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Secondly, marijuana is one of three gateway drugs. A gateway drug is a type of drug that leads people to try harder and more addictive drugs. The three gateway drugs are cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana. The most common drug that these gateway drugs lead to is cocaine. Usually marijuana is the last gateway drug people use because if they can do marijuana without any major issues they believe that it is possible for them to continue on to harder drugs. Without even realizing it they end up having addiction problems that spiral out of control. But if you go back, it all started with the use of marijuana. Children who are as young as twelve use at least one of the three gateway drugs and by the time they are 17 years old they are 266 times more
It was the late 19th century when a lot of conflict for families from the Industrial Revolution and illegal drugs had easy access to anyone in the United Sates. These illegal drugs like morphine, cocaine, and alcohol were available through manufacture, delivery, and selling. It was proved that the over use of alcohol and violence in families’ homes were linked together around the 1850’s and that women and children were being abused by the father and husband from the letters and journals that were wrote. These were times when women were stay at home mothers and it was the man’s responsibility to be the provider for the wife and children. Because of the abuse in the household it led up to the temperance movement. The purpose
Another argument you commonly hear from prohibitionists is that it is a “gateway drug”, meaning that using marijuana is the cause of and leads to harder and more harmful drugs. While this sounds like it makes sense in theory, it simply is not true. In fact, most cannabis users do not go on to use harder substances and while most hard drug users started with marijuana, it is more likely that those individuals are just more prone to drug use and started with easier more readily available substances such as tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis. The only sound arguments from prohibitionists is that “Prenatal or adolescent exposure can lead to altered brain development, including changes in the connections between the neurons, or circuits, in certain brain regions. Youthful exposure can lead to earlier onset and more severe psychoses, including schizophrenia, for that part of the population with a genetic predisposition to certain mental illnesses.” (Bruce Barcott and Michael Scherer, The Great Pot Experiment, 2015) and while those are good arguments, nothing is really certain about marijuana and it will continue to be uncertain until restrictions on research is loosened up and people can actually confirm these things and see if there is any way to avoid these
Is Prohibition (defined as a government decree against the exchange of a good or service) actually successful in reducing recreational drug consumption and drug-related violence? This is the question that will be analyzed in this paper. Drug enforcement officials frequently cite drug-related violence as a reason that drugs must be eliminated from our society. A contrary belief is that the system of drug prohibition actually causes most of the violence. Similar to alcohol prohibition in the 1920s and the rise of organized crime, drug prohibition inspires a dangerous underground market that manifests itself with violent crime throughout the U.S. and, in fact, the world. The illegal nature of drugs has significantly increased the price and the
In a culture with such diverse commonalities, the differentials that set precedent come from social norms. These norms set the template for what acceptable behavior is. Being known as having a melting pot of a population we can expect that the norms are influenced through religion, values, ideas, and self views. Deviant behaviors occur when these social norms are disrupted and acts are seen to go against what we have always thought as wrong or weird. Deviance is a broad term that encompasses the idea that we know what is right from what our neighbor does. For example, trends of fashion change quite rapidly. If you don’t believe me watch shows on television that reminisce about the 70’s 80’s and so on. Today we look at what was worn in the previous decades and find it hard to imagine people dressing like this now. However, in the days that style was popular it was seen as the way to dress. Norms change to fit what the popular trend is now. Deviance likewise counters with what is unpopular. There are far more serious deviant acts than dressing from the wrong decade; they are also heavily tied to the law. Laws are more inflexible than behaviors of changing times. They are intact from the idea that if caught participating in such acts you could face serious punishment and rightfully so. Let’s take a look at one form of deviance that persisted in our culture for many years.
