...can be harnessed for many different things. Many are waiting for the day that marijuana gets legalized for recreationally purposes. What most people don’t know is it can be used for a greater service than recreational use. Industrial hemp is extremely useful and unlike marijuana it contains very low amounts of THC, which cannot be used as a drug. Both marijuana and hemp come from a similar strain of cannabis. Before the 1950’s, hemp was completely legal throughout the United States, and saw its glory days during World War 2. Afterwards, cannabis was criminalized in the United States, in the early 1950’s after people discovered a different use for the plant. Since then hemp has been masked by marijuana...
Words: 537 - Pages: 3
...mary jane. Now, why are these words thought to be "bad". Why are we taught from such a young age that marijuana is bad. Why are we able to go into any store and buy tobacco, which kills 400,000 people annually; alcohol, which kills 100,000 people annually; and caffeine, which kills 2,000 people annually. According to the New England Journal of medicine, you would have to smoke 1500 pounds of marijuana in under 15 minutes to OD. Marijuana was prohibited in 1937, but marijuana prohibition isn’t working. Today between 95 and 100 million Americans admit to having tried it and nearly 15 million have used it within the past month. Some people believe that marijuana is bad and does damage to the body but alcohol and cigarettes are more dangerous. Alcohol has a high level of sulphate and can cause alcohol poisoning. Cigarettes contain over 4,000 chemicals including 43 known cancer compounds and 400 other toxins. Marijuana is not 100% free of chemicals but it more natural because it is from the earth and contains only 100 chemicals. ill be discussing marijuana legislation first wat is marijuana and hw does it affect humans? second when and why did marijuana become illegal? and why states are legalizing marijuana for medical purposes. using these points i intend to inform you about marijuana and the movement to legalize it. according to the national institute on drug abuse, a survey shows that over 98 million americans over the age of 12 have tried marijuana at least one time...
Words: 1517 - Pages: 7
...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 residents. That’s why our problem is so great; the greatest...
Words: 2073 - Pages: 9
...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
...Legalization of Marijuana Marijuana is a very prominent and controversial issue in our society today. Although many slanderous claims have been made about cannabis over the last seventy years, the truth about it is slowly starting to resurface. Unfortunately, all these years of propaganda has led to a stereotypical view of the typical “pot smoker.” This skewed perception of a lazy and unmotivated American is the result of over seventy years of propaganda and misinformation spread by private interests who needed cannabis illegal for their own personal gains. Most of the accepted reasons that marijuana should be illegal are complete fallacies. I strongly believe that marijuana should be legalized for all uses. The reason marijuana is illegal today has a very clear, well-documented past with the United States government. Hemp (the plant that is grown to make marijuana) is a very powerful biomass source. It can be used as fuel. It could end our dependence on fossil fuels forever. In fact, Dr. Rudolph Diesel created an engine that ran on peanut oil, which is another type of biomass fuel that is made in the same way as hemp fuel. Biodiesel made from hemp can run in any diesel engine, without having to modify the engine in any way. Obviously, this poses a big threat to oil companies. They fought from the very beginning to criminalize marijuana because of this reason. Instead of importing massive amount of crude oil from foreign nations, we could grow hemp locally and cut down...
Words: 2057 - Pages: 9
...fight the war on Marijuana. Marijuana has been a hot topic lately, and the debates really been heating up. The main question is how much would our country benefit from the legalization of recreational marijuana? Our citizens and political leaders have a chance to cash in on one of the biggest cash crops in existence today. Legalizing marijuana for recreational use has the potential to be very lucrative and beneficial to our country and society. To fully understand the debate on legalizing marijuana, you must know what marijuana is and how it came to be outlawed in the U.S. in the first place. Marijuana is a plant that produces flowers or buds that can be smoked to produce...
Words: 3380 - Pages: 14
...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...
Words: 1195 - Pages: 5
...(Jankowiak & Bradburd, 1996). On the parts of peasants, marijuana use was so central to the lifestyle that as a rite of passage, a young man would take his first inhalation of marijuana just before joining the other men in the cane fields (Lewis, 1994). Pre-sacred symbolism, then, marijuana use already had significant meaning for the Black Jamaican worker. In this way, even without Biblical justification for its use, it still serves as an observance of the past. Shunning of the Oppressive Majority for Positive Afrocentric Identity According to Bernard (2007), religion functions a coping, explanatory scheme for circumstances, while at the same time building cohesion. In the case of the poor Black Jamaican, the Rastafarian religion offered...
Words: 783 - Pages: 4
...Legalization of Marijuana Derane Walton English 215 June 11, 2013 Victoria Stewart Legalization of Marijuana Can there be a show of hands how many people here have ever smoked Cannabis sativa, commonly known as marijuana? Well obviously no one would want to admit to a criminal activity in front of their teacher, but why is it that smoking pot is so taboo in our society? After all numerous famous intellectuals support marijuana. Al Gore is considered by many to be the leading figure in climate change awareness and environmental preservation, but few people know that Al Gore also supports the legalization of marijuana. The famed German philosopher Freidrich Nietzche once said, if one seeks relief from unbearable pressure one is to eat hashish. The founding father of our nation George Washington, said, “Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere”! (Stack exchange, 2013) Marijuana is one of the safest medicinal substances on the planet and is supported by many acclaimed celebrity role models. Famous Hollywood actor Johnny Depp says, I’m not a big pothead or anything like that but weed is much, much less dangerous than alcohol. Other well known supporters of marijuana include Snoop Dogg, all of the Marley family, Niel Young, Willie Nelson, Michael Phelps, Chris Farley, Al Gore, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Nietzche, Barack Obama, John Adams, James Madison, JFK, and of course myself. A total of 11 United States presidents grew, smoked, or supported the...
