...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;...
Words: 2932 - Pages: 12
...Mehrdad Morsali Professor D.Lacy WR 1 11-05-2012 Legalizing Marijuana Proposition 19 supports the legalization of marijuana in California, by making sure it is controlled and taxed. It allows the citizens of California who are twenty-one years of age and older to buy up to an ounce of marijuana (also known as cannabis) and not be penalized for any crime. This is an effective plan, because it would significantly decrease crime rates among people illegally purchasing marijuana on a daily basis. Right now, it is completely illegal for anyone without a medical marijuana license to purchase it. However, if it were legal for everyone at least twenty-one years of age, this would eliminate the thousands of drug busts each year and allow law enforcement to focus on other major crimes than trivial marijuana. It would also crack down on minors smoking marijuana, as police would single out teenagers and hopefully better prevent substance abuse at a younger age. Rather than trying to incriminate everyone in possession of marijuana, they can direct more of their attention to younger generations where substance abuse problems typically begin. By putting a tax on marijuana, it would create a huge increase in California’s annual budget, generating billions of dollars in revenue. “According to the State Board of Equalization, legalizing and taxing marijuana will generate an estimated $1.4 billion in new tax revenue for California.” (Lipton) This revenue could majorly boost our economy...
Words: 1350 - Pages: 6
...Edward Lewis Ms. Hollinger English 115-02 21 April 2015 Legalizing Marijuana Marijuana should be legalized within the United States. Marijuana has become more accepted in today's society. Celebrities are becoming more open about their use of marijuana, and some college campuses have changed their punishment for possession to merely $100 fine. Marijuana should be legalized because it does not cause a threat to society. Marijuana has also been prescribed to help children with epilepsy and seizures. Marijuana also known as cannabis has been used to treat eight medical conditions: cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, muscle spasms, seizures, severe pain, severe nausea, cachexia, or extreme weight loss and muscle atrophy. The most recent impacting story that involved cannabis was seen on CNN. A little girl named Charlotte has been suffering from seizures from the age of three months old. Her seizures would last up to three hours on a bad day, and she was constantly hospitalized. Her father who was in the military took a leave of absence because Charlotte was constantly in the ICU. Charlotte struggled with her seizures despite all of the physicians medications and diet plans. It wasn't until her parents found a doctor that would prescribe cannabis as an alternative for all of her other medications that were not effective. Charlotte had one seizure less than an hour after ingesting the cannabis in a capsule. After the seizure was over she did not have another one which proved to her...
Words: 1461 - Pages: 6
...Legalizing Marijuana The real question here is, “Why should marijuana be illegal?” We as individuals reserve the right to make choices for ourselves. The government only has a right to limit those choices if the person’s actions endanger someone else or pose a significant threat to other human being. Here are some facts about marijuana use; marijuana does not cause brain damage, genetic damage, or damage the immune system. Marijuana does not cause serious health problems, tobacco or alcohol can or will cause cancer, heart problems, birth defects, emphysema, and liver damage. It is impossible to overdose and die from smoking marijuana. The United States Government; National Institute on Drug Abuse; Bureau of Mortality Statistics; The Annual American Deaths Caused by Drugs Statistics for the year broke down to this; Tobacco = 400,000 deaths; Alcohol = 100,000 deaths; All Legal Drugs = 20,000 deaths; Illegal Drugs = 15,000 deaths; Caffeine = 2,000 deaths; Aspirin = 500 deaths; Marijuana = 0 deaths. Tobacco and alcohol are the largest killer’s and there Legal. (legalizationofmarijuana.com) How expensive is it to keep marijuana illegal? A lot more than people think and it keeps are jails and prisons over crowded. They need to be over crowed with murders, rapist, and child molesters, not pot smokers. Taxpayers are paying out billions of dollars to persecute, prosecute, house, and feed incarcerated people. However, if marijuana were legal and regulated like alcohol and tobacco, there...
