cost of the “War on Drugs” In the United States, all levels of government (federal, state, and local authorities) participate in the “War on Drugs.” More than thirty years after the “War on Drugs” was declared...
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...Mario Prieto 7/25/2014 Mr. Ogrodowski English 102 Research Paper Marijuana Legalization Marijuana is the most used drug in the world; it’s as popular as it is polarizing. It’s been said to have medicinal benefits for the ill. Can it kill a human being? If it can kill, than why is it illegal? Why not legalize it, that way crimes will go down? All these are questions that have been asked when discussing the hot debate that is marijuana. While there is no clear answer to any of these questions, there is a variety of opinions out there in respect to marijuana. Marijuana has carried a big stigma for a long time. Back in the 20th century, not a lot was known about marijuana. We as humans tend to be afraid of the unknown, therefore we feared marijuana and what damages it could cause. As of today, 23 states have legalized marijuana, with Colorado being the state that gets the most recognition (ProCon.org). Those for the legalization of pot are devoted to this plant and go way back to 1965, where Beat Poet Allen Ginsberg led a march for marijuana legalization outside the New York Women’s House of Detention in Lower Manhattan (Lee, Martin A). Passionate protesters waved posters and shouted out slogans in one of the more renowned moments of the 1960s (Lee, Martin A). This protest launched the inaugural event of the New York chapter Committee to legalize pot, the group was led by Ginsberg and Poet Ed Sanders; these protests would be...
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...provoked questioning of the rationality of the current US federal legislation on both drugs, as marijuana is currently illicit whilst alcohol is not. Research has suggested that marijuana could be equally if not more beneficial than alcohol to the economy, with fewer negative externalities. This discussion has been sparked anew after the states of Colorado and Washington infringed federal legislation by instating the open legality of marijuana. The topic, in current debate, must be viewed objectively to reach a valuable conclusion, since much of the argument is highly opinionated and biased owing to the stigma attached to such substances. Marijuana is currently a Schedule I substance under federal law whereas alcohol is federally regulated through the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) alongside stringent state and county laws. Existing federal law makes alcohol legal to those over the age of 21, with high taxation placed on consumption. Hence, the substance is highly regulated, although not currently prohibited. We intend to examine the economic effects that alcohol has on the economy and compare these findings with the hypothetical benefits of legalised marijuana. Analytically considering the reasoning behind its current illegal status, we will compare the negative externalities of cannabis against those of alcohol to determine whether there is logic behind the prohibition. The paper will look to settle disputes about the monetary incentives of a legal market by...
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...Marijuana, subject that has been around since most were even born, yet still controversial to this very second. There are very passionate parties on both ends, some for it, and some against it. There are also positives and negatives to each. In a day and age where numbers are everything, it is “the” thing. This is a disclaimer: I am not writing about the legalization of weed. In fact, I am addressing the economic argument of if marijuana is the productive economic stimulus the United States has been looking for. Marijuana as of right now is an illegal banned substance in most states, yet without many documented negatives, is left out and unable to bring most state revenue departments hundreds of millions of dollars per year, further helping this country and keeping it out of another economic recession. In this argumentative piece, I am going to address if marijuana is actual an economic benefit in the states that do allow it, or if it is just a myth. Now we must first address the elephant in the room. There is a certain stigma with Marijuana. It has been said by many that the legalization of marijuana is not in hopes of revenue and economic gains, but instead our troubled generations excuse to legalize a substance that as of now is still widely illegal. It is important to note the now cultural norm marijuana’s widely gained. On the Expanded Academic ASAP Gale, Ventrell Marvin goes into depth on Colorado’s land mark experiment of Marijuana. The author of the scholarly source...
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...through the brush and started to drink the water. All of a sudden a crocodile came out of the water. “Hey little buddy, what’s up?” said the crocodile. “I just got stoned with my pal the monkey and came down here for a drink of water”. “Really?” said the crocodile, “Where is he? I want to smoke some, too”. “He’s through the brush and up the tree”, said the lizard. So the crocodile walked through the brush and came to the tree. The monkey looks down from the tree and says, “Holy geez, little buddy how much did you drink??” We laugh when we hear jokes like this, but the fact of the matter is, current marijuana laws in the United States make possessing and being under the influence of pot no laughing matter. It is my resolution that the United State of America should legalize both the medical and recreational use of marijuana. This will benefit our country and its people by ending prohibition and the extremely high cost of pursuing it; it will open up a revenue stream with the potential to move or country toward financial solvency; it would allow the growth and use of hemp for widespread use, thereby benefitting our economy and the environment; and lastly, it can be more widely studied for use as an alternative to highly addictive opiate based pharmaceuticals in relieving pain and other symptoms of certain chronic diseases. I chose this subject because it hits close to home for me. When my younger brother was 15, he...
