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Peaceful protests (Essay)
Criminalizing marijuana
Cigarette smoking
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The Global Marijuana March (GMM) is a celebration of peoples’ choice to engage in marijuana smoking and an opportunity to advocate the legalization of marijuana. The GMM is a march that takes place in many cities across the globe on the first Saturday of May every year. It includes peaceful rallying around powerful institutions in order to convey a powerful message in support of the legalization of marijuana. Since the GMM is celebrated around the world, the impact that it has on different communities is specific to its location. I will be focusing particularly on Canadian culture and the GMM that takes place within Canada, and specifically in Toronto, where the march takes place around Queen’s Park. During the GMM police officers do not intervene with the march and the activities associated with it. People freely engage in smoking marijuana and are not arrested. It is on this one day that communities of people who are regularly marginalized are able to become powerful because the power authorities and institutions allow this to happen. Their message becomes powerful because of the collective strength of marijuana advocates around the world. This paper discusses the GMM in the context of its production. It investigates the way social critiques are presented and how this enables a Marijuana Movement formation. This is all made possible through the power centres which allow the peaceful protest to continue annually. The reasoning behind the authority figures’ lack of intervention during the GMM is questionable, and it is debatable whether this actually benefits marijuana advocates or the powerful institutions which keep marijuana illegal. It is through the GMM that the marginalized community of marijuana advocates is able to promote...
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...because authority figures recognize the march and its purpose that it is able to proceed annually. The march gives power figures the opportunity to address the issue of de-criminalization of marijuana through its allowance, yet the march fails to impact as much as it appears to be doing. It is through the GMM that what Raymond Williams calls ‘culture is ordinary’ is being demonstrated. Protestors expose the everyday reality of marijuana consumption and do so in the hopes of reducing the stigma of the drug.
Works Cited:
Chappell, Louise. 2008. “The International Criminal Court: A New Arena for Transforming
Gender Justice?” in Shirin M. Rai and Georgina Waylen, eds., Global Governance, pp.
160-184. New York: Palgrave.
Williams, Raymond. 2001. “Culture is ordinary.” In The Raymond Williams reader, ed. John
Higgins, pp. 2-24. Oxford and Malden: Blackwell.
Based on the comments to the recent article by Catherine Cullen, Canadians’ opinions on the legalization of marijuana are consistent with Silbey and Ewick’s three narratives on people’s perception of the law. For instance, a commenter stated: “Marijuana will be legalized and nothing will change. Life will go on” (Cullen 2016). This is a clear example of an individual who is before the law because he perceives the law as an objective sphere that is distant from his personal life. According to
Socioeconomic status is one measure of social stratification that is demonstrated in the recent support for legislation favoring the legal use and possession of marijuana. Prior to the passing into law of Initiative 502 in Washington State, there was little legislative support for the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana. Preceding initiatives in Washington did not have the level of popular support that Initiative 502 enjoyed. This initiative was openly supported by mayors, senators, state representatives, religious leaders, professors, law enforcement and medical professionals (New Approach, 2012). These supporters enjoyed power, property and prestige as the result of their elected status, their financial well-being, professions and community roles. The socioeconomic status of these supporters brought with it the demonstrated support of a certain class of society, and lent a certain level of respect and legitimacy to the initiative. Even the President of the United States spoke on the issue, commenting that the federal government should not target marijuana users abiding by state laws, and that “you've seen the voters speak on this issue.”
There is actually a political party in Canada called the Marijuana Party of Canada, and it has many supporters. These supporters believe that the only route to take is full decriminalization of marijuana, which is not likely to happen. One argument of these supporters is that the current penalties for marijuana possession are too harsh. Realistically, there is not chance that marijuana will ever be completely decriminalized in Canada, as the effects from this would be damaging to Canada’s relationship to ...
Ever since marijuana’s introduction to the United States of America in 1611, controversy of the use and legalization of the claimed-to-be Schedule I drug spread around the nation. While few selective states currently allow marijuana’s production and distribution, the remaining states still skepticize the harmlessness and usefulness of this particular drug; therefore, it remains illegal in the majority of the nation. The government officials and citizens of the opposing states believe the drug creates a threat to citizens due to its “overly-harmful” effects mentally and physically and offers no alternate purposes but creating troublesome addicts hazardous to society; however, they are rather misinformed about marijuana’s abilities. While marijuana has a small amount of negligible effects to its users, the herbal drug more importantly has remarkable health benefits, and legalizing one of the oldest and most commonly known drugs would redirect America’s future with the advantages outweighing the disadvantages.
Marijuana, or Cannabis, is a plant that has been in use since ancient times. Cannabis has had significant affects on history and societies throughout the years. It is a plant that can grow in any environment, with the exception of the Arctic Circle. Up until recent years the Cannabis plant has never been looked upon negatively. The debate on Cannabis has started again; with some people thinking that it should be legal and others thinking that it should stay illegal. It is time for people to see Cannabis as what it really is and not as what manipulative advertisements have shown it to be.
