Should U.S Federal Government legalize marijuana and let the States choose their own path? A progressive thinker and realist would say yes. Cannabis possession and use, both recreational and medical, need to be legalized by Federal Government. It has to allow the States to decide whether they want it or not. Much of the modern marijuana problem happened after it was prohibited in 1937. Before that date, a few people used marijuana for recreation. Federal Government considers marijuana a Schedule 1 drug, which means that it has no medical uses and high risks of abuse. Many researches have been done about marijuana, and they show many medical benefits and very few, if any, dangers. States of Washington and Colorado have legalized possession and recreational use of cannabis; all the same, the business operators are restricted and under constant danger that Federal agents will crack down on them. In a truly free society substances such as marijuana should not be illegal. The prohibition of alcohol had shown that it is impossible to change people’s habits, so instead of fighting it, it is better to profit from it. The prohibition of marijuana was a mistake based on racism and politics, cannabis also has widespread use in America and the country can greatly benefit by legalizing it; therefore, U.S Federal Government needs to legalize growing, possession and use of marijuana.
Marijuana is widely used drug in America. 3.5 million U.S citizens reported smoking marijuana daily, 5 million reported smoking the drug once a month, and more than 100 million have tried it at least once in their lives (Holland 2). Scope of marijuana production and use is immense. Even though Federal Government ruthlessly fights marijuana production, it has incre...
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Marijuana is a relatively harmless drug that governments around the world have made illegal. If legalized, marijuana can be beneficial to society in a number of ways: whether it be for medical, economic, or public safety reasons. Marijuana has been proven to treat several life debilitating, and even life threatening diseases. Although it is not a cure, marijuana can ease the pain and suffering of a dying person. Another benefit of legalization is the financial gains that governments will accomplish through the taxation of marijuana. This is a realistic claim if marijuana sales are compared to that of cigarettes; governments make billions each year from cigarette taxes (Caputo and Ostrom 484). Every year law enforcement spends countless man-hours trying to apprehend marijuana dealers and growers. This time would be better utilized in dealing with more serious crimes. This essay will display some main reasons why marijuana is a substance with beneficial uses and applications. First, marijuana can be used as a treatment for the effects of diseases such as AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, and other terminal diseases. A study carried out in California clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of marijuana as a treatment for cancer: “Over 74 percent of the cancer patients treated in the program have reported that marijuana is more effective in relieving their nausea and vomiting than any other drug they have tried.”(Zeese 1990). Chemotherapy for cancer patients often produces nausea and vomiting. Marijuana has been proven to relieve these symptoms and there have been no known side effects recorded (Ad Hoc Group of Experts part 4).
Legalization of Marijuana has quickly become a controversial issue in America. In the United States, legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes is spreading to the state level. For example, in November 1996, the people of California and Arizona voted to legalize marijuana for medicinal reasons. As a result of Proposition 215 in California, patients now smoke marijuana provided their physician recommends its usage. A prescription is not required, and marijuana continues to be illegal to prescribe. The Clinton administration responded that it “would not recognize these decisions, and would prosecute physicians who recommend or provide marijuana to their patients.” Although California and Arizona are the only two states to have already passed laws regulating marijuana usage, twenty-six states and the District of Columbia have laws and resolutions regarding marijuana usage. These laws and resolutions range from establishing therapeutic research programs, to allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana, to asking the federal government to lift the ban. Despite the states’ desires to have marijuana legalized for medicinal purposes, the US National Institutes of Health examined all existing clinical evidence about smoked marijuana and concluded that, “There is no scientifically sound evidence that smoked marijuana is medically superior to currently available therapies.”
Marijuana in America became a popular ingredient in many medicinal products and was openly sold in pharmacies in the late nineteenth century (“Busted-America’s War on Marijuana Timeline”). The National Institute of Drug Abuse defines marijuana as, “The dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, which contains the psychoactive (mind-altering) chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as well as other related compounds” (“DrugFacts: Marijuana”). It was not until the Food and Drug act of 19...