Words: 1645 - Pages: 7
...Legalization of Marijuana The plant cannabis sativa, better known as marijuana or hemp, has been used by many in different ways. It has been grown to provide food for villages and towns, and used for cloths, sails on early ships and most commonly rope. Many famous writings were written on hemp paper such as The Bible and a draft of the U.S. Constitution (Cronin, 1993). For many years people have smoked marijuana for recreational purposes. Although it was illegal to possess, smokers may still have partaken in the ritual of getting high, stoned, bombed, blitzed are only some of the terms that are used. Many will claim that marijuana is not a bad drug and many will say it is. In this argument we will identify that if it is true to fact or is it just a ploy by the government to keep it illegal. The use for medical purposes has also come to scrutiny as well. The majority of Americans choose the same issues as the most threatening to the nation. Invariably among these one will see “drugs” as a major concern of most Americans. There is speculation that this is due to a perceived association between drugs and crime (Inciardi, 1999). A good deal of the argument over government policy towards drugs centers on the least unhealthy and most socially accepted of the illegal drugs, marijuana. Marijuana, scientifically known as Tetra-hydro-cannabinol (THC), belongs to its own group among other legal and illegal drugs. It is neither a narcotic, such as heroin, nor a stimulant, such...
Words: 1866 - Pages: 8
...often perceived the wrong way .As a result marijuana has been classified as a schedule 1 drug and is illegal throughout the united states with the exception of a few states who have recently legalized cannabis for medicinal and recreational use. Since marijuana has become illegal it has affected the social life of minorities since they are often prosecuted harsher and more often than white people for marijuana use and is still happening all the way in 2014 .(Washington voters should reject the rush to legalize marijuana The Washington Post, September 15, 2014) .Throughout history the debate on marijuana has prompted many opposers to...
Words: 1272 - Pages: 6
...alcohol in the 1920s, marijuana should be legalized because doing so would not only reduce crime, but make the substance more reliable and safer and would generate tax dollars. Background/History: Why is marijuana illegal? Why is it legal in some states and not in others? Marijuana became widely criminalized in 1937 when congress passed the “Marijuana Tax Act” 1 as a result of a national propaganda campaign against the substance. Harry J. Anslinger 1 led the campaign as the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics from 1930 to 1962. He used the themes of racism and violence to cause widespread hatred and fear of the drug in order to make it illegal. He was often quoted saying "Colored students at the Univ. of Minn. partying with (white) female students, smoking [marijuana] and getting their sympathy with stories of racial persecution. Result: pregnancy" and "Two Negros took a girl fourteen years old and kept her for two days under the influence of hemp. Upon recovery she was found to be suffering from syphilis." 2 In 1996, Proposition 215 was passed in California and this allowed for the medical use of marijuana. Since then, 22 other states, D.C, and Guam have enacted similar laws. These laws have now decriminalized possession and/or legalized medical marijuana in the state.1 How is it similar to the prohibition era before and after? It is similar to the prohibition era in that both the prohibition of alcohol and the prohibition of marijuana were country wide...
Words: 1598 - Pages: 7
...First, we will analyze the evolution of cannabis through American history. According to an article, ??????? in 1619 the first American law pertaining to marijuana was passed by the Virginia Assembly, which required every farmer to grow the plant (????). Fibers from the hemp plant were used in the production of ship sails, rope and clothing. Production continued through the Civil War in the years 1961-1965, but new imports and other domestic resources began to replace it. After the Mexican Revolution of 1910, Mexican immigrants began to enter the U.S. in waves. The new immigrants were the first to introduce the recreational use of marijuana to the American culture. The drug and its effects along with the fear and prejudice about the newcomers...
Words: 1381 - Pages: 6
...DECRIMINALIZATION OF MARIJUANA ******* English 112 ********** April 18, 2012 Presently, Marijuana is illegal in the United States due to the racially motivated Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This law was proposed by Harry J. Anslinger the acting commissioner of Federal Bureau of Narcotics. In his testimony to Congress he stated, "There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others" (ukcia.org, (n.d), para. 1). Since this time, the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 has spawned more strict laws that have many unintended side effects. After many decades, effective federal propaganda has won public support for these laws. Only recently, U.S. citizens have started to question why marijuana is illegal. I feel that it would be beneficial to discard these laws and beliefs of the past. We need to analyze how the legalization of marijuana would positively affect the United States and its citizens in the following fields: medical, criminology, and financial. I support the legalization of marijuana not because I use this herb, because I do not and would not even if it was legal much like a majority of our populous. I have taken this stance because of the benefits that would arise from legalization. Marijuana has been criminalized for private citizens since 1930’s bringing...
Words: 1787 - Pages: 8
...Decriminalization of Marijuana. Marijuana is a drug that comes in many forms and strains. The decriminalization of marijuana could have outstanding effects on our country. Decriminalization is to make something no longer a criminal act but was marijuana always illegal. The benefits of decriminalization are double to triple the negatives of decriminalization. Four groups of people would be hurt by this. You may be wondering can this be regulated by government. The answer may shock you but California already has it well regulated. I believe it best we decriminalize it when the time is right and some states are already seeing that the time is right. We can’t talk about why something needs to be decriminalized without first discussing why it was criminalized in the first...
Words: 1709 - Pages: 7
