Why Marijuana Should Be Legalized

1552 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Cannabis has medical benefits

Marijuana's illegalization has always been erroneous. Early in the 1900s, a surge of Mexicans immigrated to the U.S., and the marijuana they brought with them was quickly associated with them. In the 1930s, tensions between white Americans and Mexican immigrants were heightened due to the Great Depression, and the use of marijuana was ultimately prohibited for the general public in 1937 with the Marijuana Tax Act ("Marijuana Timeline"). By the 1960s, marijuana became a symbol of counterculture, and the government stopped any research involved with its properties. In 1971, President Richard Nixon began the "War on Drugs," and marijuana was dragged into it. Nixon assigned a commission to review the danger marijuana possesses, and the commission concluded that marijuana was not harmful. Nixon ignored the commission's recommendations. He placed marijuana under Schedule One, a section reserved only for very harmful drugs with no health benefits ("A Brief History on The Drug War"). Despite it being illegalized for ludicrous reasons, marijuana is still treated as a dangerous drug by both society and the government. The reasons for its illegalization today are still illogical, as marijuana is potentially very useful for society. Because marijuana was originally wrongfully illegalized, marijuana should be legalized since it provides benefits to the nation and its illegalization is harmful and ineffective. Foremost, marijuana should be legalized because of its medical uses. Marijuana is sometimes given to cancer patients to ease their pain. One example is Tom Smith, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. Although chemotherapy helped treat his cancer, he lost large amounts of weight in the process, and had a constant dull pain. When ... ... middle of paper ... ...s that these arrests have. The article also analyzes the racial bias that exists in these arrests. Unlike my other sources, Stamm's article has a clear bias. Stamm's goal is to convince the reader that marijuana should be legalized because of the harmful effects illegalization has on society. This makes this source useful because the author has the same point of view as I do. Despite the bias present in the article, the information provided is accurate and is cited. For these reasons, this article is a reliable source despite its bias. This article helped me write my paper by giving me a large amount of information that fits the point I am arguing. This information supported one of my points that marijuana arrests are damaging to people. This article helped convince me that marijuana should be legalized because the damage illegalization does to people shocked me.

Show More
Related

  • Why Marijuana Should Be Legalized

    877 Words  | 2 Pages

    Willie Nelson once said, “I think people need to be educated to the fact that marijuana is not a drug. Marijuana is an herb and a flower. God put it here. If He put it here and He wants it to grow, what gives the government the right to say that God is wrong?”

    Read More

  • Marijuana Synthesis Essay

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    The opinion of Marijuana during the 70’s was much more relaxed than it is today. Approval of Marijuana by 27 states, new medical studies, and its consequences on those convicted from use of the most common general, the argument about marijuana in this country is: should Marijuana continue to be given to citizens based on its health effects, medicinal values, and costs to the country? The reasons why this argument is so important are great. As previously stated, Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the world, and with millions of people using it regularly and almost 100 million that have ever used it in this country, the laws behind this drug hold great influence. It is because of this and the immergence of new evidence, that the justification behind prohibition of this drug is being rethought scientifically, socially, and economically. The use of Marijuana as both medicine and a recreational drug is being thoroughly questioned in the US. 27 states have Marijuana approved in some form, many of those for medical purposes however those users can still, and do get placed into prison by federal law. Currently, 830,00 people a year are in trouble with the law in regards to Marijuana and numbers seem to be on an uphill trend . Furthermore, the US invests 30 billion a year into the drug war, half of which is dedicated to Marijuana. Many are questioning its success all together. Both imprisonment and the war cost our country, and therefore our people, money. A change in laws is going to have a dramatic affect on America.

    Read More

  • Racial Profiling: The Color of Justice in America

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    For the past few years there has been an ongoing debate surrounding the issue of racial profiling. The act of racial profiling may rest on the assumption that African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to commit crimes than any individual of other races or ethnicities. Both David Cole in the article "The Color of Justice" and William in the article "Road Rage" take stance on this issue and argue against it in order to make humanity aware of how erroneous it is to judge people without evidence. Although Cole and William were very successful in matters of showing situations and qualitative information about racial profiling in their articles, both of them fail at some points.