Marijuana could be considered one of the most controversial drugs of the past century. There seems to be inherent benefits and obvious flaws to what a high brings to the human body. Because of this unclear risk/reward potential of ‘lighting up’ the US Government has outlawed the drug. Furthermore many have criminalized the seemingly harmless act of smoking reefer; a bias that has been scorned by many artists in popular music for the upwards of 80 years. As far back as the 1920s to as contemporary as turning on your Pandora Radio, musicians have been trying to protest in song that: It’s
Marijuana is a plant, known as cannabis sativa and cannabis indica, which contains a psychoactive chemical called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The effects of THC include disruption of psychomotor behavior, short-term memory impairment, intoxication, stimulation of appetite, antinociceptive, and antiemetic activities. Marijuana, the Mexican name given to cannabis is a mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the plant. Cannabis is a term that refers to marijuana and other preparations made from the same plant. Hemp is a form of cannabis, cannabis sativa L, which contains less than one percent THC; it is used to make clothing, paper, and building materials. Tobacco is smoked just like marijuana is smoked, rolled in paper or in a pipe. The only difference is that tobacco is legal and marijuana is illegal. The government spends billions each year on the war on drugs, yet it is still around. For people under the age of 21 it is much easier to get marijuana than it is to get alcohol. Although many primarily associate marijuana with its harmful side effects, in actuality there are many benefits from its use as well.
...he most popular recreational substances. The commonality of marijuana translates into the need for a large amount of authoritative resources to enforce the laws on it. The resources used on marijuana prohibition are being drawn away from other illegal activities that are far more serious. When making arrests and/or confiscating marijuana the authorities are not improving the safety of the person with the marijuana nor are they improving the safety of those around them. Marijuana has not been proven to cause any behaviors that would incite criminal or violent activity, yet the law causes the authorities to treat it as so. Marijuana is a substance that generally brings forth feelings of happiness and contentment. It is illogical for the authorities to continue placing such emphasis on the prohibition of a substance that does not pose a serious danger to the public.
“There are more people behind bars today for a drug offense than there were in 1980 for all offenses combined.” In the 90s a mere eighty percent spike in arrests happened for marijuana possession. Just possession, not distribution. “A first-time drug offense carries a sentence of 5-10 years. In other developed countries, that sentence would be six months of jail time, if any at all.” Meanwhile, in other countries, marijuana is completely legal and haven’t arrested a single person over it. To them, it’s not worth the effort, it’s meaningless. If people are going to do it, let them do
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.
As the push for the legalization of marijuana continues, it is vital that marijuana users are diversely depicted in order to show the commonality of marijuana through a multitude of experiences. Women or men (trans or cis), people of color, gay, lesbian, bi or straight, and people from all social classes – there is true diversity among marijuana lovers. Showing how these diverse experiences are reflected in pop culture is a novel way of legitimizing marijuana use.
Much debate has been brought to Capitol Hill concerning the legalization of the Marijuana. Analyzing the history, data, and health effects of marijuana it becomes clear that the debate for the legalization of marijuana should be seriously considered and should be brought to congress as an issue that can stimulate the economy and bring together a divided nation. This issue along with many others will not be a reality until congress takes action and addresses the issue directly. Conflicting views arise when so much time effort and money have been spent to eliminate drugs. America’s “War on Drugs” has been an intense operation to eliminate narcotics on the streets and often catch the criminal distribution before it even reaches the public. Citizens of the United States have petitioned for the legalization of marijuana since its origin, yet minimal progress has been made and the illegal existence of the plant remains. Congress has faced the vote to legalize marijuana countless times while the majority of politicians favor the ban on the substance, however there are certain individuals of political office that have and continue to vote for its legalization. America’s emphasis and concern for the use, distribution, and growth of marijuana is outstanding with arrests reaching nearly 5.9 million since the year 1990. A large amount of time, money, and man-power has been applied to the operation of controlling the substance of marijuana in society and many people argue against this. As long as marijuana is not legalized, the debate and fight for its legalization will undoubtedly continue from the millions of people who use the herbal matter in this country alone.
According to an article by Charles Oliver, The Harrison school district in Colorado has barred a student from attending classes if he takes medicine to control his seizures, states that “The boy was prescribed a lozenge containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. The school said he couldn’t bring the pills to school because it would violate its zero tolerance policy on drugs” (Oliver). Without the pills containing THC, the young boy could have a seizure. If medicinal marijuana was legal, this wouldn’t have been an issue, and that is why marijuana should be legalized in the United States. It will not only benefit those who need it for medical issues, but the taxation will also benefit our economy.
The legalization of marijuana is considered a controversial issue, something that can benefit people for medical purposes, but what about recreationally? Marijuana has been illegal since 1937, but there’s never been a bigger push for legalization. There are several reasons why it is illegal, because of government propaganda and big industry not wanting to lose money, but this will be discussed later. The purpose of this paper is to educate, theorize, and discuss various aspects of marijuana, such as its history, development, and the advantages and disadvantages of marijuana legalization. Finally, my personal reflection on legalization and marijuana in general will be discussed.
I. Problem Statement Since the ancient times, the drug known as marijuana has been used for multiple reasons. From using it to just get high off of the THC, to using the oil from the plant for healing purposes, it’s always been a part of human history. One of the earliest recorded uses of marijuana dates back to 2737 B.C. in China, but did not stop there (Burnett). From North Africa to India, it is widely known as the healing herb and used as such.