The process by which society detects and interprets information from the external world in a utilitarian theory claims: one should always do the greatest good for the greatest number of people. When one has the motivation to reach goals for the benefit of one’s self it is known as ethical egoism. In this paper we shall consider a brief history of cannabis, the parallels of legalizing medical marijuana and prohibition of alcohol in the 1920’s with regard to ethical egoism and utilitarian theories.
The earliest record of man's use of cannabis comes from the island of Taiwan located off the coast of mainland China. Archaeologists have unearthed an ancient village site dating back over 10,000 years to the Stone Age. With the pottery that was found were rod-shaped tools, resembling in appearance to those later used to loosen cannabis fibers from their stems. The pottery with their patterns of twisted fiber embedded in their sides, suggest that men have been using the marijuana plant in some manner since the dawn of history. (Chang, 1959)
Once an assumption by society, especially over time has been established, it becomes a great effort to alter. Marijuana was first acknowledged as a narcotic in the 1920s and 1930s. Based almost completely on information designed to mislead or persuade against the evils of marijuana, embellished reports of violent crimes committed by immigrants intoxicated by marijuana were publicized by tabloid newspapers. With the vast emotion and widespread paranoia the upsurge of the women’s temperance movement incited one could consider that the temperance movement had a large part in forming the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.
The 1937 marijuana Tax Act Pub. 238, 75th Cong...
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Chang, K., The Archaeology of Ancient China (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968), pp. 111-12; C.T. Kung, Archeology in China (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1959), 1:131.
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For over seventy years, marijuana has been a growing problem in our society. Due to all of the controversy over this drug, there have been countless battles fought concerning marijuana's capabilities. In the 1930's, a moral panic surfaced with regard to the use of marijuana. The movie Reefer Madness is a perfect example of how the media stereotyped and distorted this new drug in order to construct it as a social problem, convincing society that this narcotic was single handedly destroying humanity.
In 2015, Doweiko’s research found that ”It is impossible for drugs to travel throughout the body without possible side effects“ (Doweiko, 2015, p.16). ”Prime affects versus side effects have been studied in order to find out how drugs harm but are contributing to healing“ (Doweiko, 2015, p. 16). The primary concern appears to be whether harm has to be the lesser concern in order to heal. Aspirin was used as an example of the healing component versus the side
During the duration of this paper, I will discuss an issue that has been controversial for over a century; prohibition and how it has effected, currently effects, and will, most likey, continue to effect American society. The aspects that I choose to address from this issue are political, historical, they make you wonder, and they should effect anyone who reads this paper. For decades, the American government has had a restriction or ban on drugs and alcohol. Also for decades, these restrictions have been met with resistance from our society. In the early twentieth century, from 1920 through 1933, it was the prohibition of alcohol. A corrupt time, in which, so called, "criminals" and law makers both manufactured and sold bootlegged alcohol. There was high demand then and everyone was in it for the money, everyone. A time which proved to be a failed attempt by the government to take away what is now one of the United States' top commodities. During the 1970's President Richard Nixon started an ongoing "war on drugs" and every president since Nixon has continued this fight to, somehow, rid the entire country of illicit drugs. Today, a few states have taken a new approach to one of these drugs and eyebrows are being raised to the war on drugs all together. States, such as, California, Washington, and Calorado have loosened their tight grip on prohibiting marijuana and even have medical marijuana dispenseries. This idea has been proven to have boosted those economies, and it has allowed people with cancer to use a medication that actually gives them comfort. However, marijuana is still illegal. Why would we restrict the nation from something that beneficial...
The history of marijuana in North America is integral in understanding the reasons it is now illegal and how to...
Today, many people around the world smoke marijuana for therapy or recreation, which is grown from nature, but in some countries, nature is illegal, except a substance which is legal: alcohol. In fact, Marijuana or Marihuana from Spanish language also can be known as cannabis, hemp, weed, and pot. Marijuana is a dry, shredded green and brown mix of leaves, flowers, stem, and seeds from the hemp plant, whose scientific name is Cannabis sativa (National Institute Drug Abuse, 2012). Marijuana has a long history of use as a medicinal herb, and the use has been expended around the world from China to India and the North Africa and leaded to Europe for thousands of years. They also have several different cultures in various ways. For example, it was recorded as medication to treat many kinds of health problems by the Chinese, and the earliest fabric and rope were believed that it has been woven from dried hemp, and around 6000 B.C., marijuana seeds were used as food in China (Canadian medicinal Marijuan, 2010). The Persian prophet Zoroaster also wrote a sacred text on “the Zend-Avesta”, which listed that marijuana was at the top from 10000 medicinal plants in 550 B.C. (Canadian, medicinal Marijuana, 2010). The marijuana has been adapted in people’ lifestyles and social environment over thousand years.
