...Legalize Marijuana Should Marijuana be legalized nationwide? That is the question that many states and citizens are asking themselves. The main negative towards this movement is that it is a drug, but isn’t alcohol a drug too, and that is legal. What makes marijuana so bad? To the uneducated person, they will simply give you a answer of, “It is a drug and it’s a gateway drug.” Is this what the world has become to just take what other people say as gold, and not to question it. I say that this is shocking and unbelievable, that citizens would be this naïve. Marijuana has been associated with many things from its medical purposes to its use as a raw material. Marijuana has been used medically for thousands of years. America started using marijuana medically in the mid 1800’s. The type of disorders that marijuana helped included pain relief, nausea, glaucoma, and movement disorders. It is also used as a powerful appetite stimulant which helps patients that had HIV/AIDS or cancer patients going through chemotherapy. Nowadays only fourteen state governments across the country have acknowledged cannabis’ effective healing properties and legalized its consumption for medicinal purposes with the consent of a licensed physician. Federally the use of marijuana is still illegal. Also back in the day hemp was used to make medicine, products of all kinds, and even food. The most common use for hemp is in the production of textile based products. Hemp fibers are considerably strong so...
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...2. Claim: Marijuana legalization will benefit everyone both medically and economically, 3. Support: Currently 15 states allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes. 4. Warrant: People with pain, nausea and loss of appetite by people with AIDS, cancer and other debilitating diseases are benefiting from medical marijuana in the current 15 states that allow its use. 5. Backing: As in the past marijuana was used for medical purpose. 6. Rebuttal: Refusal to legalize continues to cost the government a lot of funds in prohibition and enforcement. In the perspective of America's war on drugs, marijuana is one of the biggest enemies. And since alcohol and tobacco, two life threatening substances, are legal it is a relevant question to ask why marijuana is illegal. What comes into our minds each time we hear people talk about Marijuana? We associate the use of marijuana with a lot of bad things such as violence, intoxication, and bad behaviors - the list is endless. Before consideration is even given to legalization of marijuana, let us first of all understand what it is and, its history. Since time immemorial, there has been a negative stigma attached to marijuana, but exactly what is it? www.justice.gov/ndic describes Marijuana as a mind-altering substance produced from a plant with the scientific name Cannabis sativa. The drug is used because of its primary active chemical, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which may induce relaxation and heighten the senses. THC is the main psychoactive...
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...Reasons to Marijuana in the United States Orlando Perez ITT Technical Institute EN1420 Matthew L. Cole Abstract Marijuana legalization offers an advantage to the United States. Taxation would create much needed revenue just like alcohol and tobacco does for the United States. This taxation would create a quality control over the product. For the first time 52 percent of Americans support legalization of marijuana. Since 1996 over 12 million people has been arrested for marijuana. Over 3 billion is spent yearly on the war on pot which has done little or nothing to keep it out of the hands of youth. Surveys conducted on 2010 on Drug Use and Health says that 17.4 million of Americans used marijuana 30 days prior the survey. Education is the key. Many had been asking questions about marijuana because is currently an illegal drug for casual consumption yet, many Americans are not well informed when it comes to the medicinal use of marijuana. Currently twenty states and the District of Columbia use marijuana for medicinal purposes and two states Washington and Colorado legalized marijuana for occasional use. Reasons for the United States to Legalize Marijuana Marijuana use in the United States has been rising in recent years especially among teens. Today, many Americans think it is only a matter of time before marijuana becomes new trend just like tobacco was between the 1930s and 1980s. What is Marijuana? Marijuana is an herb that contains chemicals called cannabinoids...
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...Jill Porter April 26, 2014 Marijuana: Should it be legalized? There is an epidemic debate of deciding if legalizing marijuana in states will benefit not only the users but the community also. Marijuana has been illegal in the United States and now slowly the states are permitting medical marijuana for purposes. There still are many that oppose this legalization and hate the thought of making this drug legal. Some feel that if marijuana is made legal it can also lead to other gate-way drugs also being legalized. While others feel that it can help others medicate themselves and also bring up the economy. Despite which side one might choose marijuana is still considered a drug that is mind altering and many want to avoid this legalization and want nothing to do with while others are all for it. Marijuana is a seed based hemp that is usually smoked but can be used in the form of oil or hash. THC is what causes the brain to alter in what is usually called a high. The National Institute of Drug Abuse states that, “Marijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, which contains the psychoactive (mind-altering) chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as well as other related compounds” (Marijuana, 2014). It seems that marijuana is used a lot by individuals in the United States for medical and recreational purposes. With today’s youth being interested in marijuana it is very important to study its long-term effects...
