What comes to mind when you think of drugs? Perhaps you think of the nightly news talking about killings on the streets or maybe you think of those unforgettable meth ads on television and billboards. But what seems to be very popular when the word drug comes up is the controversial ongoing debate on whether or not marijuana should be legalized. Many advocates believe prohibiting marijuana reduces crime, trafficking and increases health. However, marijuana is one of the most misunderstood drugs on the market. Keeping it illegal just causes more problems. Fully legalizing marijuana, while making sure it is controlled with limitations much like alcohol and tobacco, would boost our economy, bring in more jobs, and medically help many people. Even with the inevitable negatives that come with the legalization, it is definitely safe to say that the positives outweigh those negatives. The source for what we like to call “hemp” or “marijuana” is the cannabis plant. The term hemp is used more for the industrial uses of the plant, such as for the fiber and seeds, and the term marijuana is used more for the medicinal or therapeutic uses (Deitch). The cannabis plant grows like a weed, which is why it is often called weed, but it is actually an herb and can be grown in various different environments in many parts of the world (Fortenbery & Bennett). Hemp was an important valuable commodity in the American colonies all the way up to World War II. Since the outlaw of marijuana for all purposes in 1937, we have been socially, environmentally, and economically suffering. Many are unaware that our use of cannabis as fiber, fuel, and paper could solve a lot of these problems we face today. The outlaw of marijuana reveals a lot of racism and hyste... ... middle of paper ... ... 12 Oct. 2013. Gerber, Rudolph J. Legalizing Marijuana: Drug Policy Reform and Prohibition Politics. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2004. Print. Gross, D. W., J. Hamm, N. L. Ashworth, and D. Quigley. "Marijuana Use and Epilepsy." Marijuana Use and Epilepsy. N.p., 8 June 2004. Web. 13 Oct. 2013. Miron, Jeffrey A. "The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition." N.p., June 2005. Web. 19 Oct. 2013. Perrone, Dina, Randi D. Helgesen, and Ryan G. Fischer. "United States Drug Prohibition and Legal Highs: How Drug Testing May Lead Cannabis Users to Spice." N.p., 2013. Web. Seamon, Matthew J., Jennifer A. Fass, Maria Maniscalco-Feichtl, and Nada A. Abu-Shraie. "Medical Marijuana and the Developing Role of the Pharmacist." 64 (2007): 1037-044. Medical Marijuana and the Developing Role of the Pharmacist. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 15 May 2007. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
Works Cited "The California Marijuana Vote." New Yorker 23 Dec 1996: 62+. Brookhiser, Richard. "Pot Luck." National Review 11 Nov 1996: 27+ Simmons, Michael. "Give Pot a Chance." Rolling Stone 26 Dec 1996: 111+. Rist, Curtis and Harrison, Laird. "Weed the People." People 21 Oct. 1996: 75+. Funk and Wagnall's Volume 23 "Marijuana" 1996 Baum, Dan. "California's Separate Peace." Rolling Stone 30 Oct. 1997: 43+ Brookhiser, Richard. "Lost in the Weed." U.S. News & World Report 3 Jan. 1997: 9 Buckley, William "Legalization of Marijuana Long Overdue" The Albuquerque Journal. Online. 8 June 1993.
Marijuana in America became a popular ingredient in many medicinal products and was openly sold in pharmacies in the late nineteenth century (“Busted-America’s War on Marijuana Timeline”). The National Institute of Drug Abuse defines marijuana as, “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” (“DrugFacts: Marijuana”). It was not until the Food and Drug act of 19...
The word Marijuana also known as cannabis, pot, weed, herb and green stuff has been universally criticized since the beginning of the century. According to (Fitzgerald, K. T., Bronstein, A. C., & Newquist, K. L. 2013) “the term "marijuana” typically refers to tobacco-like preparations of the leaves and flowers” (Fitzgerald et al., (2013). (McGuinness, Teena M, PhD,P.M.H.-N.P., B.C. (2009) stated that “Cannabis cigarettes are also called joints, nails, and reefers; pipes for smoking are also known as bongs and bowls” (McGuinness et al., 2009) The truth is that the legalization of Marijuana has positive effects on both society and the wellbeing of individuals and should be legalized. The government can monitor and tax Marijuana thus helping the economy. Secondly Marijuana can be used as medical therapy; thirdly there would be less youth and adults in jails and prisons. Conversely the use of Marijuana can be proven highly addictive among individuals in our society; Marijuana is more harmful that cigarettes and Marijuana is known as the (Gate Way) drug to harsher drugs. The benefits of legalization Marijuana outweigh the cons.
Miron, Jeffrey A, “The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition.” The Marijuana Policy Project. June 2005. PDF file.
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Miron, Jefferey. "Cost of Marijuana Prohibition: Economic Analysis." Prohbitioncosts. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2013. .
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The Topic of Legalizing Marijuana has been a very conversational argumentative issue in the American society; moreover in the American politics today. There are many good arguments on why Marijuana should be Legalize and my argument is based on facts and supporting details to prove why Marijuana should be legalize. The Legalization of Marijuana would be profitable to our government and economy, according to Evan Wood who is the founder of the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy; The U.S taxpayers have spent an estimated $2.5 trillion on the war on drugs. The Legalization of Marijuana would have a medical use, and also useful in some religions; after all Legalizing Marijuana would eliminate the cost of keeping Marijuana illegal which cost the U.S government in excess of billions annually.
First of all, marijuana can have many positive effects on crime. Legalizing marijuana can actually decrease crime rates in the U.S. This past year, it was counted that 6.9 million people are inside the American’s jails and prisons. 60,000 of these individuals were there for marijuana according to one study. With the legalization of marijuana, it would cut the amount of tax we pay for these jails and prisons, costing us a total of 1.2 billion. Last year a total of 7 to 10 billion dollars was used towards arresting and processing against marijuana. The big picture here is that 90% of those arrests were just for possession. It is crazy that as a country we spend most of our time trying to stop the biggest drug in America when it is just wasting our money. There are less arrests on violent crimes than marijuana charges combined. These “violent crimes” consist of assault, rape, robbery, and murder. How awful is it that we waste our time on this drug when there are so many other bigger problems we could be solving or people to be saved. Cocaine and heroin arrests have actually decreased by 1/3 from 1991 to 2000. While marijuana has more than 700,000 people are ar...
Shrivastava, A., Johnston, M., & Tsuang, M. (2011). Cannabis use and cognitive dysfunction. Indian journal of psychiatry, 53(3), 187.
Smith, Andra M., et al. “Effects of marijuana on visuospatial working memory: an fMRI study in young adults.” Psychopharmacology 210 (2010):429-438. Web. 5 Sept. 2011.