To truly understand why marijuana should be legalized by the federal government, one must have some background knowledge of the medicinal herb. Cannabis, most commonly known as marijuana, originated in China for purely medicinal purposes. The plant later spread to India, Europe, and, finally, made its way to North America. Cannabis was first used as hemp rope and fabric, and by the 18th century marijuana began to be recognized and used in the pharmaceutical industry. However, marijuana became illegal just a short century later. As far as the legal status of marijuana today, “The Federal Controlled Substance Act classified marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, signifying that it has both a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use” (The Hastings Center Report). Nevertheless, several clinical studies and doctors who have obtained a Ph.D. have argued that marijuana actually provides exceptional relief in alleviating symptoms of many diseases. Marijuana should be legalized by the federal government because the herbal remedy helps to ease many symptoms of life-threatening illnesses, is non-addictive and relatively safe, and even generates new, innovative ideas in the brain.
To begin with, marijuana is much safer than other drugs, both pharmaceutical and recreational. The Marijuana Medical Handbook, written by doctors, asserts that, “Unlike other psychoactive drugs, including alcohol, Aspirin, opiates, nicotine, and caffeine, cannabis is not known to cause fatal overdoses” (1). Cigarettes alone kill millions annually, and alcohol is a frequent primary factor in fatalities. Caffeine is found in countless beverages, and is highly addictive. People commonly experience headaches from caffeine withdrawal as a result of their body’s ad...
... middle of paper ...
... decreased tremendously. Marijuana should be legalized by the federal government because of its extraordinary healing properties, anomalous level of safety for users, and its potential to create a more open minded and creative society.
Works Cited
Ault, Alicia. "Institute Of Medicine Says Marijuana Has Benefits." Lancet 353.9158 (1999): 1077. Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.
Earleywine, Mitchell. Understanding Marijuana : A New Look At The Scientific Evidence. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002: 167. eBook Collection (EBSCO host). Web. 26 Apr. 2014.
Gieringer, Dale Rosenthal, Ed Carter, Gregory T. Marijuana Medical Handbook : Practical Guide to Therapeutic Uses of Marijuana. Quick Trading Company, 2008: 1,37. (RSCC Library). Web. 26 April 2014.
The Hastings Center Report, Vol. 39, No. 6. Nov-Dec 2009. (JSTOR).Web. 26 April 2014.
Wingerchuk, Dean. "Cannabis for Medical Purposes: Cultivating Science, Weeding Out the Fiction." The Lancet 364.9431 (2004): 315-16. Print.
Stolberg, S. G. (1999, March 18). Government Study On Marijuana Sees Medical Benefits. New York
cannabis sativa widely known as Marijuana is an annual plant majorly used as medicine and as a psychoactive drug. It has great physiological effects like relaxation. Increased appetite and euphoria. Though having some positivity in the human body, it posses negative effects such as anxiety, dry mouth, decreased short term memory and impaired motor skills. It has been a great debate worlwide concerning the legalization of cannabis whereby other nations allow its use and others take it as a criminal act to posses or use marijuana. Marijuana can be consumed through edibles, cannabis tea, smoking and vaporizerization. It is presumed that marijuan is non-toxic and can not cause death even when in overdose unlike tobacco and alcohol that causes high number of deaths in a year. In the traditional times, marijuana was used to relieve pain until when new medicines were discovered and marijuana termed as illegal. The United States to enact criminilization of marijuana in 1973.
Kalant, Harold. “Medicinal Use of Cannabis: History and Current States.” Pain Research and Management 6.2 (2001): 80-94. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
Wilson, Clare “The Case for Marijuana by Prescription." Marijuana (Contemporary Issues Companion). Tardiff, Joseph, ed. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press, 2008. 63-70. Print
Marijuana is one of the hundreds of drugs that holds Americans in the bondage of addiction and causes harm to their health and well-being. Marijuana comes from the hemp plant called cannabis sativa and is the most commonly used illegal drug in the U.S. (Goldberg). Although marijuana has mostly been used as a drug to get high, physicians have recently discovered that marijuana can treat the symptoms of cancer and multiple sclerosis, relieve pain, and treat many minor ailments. Because of the rare healing effects of this drug, many states are working to legalize medical marijuana in their state, but there is much controversy over whether or not medical marijuana should be legalized. Although medical marijuana has been proven to relieve pain and treat the symptoms of many life-threatening illnesses, the harmful side effects, the possibility of addiction and Americans untrustworthiness causes medical marijuana to be an implausible healing agent.
Louie, Wason, and Ryan Wippler. "Marijuana: It's Role in the Medical Arena." Alternative Medicine. Creighton University Medical Center, Feb. 2005. Web. 28 Feb. 2012
Marijuana has a greater beneficial impact on society then many people realize. Marijuana should be legalized for medical as well as recreational purposes. This is a highly controversial issue that is being debated throughout the country. In essence marijuana is evaluated by the effectiveness of the drug. It is defined as the dried flowered clusters and leaves of a hemp plant smoked for the intoxicating effect. Whether it should be legalized or not is the real question.
