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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.
Marijuana comes from the Cannabis Sativa plant. Its discovery could have been as early as 2700 BC in China. Despite the Cannabis Sativa plant producing Marijuana it also produces hemp, which is a very usefu...
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... legal illicit substances? And lastly, what is Marijuana’s effect on our nation and how would legalization change this?
Of the three issues related to the Marijuana legalization debate, Marijuana and its medical use might be the most widely discussed of them all. Opponents of Medical Marijuana bring up many significant arguments as to why it should not be condoned. The American Medical Association in 2001 stated that Marijuana should remain a schedule 1 drug, primarily basing their decision on the fact that they do not believe it has any medical value and that it has “no accepted medical use” and possesses a “high potential for abuse”. The FDA has a specific process in which the joint medical and scientific communities conduct certain procedures to determine whether drugs can be considered safe and effective as medicine, and Marijuana has not been approved by this.
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 pressing 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.
According to Grinspoon (2005) marijuana, may have been a crop farmed as many as 10,000 years ago. The first evidence discovered that attests to the use of medicinal cannabis dates back to the Chinese Emperor, Chen Nung, who lived five-thousand years ago when this plant was recommended for malaria, constipation, and rheumatic pains, as well as, the inability to concentrate and pains in relation to the female body (Grinspoon, 2005; Guterman 2000). Even Queen Victoria had a physician recommend that she use marijuana as medicine for ailments such as “insomnia, migraines, menstrual cramps, and muscle spasms” (Guterman, 2000, p. A21). Evidence of the power of marijuana as a medicine can be found in almost any culture on Earth. For example, some tribes in Africa use marijuana to treat snake bites and to reduced the intense pain of child-birth and in India, cannabis is used to “quicken the mind, lower fevers, induce sleep, cure dysentery, stimulate appetite, improve digestion, relieve headaches, and cure venereal disease” (Grinspoon, 2005, p. 1). Marijuana has been proven as a powerful medicine by people of many ethnic backgrounds and countries over the entire world, time and time again.
The term "marijuana" is a word with indistinct origins. Some believe it is derived from the Mexican words for "Mary Jane"; others hold that the name comes from the Portuguese word marigu-ano, which means "intoxicant". The use of marijuana in the 1960's might lead one to surmise that marihuana use spread explosively. The chronicle of its 3,000 year history, however, shows that this "explosion" has been characteristic only of the contemporary scene. The plant has been grown for fiber and as a source of medicine for several thousand years, but until 500~ AD its use as a mind-altering drug was almost solely confined in India. The drug and its uses reached the Middle and Near East during the next several centuries, and then moved across North Africa, appeared in Latin America and the Caribbean, and finally entered the United States in the early decades of this century. Marijuana can even be used as "Biomass" fuel, where the pulp (hurd) of the hemp plant can be burned as is or processed into charcoal, methanol, methane, or gasoline. This process is call...
There have been 20 million arrests since 1965 for the possession of marijuana, also known as cannabis. The amount of crime and arrests for possessions of the illicit drug has increased due to the prohibition. Cannabis was a major cash crop for the industrial production prior to its illegalization. It has been estimated that the United States spends approximately $7.7 billion each year to prohibit the use of marijuana alone. Currently the number of people incarcerated is six to ten times higher than European countries (NORML). Today the United States wastes billions of dollars to fight against the war on drugs, for the imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of people, and etc. It’s also brought a raise of violence and crime relating to the dealing and production of the drug. Marijuana should be legalized because its ban has been futile in preventing illicit production, regulating it would allow new development in medical treatments, and would give a boost to the economy. The illegalization of the drug has a much more negative impact then it does well, in fact it’s pushed drug cartels to produce more of the drug because of the high demand and the millions of dollars they’ll make from profits.