Experiments throughout the years have proven that when people smoke marijuana they are more likely to start using other hard drugs like heroin or cocaine. In an article on drugabuse.gov, they explain results of one of the experiments they did on rodents. “Early exposure to cannabinoids in adolescent rodents decreases the reactivity of brain dopamine reward centers later in adulthood. To the extent that these findings generalize to humans, this could help explain early marijuana initiates’ increased vulnerability for drug abuse and addiction to other substances of abuse later in life that ahs ben reported by most epidemiological studies.” (“Is marijuana a gateway drug?” 1). This article discusses the idea that THC has an ability to lead the brain to achieve enhanced responses to other drugs. In other words, when you smoke marijuana you get a high, but that high also leaves you wanting more. After you feel like you want more and try new drugs, your brain has been enhanced to get a more intense high off the harder stuff so people start using harder drugs. These harder drugs can include anything from cocaine to heroin to ecstasy. All of these are life threating and have had multiple overdoses/deaths across the United States. This is one of the main reasons to keep marijuana illegal. We don’t need all the teenagers in the United States to be trying heroin or
Marijuana was first introduced by the Chinese back in the B.C (before Christ) time period where it existed as a substance that carried ability to achieve a euphoria or a “high” as we refer to it today. In the early 4200s B.C. marijuana was better known for its medicinal value where it was being used to treat rheumatism, gout and malaria (Narcocon International ). Of course, society at the time was aware of the other effects marijuana had however at the time, they primarily focused on the medication capacity marijuana contained. Fast forwarding to 2015 where the medical use of marijuana is the biggest controversial topic, society views marijuana more of a harmful substance than a solution to nearly all of
Marijuana is a harmful drug and should not be legalized. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug used in the United States. It is a plant that grows from the ground however, it contains many harmful toxins. There are many pros and cons for the legalization of marijuana although there are more cons than there are pros; one being that children are the ones who abuse marijuana the most. Surprisingly, against other beliefs, marijuana smoking actually does impair the user’s ability to drive a lot like the effects of alcohol and it is more addictive than alcohol. Based on this information, many have concluded that marijuana should not be legalized for recreational use.
A term often flung about in opposition of Marijuana is “Gateway Drug.” A term that, of all arguments against Marijuana Legalization, has had one of the most demonizing effects. What people mean when they throw this shock term around is that Marijuana itself isn’t horribly dangerous, a rather conservative admission in the face of overwhelming facts, it sets one along the path to harder, more dangerous drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, and/or methamphetamine.
In today's society people use drugs to escape from reality and issues that may be present in their lives. They think that the use of drugs will help them achieve happiness which leads to addiction. This addiction allows for others to take advantage of the person while they’re under the influence. In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley uses soma to show a similar idea through the theme of pursuit of happiness through drugs. The purpose that soma serves in the novel is that it is illustrated as being the “perfect drug” with no negative effects. The characters in the novel start using it as an escape for unhappiness or dissatisfaction and the happiness that is reached with the drug eventually becomes a trap and it has an addiction effect which leads
Cannabis is a natural plant that has been made illegal by the United States, and has been a controversial topic ever since the 1920’s. Marijuana is a substance that has been used hundreds of years ago as an herbal medicine and also can be used for textile products from hemp, which is from the Cannabis Sativa plant. Because of marijuana being categorized as a schedule one substance, it has no medical value and cannot be researched in the United States. Marijuana is said to be a gateway drug and is very unhealthy for adolescents with premature brains. The marijuana prohibition should finally come to a close because there are many benefits from cannabis and it is less harmful than both alcohol and tobacco.
This theory consists of the belief that marijuana is a gateway drug. Weed could eventually lead users to dependence on more addictive drugs. “If marijuana is legalized, it could lead to more cocaine, heroin, and ecstasy”, says correctional officer Joseph G. Brown in the Department of Justice for the Drug Enforcement Administration. The U.S could end up having to spend even MORE money in law enforcement services having to deal with more overall drugs all around.
Marijuana is considered a gateway drug. Over half of the drug users start with marijuana and progress to the other top four illegally used drugs in America. There are many long and short term effects that come along with abusing drugs. Some effects of drugs are moderate while others have a lasting, lifetime impact. The effects are according to the drug users pattern of abuse.
I also believe that Kids who start at a young age with Marijuana can go on to bigger and more powerful drugs. These drugs can ruin many lives and destroy families. About 20% of teenagers use prescription drugs, usually found in parents cabinets so teenagers take them to get high. Most parents have no idea they are doing that, so to have drug test they can find
Drugs have proven to be an issue in the 21st century. Not everyone is capable of controlling addictions. It is very common to see celebrities abusing drugs under pressure or just for the pleasure of it. There is always someone going to rehab, or someone’s career falling apart due to their bad habits. The Weeknd song “I Can’t Feel My Face” and Ed Sheeran’s song “Bloodstream”, are both songs about addictions, and how they do not want to be left alone; while Tesfaye depicts his addiction as life taking, Ed Sheeran portrays his addiction as regretful. Both of the singers are addicts, but one chooses to repent and get out of the hole, while the other chooses to sit in the hole. History has proven to show us that we can overcome anything. Nothing
With the use of drugs being such a controversial issue in today’s society we felt as a group it was important to further explore this issue. As we possess a high interest in how drugs affect a number of social groups. These groups of course range from young teens to high-class older individuals who will have different reasons and different acceptable standards of behaviour.