...I located an article from CNBC that I believe to be a controversial subject. The article is called Why We Should Not Legalize Marijuana. In this article the author states that a useful analogy can be made to gambling. The author states that legalizing gambling has not reduced illegal gambling in the United States but instead it has increased it. I think I would have to disagree with this statement because people have the free will to make their own decisions. We as human beings know what is right and wrong and we are capable of weighing options and understanding consequences. But not everyone in this world makes good decisions where there are laws there are laws being broken. The choice of people to gamble illegally is their choice it is not a result of gambling being made legal, even if gambling were illegal people would do it just like marijuana is illegal and people are still doing it. The author in this article also talks about how reducing marijuana use is important to improving our nation’s health, education, and productivity. The author is more worried about legalization of marijuana for medical or general use would increase use in general. My argument to this is marijuana has been known to medically work for people when other manmade medicines do not. This drug has been known to help children who have epilepsy stop having seizures, and to help cancer patients who are in pain and who cannot eat feel better and eat meals. After watching some of the shows and specials I...
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...Running Head:Legalizing Marijuana Bradford 1 Legalizing Marijuana Ira Bradford Soc120: Introduction to Ethics & Social Responsibility Marnie Carroll July 11, 2012 RunningHead: Legalizing Marijuana Bradford 2 Legalizing Marijuana I really don’t see nothing wrong with marijuana. They are some pros and cons on legalizing marijuana in this world. I will get to that later on this paper. I feel like for you to talk about this type of situation you have to go through it. I first smoke marijuana when I was twenty-six or twenty-seven. But I started drinking when I was fifteen or sixteen. I tried smoking cigarettes but my body didn’t agree with that. I even tried cocaine two or three times in my life time. I definitely didn’t like that. I even tried ectasy for a while until I find out what it do to the brain cells. Out of all these drugs ectasy is the most deadliest drug that kill the most brain cell. They put all kinds of stuff in that pill, which is very scary. Out of all those that I tried, the only thing that I agree with is marijuana. Yes, I did started drinking before I did any of these things. But who didn’t, alcohol is the gateway drug. I don’t even like taking pills for headaches or colds, when my body aches. The only pills I take is for my high blood pressure. When I smoke I feel so relax and for some reason I can feel everybody vibe. It sounds weird but I do. It lets me know on what I need to do and things...
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...drugs even though it’s illegal. Though its not something anyone could ever understand, why do these people go against the law and jeopardize their life just to use drugs? The drug that I am talking in this essay about is marijuana, and it may be surprising to some but it is all around us. Marijuana is even being referred to in today’s media. The way that they are doing this is through the mainstream media sources that people prefer; like music, movies, and TV shows. Now being a 20 year old adult and having my own personal experience with Marijuana and knowing its effects on others, and myself. I always ask why it’s not legal. Why is it that this drug has become illegal all over the world, but they allow cigarettes, alcohol, and prescription medication. The war to legalize marijuana in the United States of America has been and is now being fought nonstop since the existence of the drug itself. Marijuana has been tested and proven to have a very positive impact on the American society for multiple reasons. Some of these reasons are for America’s economy, the health of certain people, and even crime. These reasons could very well help America turn around its national debt and help thrive the country in the future. This naturally grown plant known as marijuana is known all around the world. This plant is known to be a herbal medicine that gives users a “high” and is legal in a lot of countries in the world, but also illegal in a lot of...