Words: 1812 - Pages: 8
...Legalizing Marijuana Article Rebuttal Bruce Wayne BCOM/275 October 24, 2011 Dr. Phil Jackson Legalizing Marijuana Article Rebuttal A persuasive article on legalizing marijuana was published by TIME magazine. The reasoning for legalizing marijuana was that it would generate the government an estimated 1.4 million dollars in tax money. This figure does not include additional taxation which could be applied to activities or jobs within the agricultural, marketing, and retailing sectors that would be generated if marijuana where to be legalized. Although legalization of marijuana may produce more jobs, stimulate the economy, and possibly reduce the majority of crime produced by the illegal distribution of marijuana. I still disagree with the idea and choose to rebuttal this article for the lack of reliability, validity of data used, and the faulty comparison that was displayed in this article. First off, TIME magazine is a well-known newsmagazine that has been publishing articles on politics, world issues, and business related topics since March 3, 1923 (TIME magazine, 2012). They are also partners with Cable News Network (CNN) which is a respected news source. Both of these factors are enough to convince the majority of individuals to think they are reliable sources when reading information regarding certain topics. For the most part they are, unfortunately I found a correction noted on the bottom of this article which causes me to think otherwise. The correction...
Words: 1520 - Pages: 7
...Legalization of Marijuana Legalizing marijuana has a lot of positives to it. Some of them are profit, medical purposes, reducing harm, creating jobs,etc.. Four states in the United States have legalized marijuana in all ways, including recreational and medical purposes , and have not had major problems with it (Marijuana Legalization and Regulation). These states include Colorado, Washington, Alaska, and Oregon, also Washington D.C. has legalized it. It has brought great profit to their state economies (Marijuana Legalization and Regulation). A major reason for legalizing marijuana is for the profit it brings. Marijuana is estimated around a fifty million dollar industry(Marijuana Legalization and Regulation). But right now all...
Words: 581 - Pages: 3
...legalization of Marijuana has been one of the most recent and controversial debates within the Canadian judicial system. When The Liberals won the election back in October, 2015 as majority government, Justin Trudeau made a promise that the Liberals will legalize the use of marijuana. The issue that the Liberal Party has been trying to overcome is finding the right way to strictly regulate the use of marijuana while considering all factors faced in today’s society such as accessibility to minors, impaired driving, and selling it illegally outside the regulated licensed institutions. Legalizing marijuana would eliminate the possibility of it containing harmful additives. Currently, there is a possibility that some marijuana is being laced with other harmful substances such as crystal- meth or heroin that the dealer does not inform the user of. The legalization of marijuana would eliminate the laced marijuana and provide a safer environment for users. Marijuana contains a psychoactive ingredient called THC, which is the short form for delta-9 tetrehydrocannabinol. Medical marijuana contains THC, it is known to be therapeutic for ill patients and has been scientifically proven to reduce nausea and vomiting during cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, as well as increasing appetite in HIV patients, and a therapeutic drug for patients suffering from chronic pain or muscle spasms (Medveczky, 2004). According to Statistics Canada the estimated amount of marijuana users in Canada...
Words: 1059 - Pages: 5
...Legalization of marijuana in Oklahoma is one of the most controversy topics next to religion. Legalization causes many debates throughout the state and its citizens some voting for it and many voting against it. There have been many petitions that have gotten a great amount of the state’s citizen’s signatures voting for it to be legalized. I personally believe that the state should legalize the usage of medical and recreational marijuana and also decriminalize it too. Over the next few pages I will give my reasons and opinion on why I think marijuana should be legalized in the state of Oklahoma. I believe that marijuana should be legal in the state of Oklahoma because not only can it help people who have Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes, seizures and so on, it will never amount to the total deaths caused by the consumption of alcohol. According to cdc.gov there are approximately 88,000 deaths caused or related to the consumption of alcohol. There are no recorded deaths caused or influenced by the usage of marijuana known mostly for its medical term “Cannabis” according to the drugwarfacts.org. The usage of medical marijuana could be a valuable resource to the medical world in the state of Oklahoma. Marijuana could be an alternative medicine for patients who object to using pain killers to avoid the many side effects that...