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...Shakib Hossain Causal Argument English 191 February 2015 Why the War on Drugs Failed “For every prohibition you create, you also create an underground”. These words by famous musician Jello Biafra may sound prejudiced, but it is the truth we all live and have lived by since the prohibition era. The war on drugs has become a significant issue in today’s society, but people are not completely sure why the war on drugs has failed. In reference to Jello Biafra, the war on drugs is a type of a prohibition, but the real question is how big of an underground has this war created that it has ultimately failed. The start of the war on drugs can officially be dated as far back as 1971 when Richard Nixon declared drug abuse as “public enemy number one”, and he increased the size and presence of federal drug control agencies (Drug Policy Alliance, 2014). Later, during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, the number of people incarcerated for drug abuse shot up sky high due to his zero tolerance policy, and the unpredicted rise of illicit drug use. When we say the war on drugs has failed, we usually consider that the use of illicit drugs could not be reduced and is on the rise. However, it is also because it is costing more and more lives every day in addition to all the resources used coming out of the taxpayers’ pockets. In short, the war on drugs has failed because the government enforced punishment instead of prevention, which led to creating a black market that increased crime and corruption...
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...Problem #1: Using either a graph or table (Refer to page 22 for help with graphs and tables) use two goods to construct a production possibilities curve. Clearly explain what a variety of different points on the curve mean. This production curve shows the weighing of producing controllers for X-box ones vs the X-box one produced. If too many controllers are made you don’t have enough X-box ones. This isn’t a one on one relationship because each X-box can use more than one controller. What would make the curve expand or contract? If the number go outside of the curve efficiency is lost and there become a production imbalance. Why is efficiency lost at the extremes, as when substantially more of one good and very little of another is produced? At the extremes you would either produce too many ocntrollers and not enough x-boxes or vice versa. Problem #2 Part A: Go to the internet auction site eBay® at www.ebay.com and select the category Jewelry and Watches, followed by Loose Diamonds and Gemstones, and then Diamonds, Natural. How many natural diamonds are for sale at the moment? 216,679 natural diamonds on sale at the moment. Note the wide array of sizes and prices of the diamonds. The price range was from $4,500,000 to 1 cent. The size of diamonds for sale ranged from .008 carats to 30.45 carats. In what sense is there competition among the sellers in this market? Most of the sellers are trying to set a price that allows them to get rid of their diamonds...
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...Anthony Peebles HIST 1302 Jared Ingram Never Ending War The United States has been involved in several wars and have declared itself the winner in most. There has been civil wars and world wars that have taken troops around the globe to defend democracy and freedom. America has stood up for those whose human and civil rights were threatened, we have supplied small armies with the funds, equipment, and intelligence needed to defeat the enemy. America has a great track record at defeating its enemy and making sure they don’t show their heads anymore, but since being declared an enemy publicly in 1971 this enemy continues to deliver major blows to America and its citizens. This enemy is not a nation of communist, an insane dictator, or a group of extremist, this enemy is drugs. The war on drugs has been the biggest and longest war in my lifetime. Although Richard Nixon is known for launching what we consider the modern day war on drugs, this war was started several years prior to Nixon becoming President of the United States. Some local laws against drugs where established as early as 1860. The first national law was the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914. This act was to provide registration to all that dealt in the services of opium and coca leaves. Coca leaves once extracted provides the bases for cocaine. In this time cocaine was not illegal and was often prescribed by doctors to patients for ailments such as common headaches or colds. Unknowingly those patients became addicted...