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...Legalize Marijuana The issue of marijuana is a very conservative and taboo subject in American Politics today. According to the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, the act that effectively made marijuana illegal, was based on the notion that "marijuana caused violent crime and sexual excess." These theories have since been discredited. If marijuana was legal, crime would decrease because street dealers would be replaced by the government which can provide lower prices, and the government would benefit from the added tax revenue. The government could also control the purity and potency of drugs. The reason that it is such a taboo subject is because many people are uneducated or misled under government education, and feel that marijuana users are a danger to society. However, marijuana use is a victimless crime only affecting the user and their body. It is evident that these laws eliminate personal responsibility and free choice, leading to government infringement on individual rights. This was on drugs is not only affecting our civil liberty, it is also wasting our tax money at a rate of 18 billion dollars a year, and there are more than 300,000 people each year arrested on marijuana charges filling up our prisons and over-crowding our courts. The legalization of marijuana would also bring utility to people because it would generate much needed revenue, and it would only affect the people who choose to use it. Marijuana should be legalized because it would promote human rights...
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...The Legalization of Marijuana Marijuana is a very prominent and controversial issue in society today. Although many slanderous claims have been made about cannabis in recent history, the truths are slowly starting to resurface. Unfortunately, these truths are under heavy criticism due to the stereotypical view of what people view as the typical “pot smoker.” This skewed perception of a lazy and unmotivated America is the result of over seventy years of propaganda and misinformation spread by private interests who needed cannabis illegal for their own personal gains. I strongly believe that marijuana should be legalized for all uses. Using marijuana for medicinal purposes is not a recent discovery. In fact, written references to use medical marijuana date back nearly 5,000 years. Western medicine embraced marijuana’s medical properties in the mid-1800s, and by the beginning of the 20th century, physicians had published more than 100 papers in the Western medical literature recommending its use for a variety of disorders (http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5441#f2 Accessed on June 5, 2010). These disorders include pain relief, nausea, glaucoma, and movement disorders. It is also used as a powerful appetite stimulant which helps patients that had HIV/AIDS or cancer patients going through chemotherapy. Today, thousands of patients are able to use marijuana as an effective method of treatment for their ailments. This is possible because fourteen state governments across the country...
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...1 Taylor Mulliniks Mr. Callis Composition 1 12 October 2011 Marijuana, the Healing Drug Despite common misconception, marijuana has been substantiated to increase the overall health of most users. Throughout history there has not been a single recorded death or illness from marijuana use alone. However, the herb has proven to cure, prevent, or relieve the symptoms of several diseases and disorders including: cancer, seizures, migraines, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, turrets, OCD, ADD, Chron’s disease, Alzheimer’s, premenstrual syndrome, and many others. Not only is marijuana beneficial to those are already sick, but it has also shown to increase the IQ, lung capacity, sperm count, overall mental abilities and functions, and even the life span of most chronic users. Since marijuana is an illegal, controlled substance, many teenagers have resorted to smoking synthetic versions of the drug known as “spice”; the appeal of synthetic weed is that it provides a similar high to that of marijuana but it is not detected by a drug test. However, there are countless side effects and risks to smoking synthetic marijuana such as: seizures, blacking out, a significant loss of brain cells, and in many severe cases, death. Despite the harm it causes, thousands of teenagers across the United States are smoking this synthetic marijuana because it is legal and sold in several gas stations and convenient stores; yet marijuana, a natural herb with an extensive list of health benefits, is illegal...
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...Legalizing Marijuana Autumn Donton Soc 120 Tori Taylor February 17, 2013 What are the prevailing issues for and against legalization of marijuana? Just because something is “illegal” does not mean it is bad; likewise, if something is “legal” does not mean it is not bad. Unlike law, ethics tries to determine what is right and wrong regardless of any law that may, or may not, already exist relating to the issue at hand. By 1890, hemp had been replaced by cotton as a major cash crop in southern states. Some patent medicines during this era contained marijuana, but it was a small percentage compared to the number containing opium or cocaine. It was in the 1920's that marijuana began to catch on. Some historians say its emergence was brought about by Prohibition. Its recreational use was restricted to jazz musicians and people in show business. "Reefer songs" became the rage of the jazz world. Marijuana clubs, called tea pads, sprang up in every major city. These marijuana establishments were tolerated by the authorities because marijuana was not illegal and patrons showed no evidence of making a nuisance of themselves or disturbing the community. Marijuana was not considered a social threat. (http://www.narconon.org/drug-information/marijuana-history.html). The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 classified marijuana along with heroin and LSD as a Schedule I drug, i.e., having the relatively highest abuse potential and no accepted medical use. Most marijuana...
