Marijuana is a psychoactive drug made from the dried leaves and flowering parts of the hemp plant. It is one of the most strictly classified illegal drugs in the United States. Under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is listed as a Schedule I substance, which defines it as having 'a high potential for abuse'; and 'no currently accepted medical use.'; Marijuana is therefore classified more severely than cocaine and morphine, which as Schedule II drugs are also banned for general use, but can be prescribed by doctors. It is illegal to buy, sell, grow, or possess marijuana in the United States. Marijuana prohibition comprises a large part of the federal governments War on Drugs. Law enforcement officials made 600,000 marijuana-related arrests in 1996, and 800,000 in 1998-four out of five arrests being for possession alone. Under federal and state laws, many of which were strengthened in the 1980's, people convicted of marijuana offenses face penalties ranging from probation to life imprisonment, plus fines and forfeiture of property. In addition to criminal justice efforts, the federal government, state government, and local communities spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on prevention programs such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE), in which local police officers visit schools to teach young people to refrain from trying marijuana and other drugs.
However, public controversy has been growing over the two assumptions-high abuse potential and no legitimate medical use-that underlie marijuana's status as a Schedule I drug. In turn, disputes over the abuse and medical potential have shaped differences of opinion over public policy. Many of those who question one or both of these assumptions about marijuana have advocated a full or partial relaxation of the governments blanket prohibition of the drug, while those who accept these assumptions generally are opposed to any full or partial legalization of marijuana.
Supporters of marijuana's continued prohibition argue that the drug is easily abused and can lead to numerous physical and psychological harms. Short-term health effects-according to the NIDA (National Institute of Drug Abuse)-of the drug listed in this paper include memory loss, distorted perception, problems with learning and coordination, an increased heart rate, and anxiety attacks. Long-term effects accordin...
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.... For the more, the Psychotropic Convention Treaty of 1971 classifies marijuana as Schedule I drug. The U.S. is on of the 74 nations that have accepted the treaty.
A fascinating article, ' The Return of Pot,'; by Hannah Rueban, appeared in the February 17, 1997 issue if The New Republic. A visit by Reuban to San Francisco's Cannabis Cultivators Club demonstrated the total absurdity of state-sanctioned use of marijuana. Reuban stated, ' it's as if the rotting of the late '60s San Francisco described by Joan Didion in Slouching Toward Bethlehem has been preserved in reverse; the characters are the same, but the center was holding.'; Reuban recounted the lives of the burnt out beings that frequent the clubs and made it obvious that 'medical marijuana'; is the red herring that NORML plotted. The article should be must reading for state legislature facing the issue of legalizing 'medical marijuana.';
The views shared by many critics of marijuana is: Using marijuana for illness would be like prescribing moldy bread (containing penicillin) for phenomena or suggesting cigarette smoking for weight loss. Prescribing marijuana for any medical condition is totally irresponsible.
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 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...
“Marijuana.” Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpointsnin Context. Web. 9 June 2011
Those fighting for its criminalization to stay argue it’s classified as a Schedule 1 drug for a reason. Schedule 1 drugs are listed as having high potential for abuse, having no medical use, and potentially hazardous. Besides marijuana, other Schedule I drugs are: cocaine, LSD, and heroin (“Schedule”). However, marijuana is a Schedule I drug because professionals have not performed enough official tests yet. Dr. Roger Egeberg, Assistant Secretary of Health in 1971, remarked, “Since there is still a considerable void in our knowledge of the plant… marijuana be retained in Schedule 1 at least until the completion of certain studies.” Marijuana is listed in the same category as heroin not because there is evidence suggesting they are similar, but because there is a lack of evidence to put it elsewhere. Back when Dr. Egeberg made this statement, there were minimal tests on the uses and effects of marijuana. Nowadays, there are thousands of tests, reports, and statistics to support removing marijuana from Schedule 1. Also, it’s the same people that made weed illegal that classified it in Schedule 1, the same government that started this war on drugs, and the same government that is making a fortune on
Any type of drug should be classified as a schedule I drugs or as another scheduled substance. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 was signed by Richard Nixon and it defines schedule I drugs to have a high potential for abuse. There is no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the U.S. for marijuana. There is a lack of accepted safety for the use of the drug under medical supervision. Marijuana should be classified as a schedule I drug. I will tell you why by using three different fallacies which are: personal attack, genetic fallacy and circumstantial ad hominem.