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...Legalizing Marijuana: An Ethical Perspective In today’s society, many ethical concerns arise on a daily basis, especially when it comes to the topic of legalizing marijuana. Many individuals have relied on the fact that marijuana was illegal, when determining whether smoking it should be considered unethical. However, many studies have shown that the effects of marijuana are not as detrimental as they were once made out to be. Legalizing marijuana can be an extremely controversial topic because several people have strong beliefs concerning why it should not be legalized, while a significant amount of people have stronger arguments, as to why it should be legalized. When it comes to looking at the ethical standpoint of legalizing marijuana, everyone has a different interpretation as to why marijuana should or should not be legalized. This is because everyone’s sense of morals and values differ. Legalizing marijuana for medicinal and recreational use would be beneficial for large amounts of people for many reasons. The theory of utilitarianism implies that the proper course of action should be the one, which benefits the greatest number of people. Many aspects of legalizing marijuana should be considered when determining if the benefits outweigh the risks. Several states have passed laws, which govern the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. In fact, over twenty states, as well as the District of Columbia have enacted laws that govern the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes...
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...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...
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...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...
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...Vincent Piccoli Professor Melville EN 112 25 November 2014 The Legalization of Marijuana The legalization of Marijuana has gradually become one of the most talked about topics in the world today. It has been a fight between the government, the states, and the citizens of any country/countries around the world. From 12 percent in 1969, to 25 percent in 1995, to 36 percent by 2005 and hitting 48 percent in 2012, the demographic shift on this issue has been stunning. (Heuvel, Kartina Vanden) There are 23 states in the United States with some form of marijuana legalization. Whether it be the legalization of marijuana medically or recreationally, or some both. Legalizing marijuana has some very big advantages along with the pros and cons already. For most states, legalizing marijuana will benefit the economy greatly, marijuana is more harmless than many other drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, cocaine. There always is that chance it does not benefit the economy but the percentage of marijuana users throughout the world is increasing every year. (Heuval, Kartina Vanden) With all of this comes responsibility and with the right determination and structure, Marijuana should be legalized but with regulations. One positive effect the legalization of marijuana will have on society is the medical aspect of marijuana. So many people need and use medical marijuana to help treat themselves and take care of themselves. For some it is their only cure and for some it is more like...
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...Legalizing Marijuana Kendall Joseph James York Sociology 120 September 18, 2011 Introduction In recent years there has definitely been an extremely unprecedented interest about whether or not marijuana along with its constituent compounds should be allowed to be used as medicine. There have been eight states since 1996 that have approved the medical use of marijuana. Although there are some people who simply dismiss the idea of medical marijuana as a subterfuge enabling liberalization, which they are afraid that there is a small chance that it will spread the plague of drug abuse. Having marijuana legalized could legitimate the drug as both safe and effective . Marijuana's industrial, medical, and recreational uses has definitely played an important role in regards to increasing its fame, there are even some presidential candidates that have even acknowledged the fact that they have even smoked marijuana before. Marijuana is an extremely safe drug simply because of its primary active ingredients THC along with other cannabinoids produce psychoactive effects and there is no fatal dose at all. However, there are other psychoactive drugs like alcohol, opiates, nicotine, and caffeine that can have fatal overdoses. This is why marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest, therapeutically active substance that is known to mankind. Although, there are some people who may feel morally violated in regards to legalizing marijuana and doing drugs may be a victimless...
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...Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is a form of the cannabis plant. In 1923, marijuana was added to the Confidential Restricted List as a prohibited drug in Canada. However, many Canadians believe that marijuana should be legalized because it can play a significant role in the medical industry. However, others hold the opposite attitude toward Marijuana legalization. This serious controversy has lasted for many decades. Canada’s neighbor, the U.S. government, has forbidden this drug since the early 1900s. However, this implementation didn’t produce a satisfactory result. (National Prevention Strategy, 2011) Marijuana should be legalized in Canada because its advantages outweigh the disadvantages. These advantages are likely to promote the Canadian economy, eliminate social issues and benefit the health of its residents. In terms of the economy, legalizing marijuana could conduct not only negative effects, but also positive effects. In the past decade, underground trade of marijuana has caused harm to Canada’s income. Werner Antweiler, the UBC professor, believes that the marijuana market is sizable. (2013) In B.C., the estimates show that Canadians consume at least 3 billion dollars in marijuana products annually. (Barmak, 2013) Other data from The International Journal of Drug Policy indicate that the retail value of marijuana consumption in B.C is between $443 million and $564 million. In addition, further estimates point out that marijuana legalization is likely to help the...