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...Reasons not to legalize marijuana COMPOSITION II / EN-1420 Module 6 – Final Paper Come on have some fun and relax. Take a long drag on a funny little cigarette, chill for a while. Float in the sky like a bird and land on a cloud. BAM! You crash into a brick wall. Because its illegal. Several people say that Marijuana is a new fade. I disagree. The first direct reference to the use of marijuana was documented in China, in 2737 BC. The Chinese Emperor Shen Nung determined after using it as a social drug, it worked as a medication for pains in the joins, when taken it as a tea and smoking. As a recreationally drug it spread to India were the Muslims too used instead of alcohol consumption. It was the Muslims who introduced hashish, whose popularity spread quickly throughout 12th century Persia (Iran) and North Africa. It made its way to the new land in the mid 1500’s. Marijuana became a major crop like tobacco through the 1600’s in James Town. It stayed that way for over two hundred years until it was replaced by cotton in the 1890’s. It was used as medicine, intoxicant and a social drug through 1930, where it was considered a “Gateway” drug. (Tagliaferro) Medical uses Supposed benefits of medical marijuana are: decrease anxiety, slows Alzheimer's disease, helps multiple pains/muscle spasms, side effects Hepatitis C, treats inflammatory bowel diseases, relieves arthritis discomfort, increases symptoms of lupus, an autoimmune disorder, soothes tremors from Parkinson's...
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...Should we Legalize Jaclyn Russo COM/220 April 20, 2011 Kathryn Geranios The plant Cannabis Sativa a plant that has taken the spotlight of the world, it is a plant that has angered, confused, obsessed, and even mesmerized many people throughout history and today. This plant is otherwise known as Marijuana. Abraham Lincoln said, "Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason, in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles, upon which our government was founded." This statement still applies in today’s society in regard to the illegal use of marijuana. The ban on Marijuana causes more harm than the plant itself. The legalization of marijuana could benefit the country medically and economically by increasing revenue and treating symptoms of many illnesses. Thanks to the culmination of international laws, Marijuana is under new speculation, review, public image, and attention than ever before. Countries are legalizing it, whereas other countries are criminalizing it; some states are decriminalizing it while their country is against it! So it comes down to the argument of it all, and hope that enough people around the world will follow the correct path and stance on the subject. Marijuana should be legal because it is a natural herb that for thousands of years has been used, it is impossible to become physically addicted to, as well as impossible to...
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...To Legalize or Not to Legalize Medical Marijuana Elizabeth Connell ENG/102 Research Writing To Legalize or Not to Legalize Medical Marijuana Even though marijuana is a drug, legalized marijuana for medicinal use will help patients through various medical issues. Marijuana has been proven to ease the side effects of chemotherapy, helps patients with severe migraine, and glaucoma patients. Many people are on the fence over the legalization of medical marijuana. There are several reasons to legalize marijuana for medical use, let me tell you about one of the reasons. Six-year-old Charlotte is a little girl who suffered from an untreatable form of epilepsy. By the time she was two years old, her parents had tried all medications to cure her some of which almost killed her. She suffered nearly fifty seizures a night. Her parents managed to get her a medical marijuana card in Colorado. Her parents reported her seizures stopped after her first dose of cannabis oil. Charlotte came out of her catatonic state and met her parents for the first time. CNN featured Charlotte and documented her story. Some parents have turned to medical marijuana to treat their children of the incapacitating epilepsy. Doctors are attributing the drug with reducing seizure activity and bringing alleviation to epileptics. According to an article written by K. Pickert (2014), an innovative clinical trial is about to commence. This clinical trial may finally afford some science to support their assertions...