...o treat many conditions; an ancient Chinese emperor prescribed it to cure conditions such as gout and malaria, soon its healing properties were heard around the world and the use of cannabis as a medicine spread like wild fire to many other regions (Earleywine, p. 168). In fact marijuana was legal in the United States till 1942 when against the medical communities recommendation it was removed from the list of acceptable medications. Today there are numerous studies being conducted on the effects of medical marijuana and scientists have proven its effects on treating many symptoms. According to Dale H. Gieringer in his book Medical Marijuana Handbook he states, Marijuana is proven to be effective as an anti-nauseant and an appetite stimulant for people going through chemotherapy and as an analgesic for patients suffering from chronic pain (Gieringer, p. 39).
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.
Legalizing Marijuana has been a common subject for debate in the United States. As the debate continues on in the political system, marijuana has become the most popular illegal drug in the United States. There are many arguments for and against the legalization of marijuana ranging from the effects on the mind and body to the economic possibilities after legalization. Both sides embrace strong facts and stronger support, but much of these facts consist of similar research with contradicting results. The side that tends to have the most and the strongest support in the most prominent arguments, economics, health, and criminal association, is the group for legalizing marijuana.
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.
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). In 1937, the federal government outlawed the substance, which pushed the growth and sale underground (Rendon). In 1970, President Nixon declared the substance a Schedule I Substance, which indicates that the substance has “a high potential for abuse” and “no currently accepted medical use” (Controlled Substances Act). The federal government has specified that for marijuana to have an accepted medical use, it must “be subjected to the same rigorous clinical trials and scientific scrutiny that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) applies to all other new medications” ("Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Marijuana"). There are numerous stakeholders in an ethical dilemma of this magnitude, which...
The drug’s interaction with the brain impairs cognitive abilities and increases the risk of mental disabilities particularly among new users (Gruber, 237). Gruber also shows how marijuana alters social behavior as users tend to devote less time to social interaction and more in pursuing the drug. Murray adds that marijuana is also a highly addictive drug that induces dependence in close to 20% of all users (20). On a more important note, the use of marijuana is identified as increasing the possibility of users engaging in more addictive substances. It is noted that this is the Federal government’s central reason for maintaining its position to classify the drug as a schedule one
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.
Marijuana use for medical purposes has been a major controversy in the United States and other countries for several years. A few doctors favor medical marijuana use because it specifically helps certain types of medial issues such as cancer, Aids, etc. It is obviously hazardous to give a patient too much medication and in some cases, the medications that is prescribed does not help and can make the patient more sick. Across the United States doctors should be allowed to use it to help patients whose conditions may be alleviated by marijuana use. Doctors should legally be able to use marijuana to assist patients who have certain types of medical problems.
Marijuana is a cannabis drug that may be used for medical purposes. It was used to soothe malaria and constipation in many Asian countries including India and China (Ashton). It has the capability to relieve the pain of a serious sickness like malaria as well as a common every day stomach sickness like constipation. Marijuana has also been used therapeutically for the common disease asthma (Ashton). It “exert[s] a bronchodilator action on the small airways” therefore allowing a person to breathe better (Ashton). Marijuana has not only been used for amusement but it has been a treatment for many illnesses therefore; we need to consider all the characteristics of marijuana before making a decision to legalize it for medical purposes.
Marijuana has been a problem since the early 1900s and continues to create problems. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics created a law which prohibited marijuana use in 1937 (Reinarman 128). Twenty years later, THC was discovered to be the main psychoactive component in marijuana causing its negative side effects (Reinarman 129). Almost seventy-five years later, the United States is still battling the problem with illegal marijuana use. Although scientists discovered the negative effects fifty years ago, the information has gone practically unnoticed and the amount of users continues to increase. Approximately half of the United States population has used marijuana at one point (Reinarman 129). Instead of outlawing marijuan...