Throughout history people have used marijuana for its dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds to relieve pain, stress, and other medical issues from one’s life. Within the recent years it has become one of the most debated issues in the United States. In the 1930s, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics (now the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs) claimed that marijuana was a “gateway” drug and was a powerful, addicting substance. During the sixties marijuana became a symbol for rebellion against authority so it became very popular by college students and “hippies”. So in 1982, Drug Enforcement Administration increased pressure on drug farms and houses which decreased the use of marijuana. In the past twenty years marijuana has become a
Marijuana was used since 8,000 BCE as hemp cord in what is now modern day Taiwan. Seeds were used as hemp oil in China during the BCE times. The first person recorded ever using marijuana was Emporer Shen Neng of China in 2,737 BCE and he used it medicinally. Shortly after, cannabis cultivated for food and for fibers such as hemp cloth and hemp rope. Between 2000 BCE to the year 570 the use of cannabis spread to Russia, modern day Khazakstan, Persia, England, and in European countries such as Greece. The first hemp paper was created in China and in the years 850 to 1532 cannabis was taken to Iceland by the Vikings and also spread to Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Africa and
Marijuana is scientifically known as Cannabis Sativa. The most famous name for the drug was cannabis unit in the 1930s when the use of the word marijuana increased significantly in the United States. The term marijuana was being used as a more toxic word than cannabis during debates against the use of drugs. Marijuana use dates back in 2900 BC where it was used for medical purposes. In 2700BC a Chinese legend Emperor Shen Nung who was considered as the father of Chinese medicine made a discovery that marijuana had some medicinal properties. It contains ginseng and ephedra which are the main ingredients in the Chinese medicine. However, marijuana contains more than 400 chemicals and THC being the main component that determines the strength
The legalization of marijuana has been a highly debated topic for many of years. Since the first president to the most recent, our nation’s leaders have consumed the plant known as weed. With such influential figures openly using this drug why is it so frowned upon? Marijuana is considered a gateway drug, a menace to society, and mentally harmful to its consumers. For some people weed brings a sense of anxiety, dizziness, or unsettling feeling. Like alcohol, tobacco or any other drug, those chemicals may not respond well with their body. For other people marijuana brings joy, a sense of relief, and takes the edge off of every day stress. For those who are associated with cannabis, purposes usually range from a relaxant, or cash crop, to more permissible uses such as medicine, and ingredient to make so many other materials. We now need to look at what would change if marijuana were legal. Benefits to the economy and agriculture, health issues, and crime rates are three areas worth looking at. Deliberating on the pros and cons of this plant we can get a better understanding for marijuana. From there it will be easier to make a clear consensus on what is best for the nation.
Cannabis is indigenous to central and south Asia. In ancient China, there are writings praising the plant for its medicinal uses. Additionally
worship, and for intoxication. Marijuana itself comes from the Indian Hemp Plant. It is the third most widely used drug in the United States. States, according to a survey taken in 1988, and it is the number one. illegally used drugs in the United States.
The first people to introduce the healing properties of marijuana, were the Chinese. About five thousand years ago, the people of the plains of Central Asia, just north of the Himalayas, began cultivating the plant. Though it is not exactly certain what cultivation of the plant was for, whether it was for its oil, fiber or medical properties, most experts believe that it was for its fibers. The fiber of the plant is so strong that it can be used to make thick, sturdy ropes. Its seeds also contain oils that can be used as a varnish. In some countries the seeds are used as bird and cattle feed and also in the manufacturing of soap. Something else that you may not know is that the seeds can be roasted and eaten as food. It is actually the flowers of a certain type of the plant that is used for its medicinal and intoxicating property. I say "a flower from a certain type of the plant" because from my personal experience, many people believe that there is only one type of marijuana. Actually, marijuana is such a wild plant, that it easily adapts to any soil and new varieties it then emerge. This is when the plants with the strongest fibers, most superior oils, and a more potent drug content are selected. Only around 1000 B.C., in India and Southeast Asia, when the plant started to grow in that region, the intoxicating features were recognized and appreciated (7).
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.”
Those opposed to the use of medical marijuana contend that there have not been enough studies, it is too dangerous and it is ineffective enough to call for its legalization. They believe that marijuana is addictive, is a gateway drug, can lead to infertility and can injure the brain, lungs and other organs. However, advocates of medical marijuana point out numerous government studies, peer-reviewed clinical trials and the long, proven history of cannabis used medicinally throughout the world as counter-points to the opposition. Advocates also point out the various harmful side effects of prescription drug medication, and hold that if those are approved by the FDA for patient use, than marijuana should be as well.
Two physicians, in a widely distributed opinion piece entitled “Marijuana Smoking”. as Medicine: A Cruel Hoax”, wrote; “While the reclassification of THC to. Schedule II might be understandable, this would not be the result of smoking. crude drug marijuana, which would as a result become more available and more.
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.