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Consequences of marijuana consumption on health. introduction
History of legalizing marijuana
Criminalizing marijuana
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The legalization of marijuana is, and has been a heavily disputed issue for decades. On one hand, marijuana could lead to a medical breakthrough, or at least provide relief to cancer and AIDS patients. On the other hand, legalizing a drug could expose it to too broad an audience. As a drug, marijuana has never proven to be anywhere near as harmful as cigarettes or alcohol. Each year in the United States, 400,000 people die from tobacco, 50,000 from alcohol, and from marijuana, zero. Regardless of what side one may take to this argument, there are some causes to this marijuana debate that everyone should know. Marijuana was not always illegal, and the reasons behind the history of narcotic regulation are interesting when viewed from today's perspective. The history of marijuana prohibition is a story of racism, political repression, and poorly represents the qualities this country claims to embody. The story of marijuana's prohibition goes back as far as the early 1900's. The Mexican revolution was bringing a large population of Mexicans into the southwestern United States. The Mexicans brought with them the habit of smoking "motas", marijuana cigarettes. (Gerber) The locals claimed that the marijuana "incited Mexican immigrants to violent crimes, aroused a lust for blood' and generated superhuman strength." (Gerber) These statements stemmed more from the racist ideas of the time than from actual fact. There were similar claims made all over the states; by the 1930's, the New York Times was printing such headlines as "MARIJUANA MAKES FIENDS OF BOYS IN 30 DAYS; HASHISH GOADS USERS TO BLOOD LUST." (New York Times) This racism became, over time, a notion in the minds of Americans that marijuana was a dangerous narcotic. Marijuana... ... middle of paper ... ...ust reach a compromise, hopefully sooner rather than later. Works Cited Berger, Rudolph. Legalizing Marijuana. Praeger Publishers, London: 2004. Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 44, 46-75A, 1989 Connell, C., "Legalizing Drugs Would Reduce Crime Rate: Elders," L.A. Times, December 10, 1994. Eldridge, W.B., Narcotics and the Law. New York University Press: New York, 1962. 140-141 Helmke, M. "Quayle in Support of Taking a Look at Legalized Pot," Indianapolis Star, March 6, 1977. New York Times, September 16, 1934, Sec. 4, p. 6 Raspberry, W. "Likely Drug Czar Is Another Retread with Old Ideas," Arizona Republic, May 1, 2001, B7 Time Magazine, March 12, 1965, p. 49. Walters, John P., Bennett, William J., and DiIulio, John J. Jr.,, Body Count: Moral Poverty and How to Win America's War Against Crime and Drugs. Simon and Schuster, 1996.
Schack, Todd. 2011. “Twenty-first Century Drug Warriors: the Press, Privateers and the For-Profit Waging of the War on Drugs.” Media, War and Conflict 4, no.2 (August): 142:61.
Before any federal law regarding marijuana was ever proposed, some of the States took it upon themselves to regulate the possession, distribution and consumption of marijuana based on racial prejudice against Chinese immigrants. Referencing law passed by the state of California in 1913 one physician observes that, “The 1913 law received no attention from the press or the public. Instead, it was promulgated as an obscure amendment to the state Poison Law by the California Board of Pharmacy, which was then pioneering one of the nation's earliest, most aggressive anti-narcotics campaigns. Inspired by anti-Chinese sentiment, California was a nationally recognized leader in ...
Rosenfield, Jim. "The War on Drugs is a Great Success." The Ostrich File. Volume 6, March 20, 1996. (Online).
The legalization of marijuana has been a debated subject in America since the 1970's. The pro-marijuana society in America has made claims as to how marijuana can help cure or lessen the effect of some diseases and that by legalizing the drug; the use of pot will actually decline. The fact of the matter is that marijuana is a drug that can be placed into a similar category as cocaine or heroine. Like these other drugs, pot (marijuana) smoking carries with it serious side effects that can effect the user forever, and sometimes-even cause death. Marijuana was first cultivated in America during the colonial time period and was used as a fiber for rope and even clothing. The plant was not used for its psychoactive properties until 1910, when Mexican farmers began smuggling it across the boarder for poor black and Mexican workers in the Southern states (Abood Me 202). By the 1930's marijuana was widespread throughout the U.S., before the Federal Government in 1937 outlawed the use of it. However, marijuana use continued to spread, even with these restrictions and in 1970 the Controlled Substance Act was passed. This act basically categorized marijuana as being a harmful and addictive drug. Presently, marijuana use, especially among teenagers is on the rise once again. Pro-marijuana advocates must ask themselves the question that if marijuana is so great, why is it causing so much damage to the body?