    Read More

  • Bernadine Healey's Article: Legalizing Marijuana In The United States

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    The article “Legalize marijuana? Obama was right to say no” by Bernadine Healey was interesting. Her facts seem reliable as she is a cardiologist and at one point president of the Red Cross. Bernadine Healey was able to persuade her audience by her strong points and giving evidence using logos, pathos, and ethos. She was also able to be respectful in her counter argument and was able to bring her audience against marijuana. The main thesis of the article is that policymakers should not ever legalize marijuana as it would become a great harm to young people’s health. The main reason she was able to persuade why it’s bad for the young, was she gave scientific research, the bad effect of marijuana, and how it can lead to illness.

    Read More

  • A Personal Opinion Essay About Marijuana

    517 Words  | 2 Pages

    There has always been controversy about marijuana and the affects it has on health and the issue of legalization. Some people believe it is very destructive to one’s health, and yet others feel the complete opposite about it. Is Marijuana truly harmful to one’s health? “Marijuana, the Deceptive Drug”, written by George Bierson, was published in the Massachusetts News. In this article, Bierson determines that marijuana is harmful in many ways. He seems to think that it damages the brain, the reproductive system, and also contributes to the halt of production in the immune system. Bierson also tries to persuade the reader that marijuana is a “gateway drug” that leads to larger drugs in the future. However, by conducting research of my own, I have come to the conclusion that Bierson’s article simply lacks truth.

    Read More

  • America Needs Medical Marijuana

    898 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marijuana has been as issue from many years now. As a youtube document explains “Harry j. Anslinger united states first drugzar for him public enemy number one was marijuana. Turning the employers against their employee says that mexicans and such were using these drugs during work and it was messing with their minds and they would rape their children and wives.”(youtube.com) There have been movies made to prevent people from using it and an uncountable amount of protest for and against the use of the drug. “Marijuana first became illegal in 1937, and by 1970’s this drug was in high demand” (youtube.com) No matter how hard the laws that prevent the use of marijuana are enforced americans are still going to use it.

    Read More

  • A Brief View Of The History Of Marijuana Legalization

    1387 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Why Marijuana Should be Legalized

    2031 Words  | 5 Pages

    Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is a plant that is consider one of the many illegal sustains. Marijuana is a plant that clams to make people addicted like other drugs like meth, cocaine, and other harmful sustains. Marijuana has been refer as pot, grass, reefer, weed, herb, mary jane, or mj by National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). (34) When mentioning of this plant, it cause sirs among the public about the dangerous use of the plant. The news media portal marijuana as harmful plants that changes people for the worst. For the past years, states has proposal to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. While other states has taken the actions of making the plant completely legal. With the change of the laws changing, marijuana has been the subject of debate if marijuana should be legalize or not. The United State people are divided from the supportive uses of marijuana uses, while other are against the use of marijuana. For example, nowadays most young people are in the favor of marijuana use for either the benefits or the fact that they have easy access of the drug. By a group of young people that are supportive with the legalization of an illegal drug, there a sign of support that U.S citizens are in favor of legalizing of marijuana. While the older generation, who are oppose with the use of marijuana, shows disagreement of marijuana use due of believing that it will bring more harm than good in their society. Whatever the case might be, the supporters are in favor of legalizing the plant, while the oppose people are not interested of legalizing it. Since some states are election for the legalization of medical marijuana uses, it recommend to the public that they should vote on the legalization of medical marijuana uses. ...

    Read More

  • Marijuana Should be Legalized

    1600 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Martin Luther King Jr., “There are two types of laws: there are just and there are unjust laws” (King 293). During his time as civil rights leader, he advocated civil disobedience to fight the unjust laws against African-Americans in America. For instance, there was no punishment for the beatings imposed upon African-Americans or for the burning of their houses despite their blatant violent, criminal, and immoral demeanor. Yet, an African-American could be sentenced to jail for a passive disagreement with a white person such as not wanting to give up their seat to a white passenger on a public bus. Although these unjust laws have been righted, Americans still face other unjust laws in the twenty-first century.