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...Should Marijuana be Legalized ? With recent changes in state laws regarding marijuana for medical use and even recreational use in some states like Colorado the debate on whether or not to decriminalize it’s use all together has never been stronger. To really address this issue we need to take a look at a few different aspects. To start the history of how marijuana became illegal in the first place. How legalizing marijuana would impact the Criminal Justice System and Economy of the US, and the social impacts of incarcerating individuals of seemingly minor drug charges. In short I hope to make a compelling argument for the decriminalization of marijuana. The first thing that came to my mind when thinking about whether or not to decriminalize the use of marijuana was, why is marijuana illegal in the first place? I did a little research and found some interesting information about the origins and uses of Hemp/Marijuana and how it became illegal. Marijuana was only recognized as an illegal drug as recently as the 1900s. Before this the Hemp plant was used to make fabrics, rope, food and much more. In fact one of the first laws in this country regarding Marijuana was enacted in Jamestown Virginia in the 1600s ordering all farmers to grow hemp seed. Over the next 200 years laws were passed that would send farmers to jail in times of shortages for not growing it because hemp was so important. It was even a form of currency early on and one could pay his taxes with hemp. Hemp...
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...PHY-105 Shelley Evans 05/08/2016 Should Marijuana Be Legal? Marijuana has long been labeled a Schedule I drug by the US government. A Schedule I drug, has no medical benefits, known to have high a potential for abuse, and is declared not safe even with medical supervision. How can that be you ask, when many studies have shown the benefits of the use of marijuana for certain medical conditions. It is prohibition at its finest, serves no purpose and is a violation of our rights of liberty, due to the misrepresentation of marijuana. The legalization of marijuana has many benefits with increase revenue for the state, enormous medical benefits, and a significant decrease in violent crime and gang activity. A study done in 2010, by Cato, legalizing marijuana would generate over $8 billion in federal and state revenue annually. (HuffingtonPost, 2013) The cost of keeping marijuana illegal to this day is astronomical. “In 2012, Colorado voters approved Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana for full recreational use. The state now stands to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes over the next decade.” The largest boost of revenue from the sale of marijuana comes from taxes. In 2014, Colorado, had a vast number of pot tourists visit the state and bring in over $10 billion in funds, even with the increased snow activity that would normally lower their tourism. Another benefit that comes with the legalization of marijuana is the money saved from unnecessary use of...
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...Salem Goodrum English 1002 Bovey 19 March 2015 The subject of legalizing marijuana has been a very popular and debatable topic recently. It has been such a popular topic because, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Marijuana is the most common illicit drug used in the United States” (par. 2). You often hear or see people talking about the pros of legalizing marijuana, and not so many cons. I have done extensive research and came up with some powerful cons as to why we should not legalize this drug. The negative issues associated with legalizing marijuana are the physical and mental effects to the body, it typically leads to the further use of drugs that are more harmful, and it has multiple implications on society. This drug is a plant known as a herb. According to Dictionary.com a herb is such a plant when valued for its medicinal properties, flavor, scent, or the like. Marijuana has a never-ending list of names such as “weed”,” pot”,” Mary Jane”, “cannabis”, and many more labels people come up with. “The main hallucinatory chemical in marijuana is THC, which stands for tetrahydrocannabinol; this chemical is responsible for majority of the intoxicating effects. The plant contains more than 500 other chemicals, including over 100 compounds that are chemically related to THC.” (NIDA. Par. 2). Marijuana can be smoked in almost any way involving a lighter. The topic of legalizing cannabis has been a controversy that just will not go away. I am not...
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...Rodolfo Ruz Professor Eric Shockley English Composition 164 12 December 2013 Why Legalize Marijuana? A Complete Overview of the Benefits Marijuana, the most illegal drug consumed in the United States, “more than 18 million Americans consumed it” (White House, 2013). Furthermore, a recent study showed that 42% of Americans aged 12 and older had consumed the drug (White House, 2013). Nevertheless, why is marijuana illegal? And what would happen if it gets legalize. Marihuana can bring health, economics, and social benefits to our society. Thus is why Marijuana should be legal. At the beginning marijuana was introduced to United States by Mexican immigrants, who were working in farms and factories as laborers (Zimmer, Lynn). This new migration wave scared some of the conservatives groups in America, because of the cheap labor that Mexicans represented. Many of those Mexicans immigrants used to smoked marijuana, therefore, some people picked this as an excuse to ban it. It was not only banned because of its effects, it was criminalized to isolate and discriminate different races than the Caucasian. So, one of the main excuses to banned marijuana was fear towards Mexicans, Hispanics and other races. As we can see in a letter from the editor of the Alamosa Daily Courier, in south-central Colorado that was used as an official testimony for the Act that banned marijuana, “I wish I could show you what a small marihuana cigarette can do to one of our degenerate Spanish-speaking...
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