...e legalization of marijuana in the United States would drastically reduce crime in our cities and form a more productive society through its positive uses. In accomplishing these goals we are bettering our nation and making society safer for future children in America.. The fact remains, though, that alcohol and tobacco, which are two "proven addictive" drugs, remain legal in our nation today, whereas marijuana, a proven "non-addictive drug", is statistically shown to have not caused a death from overdose since its existence to the present date. It appears as though the legislative decisions concerning marijuana law policy is unbalanced, but our nation will never conserve funds due to government spending, and our medical treatments will never totally be as effective without the unconditional legalization of the Cannabis Sativa plant, otherwise known as marijuana
The legalization of marijuana is a subject that has been debated for many years. Marijuana should be legalized for medical use and it should be decriminalized for recreational use.By decriminalizing marijuana for recreational use, the penalty will no longer be jail time, but a simple fine if caught using it in public.Furthermore, marijuana offers many medical benefits to very ill patients.In short, the benefits of marijuana outweigh the drawbacks, especially for medical purposes, so it should be legalized.First, marijuana should be decriminalized for recreational use.
Marijuana, also known as Cannabis is the third most well-liked recreational drug, which only falls behind alcohol and tobacco, in the United States (The Whitehouse, n.d.). Marijuana is made up of dried leaves, plants, stalks, and pits from the hemp plant Cannabis Sativa, which comprises of the mind-altering compound delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), in addition to other associated compounds. This plant substance can correspondingly be converged in a resin called hashish or an adhesive black fluid called hash oil. Efforts to legalize marijuana for medication treatment and recreational use in the United States have grown in current years. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that marijuana may perhaps assist in a reduction of nausea, encourage hunger, and lessen pain (Food and Drug Administration, 2006). On the other hand, the American Medical Association (AMA) does not tolerate marijuana as a medication (1995-2013). So many answers are needed with such contradictory opinions around this exceedingly controversial drug to decide what measures need to be taken from the federal government for a final solution.
The legalization of marijuana has the potential to bring our economy back to life if it were to be legalized. There are a number of ways in which legalization could improve the economy. We could use the revenue from taxes on marijuana to provide for a better quality of life for Americans in need. Legalizing marijuana would also save us money by cutting the cost of putting someone in jail for harmless marijuana related charges that waste tax money. Also it would put more money into circulation by keeping the profits off the black market and into the legal and taxed market. With an estimated twenty-five million active marijuana smokers in America that consume nearly thirty-one million pounds of marijuana each year, we are missing out on extreme revenue that this country cannot afford to go without for much longer (Krulick).
For thousands of years human beings have attempted to find ways to get passed the struggles of their lives. With the pain of the world stopping people from enjoying simple pleasures, sometimes there is a need for help. Marijuana brings millions of people relief from the pain they feel on a day-to-day basis. This completely natural plant which helped so many people has puzzled the leaders of our nation for a long time. The THC in marijuana causes its users to experience a mild-huluciginic or high. The effect that marijuana has on a person has prevented the product from being legalized. Many other details about the plant, like the speculation of it being a gateway drug, have put another blockage on its legalization. Even though there are speculations about the plant, the benefit that it brings to the table most definitely out way its disadvantages. Marijuana can also alleviate several symptoms associated with cancer and Aids treatments and disorders. While Marijuana is effective as a medicine, it is also extremely lucrative. The economic benefits that Marijuana brings to the table are endless. Upon marijuana’s legalization, the economy would experience an immediate influx. Legalization of Marijuana would also drastically reduce crime in our cities and form a more productive society through its positive uses. The benefits that marijuana brings medically and economically are considerable enough to legalize its use medically or recreational.
The first law that regarded marijuana in America required farmers to grow hemp in the year 1619 for clothing, rope, and other materials, but “as early as 1840, doctors recognized the medical applications of marijuana, and the drug was freely sold in pharmacies for over a century.” (Rich and Stingl). In 1937, the use and possession of marijuana was made illegal, but “before 1937 marijuana was freely bought, sold, grown, and used.”(Rich and Stingl). In 1970 the congress decided to classify marijuana as a schedule one drug, which has made the legalization more difficult, “schedule one drugs are considered dangerous, addictive, and have no medical benefits.”(Rich and Stingl). Marijuana fits the schedule one drug classification because marijuana is dangerous to people’s health, has been found to be addictive if used daily, and also has no medical benefits because marijuana can cause more health problems than it can cure.
Shohov, T. (2003). Medical use of marijuana: Policy, regulatory, and legal issues. New York: Nova Science Publishers.