    Read More

  • Rogerian Argument for Marijuana Legalization

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    Those opposed to the legalization of the cannabis plant in a September 11th 2003 article claim that with legalization of cannabis will come further problems. They say that legalization would lead to greater drug use especially with children as well as drug trafficking from legalized areas. They claim the tobacco and alcohol cause enough problems and there is no reason to add a new product into the mix. The claim is also made that drugs such as cannabis lead to poverty, crime, and violence. They argue that although the drug war cannot be completely successful it is worth it to slow down drug trade and that truly very few people are brought up on a simple possession charge of cannabis. Finally they make the claim that if cannabis and other drugs were legalized it would prevent court ordered addiction treatment. I understand the basis of all these claims and understand where they come from. Many arguments are made generally about the legalization of all illegal drugs including cannabis and I do agree that drugs other than cannabis should be kept illegal for all the reasons listed above. Where I find fault with the expose is the unfair grouping of cannabis into the article.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Legalization Of Marijuana

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cannabis, more commonly known as marijuana, is a plant that people have been using recreationally for years. In fact, people have consumed marijuana since ancient times. Until 1906, the year the United States Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act. The debate on whether or not marijuana should be legalized in the United States has really blown up within the last decade. And finally, in 2012, Colorado became the first state to officially legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational uses. The prohibition of marijuana has gone on for far too long, and it is time for America to change its views.

    Read More

  • Pros & Cons of Legalization of Marijuana

    1651 Words  | 4 Pages

    Marijuana has been illegal for less than 1% of the time that it’s been in use (Guither, 2014). Going back to 1619, the Virginia Assembly passed legislation requiring every farmer to grow hemp. Hemp was allowed to be exchanged as legal tender in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland (Block, 2014). It was actually a crime in some states to refuse to grow hemp in the 1700's. In the late 19th century, marijuana was a popular ingredient in many medicinal products and was sold openly in public pharmacies (PBS, 2014). However, in the early 1900’s things changed, a prejudice and fear began to develop around marijuana because it was being used and associated with Mexican immigrants. In the 1930’s, the massive unemployment rates increased public resentment and disgust of Mexican immigrants, which escalated public and governmental concern (PBS, 2014). In 1930 a new federal law enforcement agency, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) was created. Harry J. Anslinger was appointed the first commissioner of the FBN in 1930 (...

    Read More

  • Legalizing Marijuana Is our Solution

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine you are lying in your home, suffering from the side-effects of chemotherapy and all you can do is think about how sick you are and what could possibly keep you from being secluded from life and happiness. Marijuana will prevent side-effects linked to terminal illnesses, does not cause any real harm to a human well-being, and would increase US revenue due to taxation and also tourism. Well, according to Ed Rosenthal and Steve Kubby of the book Why Marijuana Should Be Legal, from which this viewpoint is excerpted. They argue that “marijuana is effective at relieving pain, controlling nausea, and stimulating the appetite, and is successfully used to treat a large number of medical problems, including asthma, cancer, AIDS, depression, and glaucoma. Marinol, a synthetic formulation of THC—the chemical in marijuana that is responsible for many of its soothing effects—is not nearly as effective as natural marijuana, they claim.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Legalization Of Marijuana

    1416 Words  | 3 Pages

    Marijuana is a plant that has always been deliberated by the United States for centuries. On one side marijuana is a harmless plant that brings peace and love to those who use it and on the other side, marijuana is an evil addictive drug that will ruin the lives of users. Before marijuana was outlawed, “George Washington and Thomas Jefferson recommended that the early colonists grow "the abundant weed" and cultivate it into such products as lamp oil, flour and fabric for uniforms and clothing” (Wilke). Hemp is a very useful plant and the founding fathers of the United States told people to grow it because of its versatility. "For decades, our government has been exaggerating the harms of marijuana in order to keep it illegal, The Institutes of Medicine determined that the addictive properties of marijuana are quite mild compared to those of alcohol," (Weise). Alcohol is a substance that can be physically addictive and was outlawed in 1919 until the end of prohibition in 1920. Nixon also started the War On Drugs in June 1971, and...

    Read More

  • Should We Legalize Marijuana?

    1275 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the perspective of America's war on drugs, marijuana is one of the biggest enemies. And since alcohol and tobacco, two life threatening substances, are legal it is a relevant question to ask why marijuana is illegal. The taxpayers of America can partly answer this question when they fill out their tax forms and when they hear the hash rhetoric used against marijuana by the government. The fact that marijuana is illegal is sufficiently caused by the amount of money, jobs, and pride invested in the drug war. In other words, the government cannot turn back now.

    Read More

More about Why Marijuana Should Be Legalized

Open Document