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...War on Drugs & Marijuana legalization in California United States: Thoughts on our War on Drugs The United States has been fighting a "war on drugs" for decades, yet illegal narcotics remain a problem for the country. Unfortunately, the developed world’s criminalization of many drugs has been neither effective nor free from unintended consequences. Though we may wish to judge the war on drugs by the good intentions of those who instigate it, we must evaluate it based on the terrible outcomes that it has produced. Prohibition has not been without unplanned consequences. Indeed, much of the harm caused by drugs is precisely due to the fact that they are illegal. For typical, legal businesses, murdering your competitors is not a feasible business strategy. For businesses that exist outside of the legal system, this strategy is not only feasible, but archetypal. By making drug use illegal, we have turned otherwise law-abiding citizens into criminals. America has the highest incarceration rate in the world — nearly five times the world average — which is primarily due to harsh drug laws. According to Human Rights Watch, “More people are sent to prison in the United States for nonviolent drug offenses than for crimes of violence.” Instead of criminalizing the production and use of drugs, we should legalize and tax these activities while supporting greater prevention and treatment programs. Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron calculated that drug legalization in the United States...
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...From an Economic Standpoint 12/2/2012 The Legalization of Marijuana in America ID: 1175376 Introduction After the recent 2012 United States Presidential Election, whereupon Colorado and Washington passed the policy to legalize marijuana for “adult purposes,” government officials faced conflict as to whether to legalize the drug on a federal level or not (Smith 1). There is a battle between the Supreme Court and federal government regarding enforcement as state law allows production and consumption of the drug while the federal law prohibits such activities. When a state officer finds marijuana on the persons of a Colorado resident, there is no charge; however, when a federal officer finds marijuana on the persons of a Colorado resident the extent of the penalty could be arrest and incarceration. Due to conflicting enforcement policies, America is forced to examine the issue and come to a consensus between the policies to ensure homogeneity between the two lawmaking bodies. One means of analyzing the issue is through an economic perspective. As economics is the study of “how society manages its scarce resources” and the manner in which a society makes decisions, the economics behind a controversial policy can help determine acceptance or rejection of the proposed law (Mankiw 1-1). Based on fundamental economic concepts, historical evidence, global data, and future forecasts, the effects of legalizing marijuana will be analyzed. After analyzing the economics of the legalization...
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...Marijuana Legalization: The War on Drugs and Criminal Law Howard R. Burke Strayer University Abstract This research will point out that the United States’ current policy on drug prohibition, the so called “War on Drugs,” is ineffective. The current draconian prohibition policies against drug consumption may actually increase their use. As well, contrary to claims made by current drug policy supporters, increased drug enforcement can reduce public safety and compound the individual and social costs of drug use. The U.S. drug policy, born over a hundred years ago, has gone through several transformations becoming more voracious with each new invocation. The War on Drugs is an expensive and failed concept which has incorporated racism in its administration, increased crime rates, imposed harsh sentences for nonviolent offenses, facilitated police corruption and aggressively eroded civil liberties. Table of Contents INTRODUCTION Introduction to the Problem Background of the Study Statement of the Problem Purpose of the Research Research Questions Significance of the Research Assumptions and Limitations Organization of the Remainder of the Study LITERATURE REVIEW CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Marijuana Legalization: The War on Drugs and Criminal Law INTRODUCTION The United States has conducted a long experiment of drug prohibition. The prohibition of marijuana and other illicit drugs has only...
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...The Miracle Crop Did you know that there is a plant strong enough to replace plastic, oil, and building materials; and the same plant has been cultivated for the past 12,000 years, yet it has been classified as a schedule one drug? Since it has been harvested, hemp has become one of the most popular crops ever grown. Our founding fathers including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, all grew hemp on their estates. In the early 20th Century, hemp was outlawed in the United States; even though it had been one of the major crops in the U.S. and was super beneficial. Hemp can be used for building a stronger concrete than we have right now; it is one the most nutritious foods we can harvest today and can yield more than 400 times the amount of paper which we use from cutting down trees on the same land. Hemp can also improve the environment if cotton was substituted for hemp; plus it creates a stronger and more durable fiber. Today hemp is not illegal but we would be better off if it was completely legal and we could start to use hemp as it was suppose to be used. To get a better understanding, let take a look at the impact hemp has had on the world. “For the past twelve thousand years, industrial hemp has been harvested and used throughout almost every nation in the world” (8). “From its beginning, hemp has been used throughout the world for its fiber, seed, and psychoactive effect” (9). “Ancient Chinese techniques of hemp sowing, cultivation, and processing...
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