Today more and more people are deciding to side with the legalization of the substance, for America. For those who never give the legalization of marijuana a time of day or those who are hesitant on giving it a chance, are now starting to believe that the legalization of the substance would ultimately be helpful for the United States. As always, with every subject that rises up in the United States, there are people that are for the subject and also others that are against the subject. The legalization of Marijuana throughout the entire U.S. is one of the largest controversial arguments between both people and federal officers. As wrote in LegalizationOfMarijuana, “Prohibition must be weighed against the loss of personal freedom. Countries
Drugs have largely been viewed with fear and disgust by society, and rightly so. Certain drugs do horrible things to people. They can make one lose their self control, see things that aren’t there, damage the mind, deteriorate the body, and cause a dependency in the user that utterly consumes them. But while this is the case for many drugs, it is in no way universal. This is the case of Marijuana, which has long been subject to the same treatment as other, illegal, drugs and, despite it’s many benefits, is currently illegal in The Greater United States. Marijuana is not only less dangerous than other drugs, legal or otherwise, but provides many medical benefits. And yet, someone in The United States found using or possessing the substance can face harsh jail time. Marijuana should be legalized because it would provide medical benefits, help the economy, and it is no more harmful than other legal substances.
The legalization of marijuana is a very prominent and controversial topic in today’s society. Many people will argue against the legalization because of the lies and stereotypes that have been posed against the typical “pot smoker.” The skewed perception of lazy and unmotivated Americans spread over the last century have distorted the truth about cannabis. There are many different reasons for legalizing marijuana including an easy tax to profit from, medical reasons, and also many drugs and substances that are already legal are much more dangerous.
The legalization of marijuana in the United States is a long and historically debated subject. Pro-legalization advocates provide many reasons for the decriminalization of marijuana; some of the reasons include, zero recorded deaths from direct use, wasting tax-payer money prosecuting non-violent offenders, and prohibition promotes organized crime. Anti-legalization organizers condemn legalization due to marijuana being considered a gateway drug, moral and religious opposition, legalization could lead to harder drugs being legalized, and the fear that legalization would enable the drug to be more accessible to children. There are many positive and negative aspects of legalization, but personally I am in favor of legalization and taxation of the non-deadly drug. In this paper, I will outline the good and the bad of legalization and investigate if legalization would be beneficial to America and society as a whole.
The cannabis plant has been the topic of much debate throughout the history of this country. Many people don't know that it was not the effect of cannabis that originally spurred its banning. It was actually originally the work of the cotton industry who put big money behind illegalization for the plant's mind altering effects. The cotton industry was afraid that hemp, a product of the cannabis plant, would soon overpower the strong hold of cotton since it was a more durable textile that required less work, less ground depletion, and could be grown almost anywhere. Since the time when cannabis first became illegal it has been grouped with other narcotics as a counterpart. The truth is cannabis has many benefits to society and other than the effects of smoke inhalation has very few negatives. Those against legalization try to put cannabis in the same light as other more potent drugs like cocaine and heroin. There are many misconceptions about the substance and it is clear it should be looked at separately.
The legal status of marijuana is one of the most disputed topics of today. Once completely frowned upon, marijuana’s legality was never questioned; however, fast forward to the present and one will notice that this negative stigma is beginning to fade away. The negative claims regarding marijuana are gradually becoming discredited by science. Without this negative propaganda, the positive aspects of marijuana are beginning to surface. Marijuana should be legalized because it is relatively harmless when compared to other legal substances, entails economic benefits, and would allow the authorities to focus resources on illegal activity that affects the people they took an oath to serve.
One of the most controversial topics in the news today is the legalization of marijuana. Supporters believe that the drug is not harmful and can have numerous benefits. However, opponents argue that marijuana can lead to addiction and other more dangerous drugs. In the end, marijuana should be legal based on economic, medicinal, and philosophical factors.
Anderson, Elijah 1999, Code of the Street: decency, violence, and the moral life of the inner city, W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110
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.
Walters, John P. "No surrender: the drug war saves lives." National Review 27 Sept. 2004: 41. Student Edition. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
As of today the nation stands behind three basic ideas of what to do with marijuana; legalize marijuana, make it legal only as a prescription drug, or keep it as it is, illegal. People, who are pro-marijuana like me, argue that marijuana is considerably less harmful than tobacco and alcohol, the most frequently used legal drugs. Furthermore marijuana has never directly caused anyone's death. People who side with the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes believe that the ends justify the means. But the people who want to keep it illegal think that the medical uses do not outweigh the harmful side effects.