Legalization of marijuana in the United States has received much attention and controversy in recent months. The federal government outlaws the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, despite proven research studies that have discovered the plant’s potential to treat the lives of many Americans affected by disease and chronic pain. Medicinal use of the marijuana plant dates back to 2700 B.C. in China. Emperor Shen Nung discovered its’ healing properties and recommended marijuana for a variety of ailments (Mack and Joy 14). Today, bias views and laws plague the advancement of marijuana in present day medicine.
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...
Some people alternate the use of other OTC such as Aspirin, which also has other dangerous effects , but hopefully will reduce acetaminophen toxicity.
The Jamestown settlers cultivated hemp produced by the marijuana plant. They used these fibers to make clothing, rope, and canvas because of its quality and durability. Physicians in the 19th century were prescribing cannabis as a pain reliever, an anticonvulsant, and for migraine headaches (Doweiko, 2002). Following his work in India in the 1840's William
It was 1920 when smoking began to catch on in the United States. Its recreational use was restricted to jazz musicians and people in show business. “Reefer songs” became the rage of the jazz world. Marijuana clubs, called tea pads, appeared in every major city across the country. Authorities tolerated these establishments because it was not illegal or considered a social threat. In the early 1930’s marijuana became stereotyped as a violent drug, and by 1936 was illegal in all states. Marijuana research was at a stand still and the thought of it being a violent drug faded and the idea that it was a gateway drug emerged in the late 1940’s early 1950’s. In the 1960’s marijuana became very popular among the young college crowd. This was looked at as a challenge to authority and the government.
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.
Legalization of marijuana has become an increasingly popular topic for debate in society, with “sentiment in favor of legalization [increasing] by 20 [percentage] points in just over a decade,” bringing support for legalization to 52% (Dionne and Galston). The most common arguments for reforming current legislation are the following: enforcement wastes public resources, taxation can provide a new source of revenue, and enforcement of current laws is discriminatory (Dionne and Galston). It is necessary to look at the impact on the primary stakeholders by analyzing the various harms and benefits through application of the ethical theories of utilitarianism and deontology, in order to determine the solution that will result in the best possible outcome. In determining the ethicality of legalizing marijuana, it is necessary to understand the background of the issue, and to identify the most important stakeholders. In the 1930s, many states began outlawing the substance; ironically California was the first of these states (Rendon).
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.
Pharmacology is a vital component in the perioperative practice. Medication use is monitored closely during the perioperative period. Preoperatively, there are certain drugs that must be discontinued prior to a surgery as they increase surgical risk, including anticoagulants, tranquillisers, corticosteroids and diuretics (Laws, 2010b). In fact, these drugs can increase the risk of respiratory depression, infection, fluid and electrolyte imbalance and increased risk of bleeding (Hamlin, 2010). Open communication is important in obtaining a medication history, and in identifying the drugs taken prior to the surgery. If any of these medications has be...
In many nations, ownership and utilization of cannabis that is likewise ordinarily known as weed is viewed as illicit. Actually, it can be noticed that for a long time, cannabis has been considered to an unlawful medication in many nations. By the by, today, a few nations have authorized cannabis while different nations have not. Specifically, little amounts of cannabis have been permitted in districts, for example, Europe, North America and South America. In addition, in the United States, a few states, for example, Washington and Colorado have likewise authorized the ownership and utilization of weed for therapeutic purposes. Then again, different punishments are forced for utilize or ownership of cannabis in many nations. The punishments for the most part extend from easy to extreme disciplines. Ownership of little amounts of pot isn't rebuffed an indistinguishable route from ownership of expansive amounts. In this factious paper, I look to contend the reasons why cannabis ought to be legitimized, and why it ought not.