Mekdlawit Demissie IGED 130-06 Informative Speech Outline Topic: Marijuana Speech Goal: To inform the audience about the long and short term effects of marijuana usage. Central Idea: Marijuana is the most commonly used drug amongst young people in the United States. Introduction: I. Attention getter:
Lately it seems that drug policy and the war on drugs has been in the headlines quite a lot. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the policies that the United States government takes against illegal drugs are coming into question. The mainstream media is catching on to the message of organizations and individuals who have long been considered liberal "Counter Culture" supporters. The marijuana question seems to be the most prevalent and pressed of the drugs and issues that are currently being addressed. The messages of these organizations and individuals include everything from legalization of marijuana for medical purposes, to full-unrestricted legalization of the drug. Of course, the status quo of vote seeking politicians and conservative policy makers has put up a strong resistance to this "new" reform lobby. The reasons for the resistance to the changes in drug policies are multiple and complex. The issues of marijuana’s possible negative effects, its use as a medical remedy, the criminality of distribution and usage, and the disparity in the enforcement of current drug laws have all been brought to a head and must be addressed in the near future. It is apparent that it would be irresponsible and wrong for the government to not evaluate it’s current general drug policies and perhaps most important, their marijuana policy. With the facts of racial disparity in punishment, detrimental effects, fiscal strain and most importantly, the history of the drug, the government most certainly must come to the conclusion that they must, at the very least, decriminalize marijuana use and quite probably fully legalize it.
“Prohibition does not work. Education and treatment are better ways to address the drug problem” (Marijuana, 1999). Prohibition has failed to ...
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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.
“The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) conducts the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), a major source of information on substance use, abuse, and dependence among Americans twelve years and older” (DrugFacts 1). Illicit drug use in the United States has been increasing. In 2013, an estimated 24.6 million Americans (9.4 percent of the population) had used an illicit drug in the past month. This number is up from the 8.3 percent in 2002. This is increase reflects the recent rise in the use of marijuana since 2007. In 2013, there were 19.8 million users, making it the most commonly used illicit
Marijuana should be legalized for both recreational and medicinal use because the US economy can reap significant benefits from legalization as well as create an influx of jobs and also to reduce street and gang disputes relating to marijuana. Also, marijuana should be legalized because it has been dealt an unfair hand by society and is justifiably safer than most know it to be. First, marijuana should be legalized in the US for both recreational and medicinal purposes because there is a very substantial profit that can be made from it. By placing a tax on Marijuana, similar to what the Government has done with various alcohol and tobacco products, The US Government can use America’s largest cash crop to its advantage. Perhaps even plans using such a tax can be set up to start paying the 16 trillion dollar debt the United States has accumulated. Further, such a tax could be on a state to state basis, allowing for competition and to keep the economy going. As well as more jobs in each state being created as a result of legalization. The result is a potential chain reaction: legalization in all states results in a tax the government can make a profit off of, also more business competition and an influx in new jobs; National debt and unemployment go down, the economy goes up. In an exclusive interview with CNN and John Hudak, editor of the Fixgov blog said that 2014 is a year to “ wait and see” when he was asked if he thought other states besides Colorado and Washington would legalize marijuana for recreational use. Hudak also commented on “marijuana tourism”, which was the influx of people traveling to Colorado to buy Marijuana "It has to have a real impact on those local economies ... If marijuana tourism can become something tha...
Despite the 1976 ruling by the federal government that marijuana has “no acceptable medical use”, sixteen states have passed medical marijuana laws that allow for patient use o...
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Right now in this country (and many other countries for that matter) we are experiencing a transitional period that is dependent on legislation, legislation that is bound to reinforce or oppress marijuana legalization. It’s not every day that states have policy that conflicts with federal laws and everyone seems to have an opinion. There are many options on the table for law makers. We could see the federal government enforce their current marijuana laws by cracking down and increase their raids on dispensaries, or they could make marijuana a higher priority with agencies from the DEA to local law enforcement. Another option is to loosen up on what some would deem a “futile” war on drugs; the end result would be each individual state deciding if medicinal marijuana would be ideal for their state. Last but not least there is the route that the states Colorado and Washington took which is to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Every option has their pros and cons. However I believe the option where the pros most heavily outweigh the cons is legalizing recreational use.