Words: 831 - Pages: 4
...Legalizing Marijuana: The ethical issue and problem Dorcas Rivera SOC 120 Introduction to Ethics & Social Responsibility Instructor: Robert Gala September 23, 2013 Legalizing Marijuana: The ethical issue and problem Marijuana is the most commonly abused drug. Therefore, legalizing marijuana, not only now, but for many years, has been the topic on rather or not it should be legalized. Even though marijuana has been legalized for medical use in 18 U.S. states, this has caused big controversy in our country and the ethical issue and problems it presents. In this article I will explain; what is marijuana, the risk of marijuana use, the effects of marijuana (in the brain and body), and the pros and cons of legalizing it. I will also explain how one of the classical theories, utilitarianism, would resolve the problem. On the other hand, I will contrast the response with the perspective brought to the issue by, ethical egoism. Lastly, will ended off choosing which of the two are closer to my view. Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant. You may hear marijuana called by street names such as pot, herb, weed, grass, boom, Mary Jane, gangster, or chronic. All forms of marijuana are mind-altering. In other words, they change how the brain works. They all contain THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), the main active chemical in marijuana. They also contain more than 400 other chemicals. Marijuana's...
Words: 1992 - Pages: 8
...August 17,2014 PHI 105 Legalizing Marijuana In the last few year’s marijuana has been a major topic in the media. There is a huge debate on whether or not marijuana should be legalized and how it would all play out if it were to be legalized. Some think marijuana should be legal while other seem to disagree, however, when you look at the benefits behind legalizing it, there is no reason for it not to be. Marijuana should be legalized as it provides benefits for the critically ill, taxation on the legalization product can increase revenue, and the legalization of marijuana can allow it to then be regulated and/or its legalization can reduce criminal activity associated with marijuana (such as smuggling, dealing, using, etc.) For many years, marijuana has helped aid the pain of critically ill patients across America. Health and comfort should be what the government is concerned with. Marijuana can help people in their everyday life like simply relaxing. Marijuana is used for more than just recreational purposes such as treating pain, reducing nausea, and increasing one’s appetite. “Worldwide studies have shown it to be useful for treating pain, reducing nausea and increasing appetite, among a growing list of other things” (Vorenberg. S). When not abused, marijuana’s symptoms are mild and not often people are uncontrollable. While legalizing marijuana cannot only benefit the critically ill, it can help out our government and increase its revenue. Marijuana is tough on our justice...
Words: 601 - Pages: 3
...Why Not There is a huge argument in the United States on legalizing Marijuana. I will be discussing both sides of the argument against and for legalizing Marijuana. I think it is important to discuss both sides of legalizing marijuana, mostly because you need a variety of fact before you form your own opinion on legalizing Marijuana or to not legalize it. There are many good reason to legalize Marijuana; taxation, jobs, drug wars, , and crime rates dropping. When it comes to taxes it would help out or debt problems. “There is already a huge tax revenue from Tabaco products and alcohol. To legalize marijuana would just create another addition to the funds for the government.”(citation2) This country could use the extra help from this drug to get us out of this massive debt problem. If you had to think about the jobs this drug could produce if it were legalized. You would have farmers, processers, shipping, packaging, stores. When it comes to farming there are many helping hands around farms but opening up another field for marijuana there would require a lot more help opening up more jobs. For the processing side of things you need employees to go though and make sure the plants are good for selling. By this I mean cleaned clipped and bug free. Then they would have to give the marijuana to packaging. In packaging employees would have to make sure the right type of Marijuana is labeled correctly and has the right logo on it for that company. Now this part of the process...
Words: 1183 - Pages: 5
...Legalizing Marijuana There are many reasons to use marijuana and there are just as many reasons to not use marijuana. The usage of marijuana can be both helpful and harmful. Now the general populace will go pro legalizing marijuana. However little does society know that as soon as marijuana is legalized it will be taxable and eventually will become like alcohol and similar products. Similar to alcohol it will eventually become legal and with many amenities in the sense it will come with conditions. So in terms of legalizing marijuana it will be beneficial to society due to the fact it will become taxable, it will come with conditions, and that the war on illegal drugs will be one drug less. There consist many conditions that come with formerly illegal inhibitors. For example alcohol was an illegal substance and the way it was abused when it was outlawed drastically changed from the way it is abused now. To elaborate now that alcohol is legal, there are conditions such as the drinking age and the tax that comes with purchasing it. As such many individuals in society drink themselves to poverty. The same predicament can occur with marijuana which will obviously lessen its usage. Another factor is that with it becoming a government regulated substance majority of society will be shackled to the government by more than a medical marijuana card, which addicts tend to use to abuse the marijuana supplied. “Already earning California about $14 billion a year, it has been estimated...