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...The legalization of marijuana is an ongoing debate with the government; to legalize or not to legalize that is the question on the governments mind. The judgment on wither marijuana should be legalized is on a legal yet political standpoint. There are many reasons why marijuana should be legalized and many reasons why it should not be legalized. Amongst the ongoing policy battles on drugs and the pleas of patients suffering from painful, debilitating diseases causes the government to debate on legalizing marijuana (“Marijuana: To Legalize or Not to Legalize? ,” 2010, para.3 ). There are individuals who suffer from painful medical illnesses who depend on the drug to help sleep, eat, and cope with the illness in which they are suffering from. The government can legalize marijuana due to medical purposes; however this can be a conflict because this makes the drug more accessible to drug dealers. Legalizing marijuana becomes a legal debate because where there is drugs there is crime. The increase in crime rate will be higher if marijuana should become legalized. Legalizing marijuana may not increase drug crime; however it will increase the rate of other criminal activities. Previous drug criminals who are accustom to trafficking the drug will be forced to look for work, and as they are not experienced they may result in other criminal activities such as extortion, robbery and kidnapping Rios (2012). Legalizing marijuana can be a benefit due to medical purposes, yet because of criminal...
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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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...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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... The u.s should legalize recreational marijuana Is marijuana safer than alcohol? Marijuana is not a lethal drug, which means it is not toxic to humans, overdoses are nearly impossible and is not as addictive as tobacco or alcohol. Legalizing marijuana would have a beneficial impact on the U.S. Marijuana has been illegal for less than 1% of the time that it’s been in use. Legalizing marijuana also would cut taxes. Also legalizing it would get rid of government waste. The U.S should legalize recreational marijuana because marijuana is too expensive for the justice system and should be taxed. In the High Times article they state that, “Law enforcement has more important responsibilities than arresting 750,000 individuals a year for marijuana possession.” Statistics do show that the people arrested for marijuana, 90% of it is just for possession. This is unfair because people are not selling it, they are not criminals, and they are just smoking it for their own use. They also state, “Marijuana arrests make Justice more expensive and less efficient in the U.S…” It is expensive because the government is spending all this money on court cases for just smoking pot and wasting jail space on basically innocent people. The High Times article also states, “Furthermore, taxation of Marijuana can provide needed generous funding of many important criminal Justice programs.” A Harvard study estimates that legalizing recreational marijuana would save the U.S 7.7 billion dollars a year...
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...Covarrubias Mr. Odegaard English 1A 4 October 2011 Legalizing Marijuana “Memory is the enemy of wonder, which abides nowhere else but in the present… ordinarily we think of drug experiences as additive- it’s often said that drugs “distort” normal perceptions” (Pollan 168). When the word Marijuana is said, many negative thoughts pop into one’s head. Do you ever stop and think of the positive ways marijuana can be used; as opposed to the danger in using the plant? Today, marijuana and other drugs are the main reason for drug wars amongst gangs here in America. Maybe if marijuana was legal it there wouldn’t be such fights over it. Legalizing marijuana would allow people to be able to purchase it legally, therefore it being a taxable item; which would eventually bring the state more money. Marijuana has also found its way into our hospitals. Many doctors today prescribe “Medicinal marijuana” and can be used to relieve people of pain. Allowing marijuana to be legal would benefit both the distributor and the consumer. All while letting the American society enjoy some cannabis and is able to relax their state of mind after stressful encounters throughout there day. Marijuana is used all throughout the United States. Although the using of this plant for recreational purposes is still not legal; people still find a way to get there fix. The consumers seek distributors and spend money to receive this plant. Distributors of marijuana don’t report their money anywhere they use it as their...
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...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...
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