Words: 885 - Pages: 4
...principles upon which our government was founded.” In today’s society, this statement still applies in reference to the illegal use of marijuana. Marijuana prohibition causes far more harm than marijuana itself. Keeping marijuana illegal, is expensive and causes crime. Out of four possible connections between drugs and crime, at least three would not exist if drug prohibition laws were repealed. First, crimes, which occur billions of times a year, are producing, selling, buying, and consuming strictly controlled and banned substances. If drug prohibition laws were repealed, these activities would obviously cease to be crimes. Next, many users commit crimes, such as robbery, dealing, prostitution, and running numbers to earn money to support their habits. If marijuana was less expensive and easier to obtain, which would be the case if it were legalized, the crimes committed under these circumstances would dramatically decline. The third drug-crime link is drug trafficking. Without prohibition laws, those people trying to make a living by selling and distribution would not be thrown in jail. Support for legalizing marijuana is at its highest level in 30 years (USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll). Since 1996, voters in eight states have passed initiatives supporting marijuana for medical purposes at least. Polls show more than 70% of voters support medical marijuana. Polls in Canada and England show half the population now supports legalization. The USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll found support for...
Words: 4013 - Pages: 17
...Legalize Marijuana Shannon Bunting November 12, 2011 Elizabeth Hermans ITT Technical Institution The legalization of marijuana would benefit the United States for several reasons, which is why the government needs to seriously consider legalizing it. There are many advantages medically that help many patients who have terminal illnesses. The money from legalizing marijuana could also generate several billions in new revenue a year. Marijuana is also safer for people than alcohol, cigarettes and many of the prescription drugs that are available. Despite the many arguments as to why marijuana shouldn’t be legalized there are many benefits as to why it should be and the government needs to take a look into the issue. Medical marijuana has been known to help patients with terminal illnesses be able to handle the pain and nausea. Studies have shown that it makes patients be able to eat and keep their food down which enables them to maintain their weight. The active chemical in marijuana is THC and is what allows the patients be able to manage the pain for many illnesses. Studies have also shown that when patients use medical marijuana it causes the sells to undergo a process called autophagy. What this does is it makes the cancerous cells feed on each other leaving the healthy cells alone. It has also been known to help keep Alzheimer’s patients from getting worse. The THC in marijuana has the ability to...
Words: 982 - Pages: 4
...Sam Crawford Professor Garrison English 110.01 25 March 2011 A Cry for Decriminalization “Don’t touch marijuana, don’t even come close to it; it will lead you to use hard drugs like heroin and cocaine!” This is the fear-based statement I always heard through my youth and is often fed to other kids in an attempt to keep them safe and prevent them from making decisions that they will regret in the future, but how true is it? Marijuana is currently legal for medical use in sixteen states, most often to counter the side effects of cancer-treating drugs. Unfortunately, marijuana is highly criminalized in the United States and as a result its danger is increased. When you stop and think about it, it seems odd that substances like alcohol and harmful prescription drugs are not only legal but widely used. In fact, the legalization of marijuana could help Americans, and not just those who would use it. Therefore, I believe that this illogical fallacy that marijuana should be illegal on the basis of its potential harmful effects should be tossed aside. The active ingredient in marijuana that gives it such distinctive properties is tetrahydrocannabinol which can be used to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting as well as anorexia and cachexia, which strips the body of muscle mass and crucial fats that keep in functioning properly. Alcohol on the other hand destroys the liver and steals innocent lives in automobile accidents,”There were just short of 180,000...
Words: 811 - Pages: 4
