A Broken Class System?. The Misuse Of Drugs Act 1971 Implements

Findings by the Community Epidemiology Workgroup reveal that the types of drugs used in different cities vary. Which drugs seem to be more prevalent in western cities?

The U.S Centers For Disease Control and Prevention said that there's a big amount of people who have died from the use of alcohol but not from marijuana. (37,000 annual deaths in the U.S). Alcohol also damages the brain and causes serious problems. It is also proven that alcohol can give you a variety of cancers (stomach, lungs and liver) but on the other hand, marijuana helps to deal with it.

The three classifications are A, B & C. The classes measure the level of harm that any of the individual drugs out there may cause mentally and physically. Withdrawal reactions are taken into consideration, i.e. when an individual reduces usage or stops it all together. Another factor that is brought to attention is the harm which misuse of any singular drug may bring to communities, families, and society. This helps justify the purpose of the act itself. This act does not just state what is illegal and the consequences attached to the drugs held within the classing system, it looks at the bigger and broader picture for everyone. Cannabis is currently placed in class

For many years, the prohibition of marijuana has led people to believe that marijuana was extremely dangerous, therefore, it could never be legal; but, most dangers spoken about marijuana are myths as it is found less harmful than alcohol, and even tobacco. In 2007, research done by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare came to the conclusion that alcohol was a large contributor to death and the cause of more than 3% of the overall disease and injury in Australia, while marijuana was accountable for no deaths and only 0.2% of disease and injury. Despite what many are told to believe, this research poses that marijuana holds way fewer risks than alcohol does, and alcohol is legal. Around 88,000 deaths occur each year due to alcohol consumption, and half of those are due to binge drinking. With this in

Drug classification is put into 1 of 3 groups’ A, B and C. Class A drugs are the most harmful. New psychoactive substances is a new drugs early warning system. There are many new drugs being discovered which cannot be classed as safe or legal, the new psychoactive substances service bans newly identified harmful drugs within days. The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is the main law/legislation to control and classify drugs that are ‘dangerous or otherwise harmful’ when misused. The act makes it illegal for people to:

Drinking alcohol is also much more harmful for you than marijuana is, and it too is legal. Alcohol damages your internal organs like your liver, kidneys, and circulatory system. Alcohol also has a much higher dependency than does marijuana. Tens of thousands of people are dependent on alcohol everyday sometimes ruining one’s personal and family life. Alcohol also causes you to lose your inhibitions which could get

Many people from all around the world believe that marijuana is an addictive drug that has ruined the lives of millions. The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that more than 37,000 annual U.S deaths are the effects of alcohol alone. Alternatively, there is not even a category for the deaths caused by marijuana. Many of us think that marijuana kills brain cells but studies show teens that use marijuana as well as alcohol suffered significantly less damage to the white blood cells in their brains. Alcohol use contributes to aggressive and violent behavior while marijuana will only make a person feel more comfortable. “Alcohol is clearly the drug with the most evidence to support a direct intoxication, violent relationships, whereas cannabis reduces the likelihood of violence during intoxications” (Shuette, 2013). The government does not even track violent acts specifically related to marijuana use. Marijuana and alcohol should be switched where marijuana is legal and alcohol is not because it will benefit people more than alcohol will.

From 2001 to 2005 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports on average more than 79,000 deaths per year was caused by excessive alcohol use. (CDC, “Vital Signs”) Excessive drinking includes binge drinking, heavy drinking and any drinking by pregnant women or minors. On the other hand, the CDC does not have a category for deaths caused by the use of marijuana. Statistically, death directly from marijuana overdose is extremely rare. However, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting data, there were a total of 1.5 million drug arrests nationwide in 2011 and out of those arrests around 750,000 were for marijuana alone. (FBI, “Person’s Arrested”) While both alcohol and marijuana should not be taken with any other drug and getting behind the wheel while drunk or high poses significant risk to everyone. Alcohol is still vastly greater in number when it comes to death than marijuana but then again one is legal while the other one is not.

According to a report put out by the British Police Foundation in March 2000, cannabis has been shown to produce less harmful effects than its other legal counterparts such as alcohol and tobacco. This kind of information calls into sharper focus the question on the minds of many as to why such a plant that is not only less harmful than legal drugs but has significant health benefits has remained illegal.

Every year, 400,000 Americans die of complications caused by tobacco products. Smoking kills more Americans each year than alcohol, crack, heroin, murder, suicide, car accidents, fires, and AIDS all put together. Every week, eight children under the age of eighteen die from alcohol related crashes. Alcohol abuse contributes to almost 50% of all traffic accidents, suicides, and homicides. However, despite the proven dangers of these "socially acceptable" drugs, they are still legal. Marijuana, a much less acceptable drug, is not legal however, despite the fact that research has yet to pin any specific dangers to this drug.

     Many substances on the market are just as harmful, if not more harmful than marijuana. Tobacco and alcohol are equally if not more harmful. Tobacco and alcohol are also more addictive than marijuana. Marijuana users smoke much less than the average cigarette smoker. Marijuana is also natural with no added chemicals (most of the time); unlike cigarettes that contain rat poison, ammonia, nicotine, and carbon monoxide. Tobacco and alcohol have also killed many more people than marijuana. There has never been a reported case of death due to marijuana. People have died on marijuana, but not from it. If cigarettes and alcohol are legal, this plant should be legal. A good effect from legalizing it would be taxing the plant. The government

To begin with, a cannabis law was passed by the Virginia gathering in the pivotal year of its establishing indeed, 1619. It constrained each agriculturist to develop pot since hemp was viewed as deliberately imperative. Nobody has ever kicked the bucket of a marijuana overdose. You may think having a lot of THC in your framework will kill you, yet you are incorrect. As far back as marijuana has been known to humankind, not one single record of death from overdose has been registered. Then again, in 2010, 38,329 individuals died from medication overdoses. 60% of those were identified with doctor-prescribed medications. In that same year, 25,692 people passed on from liquor-related causes. Around 40% of Americans as of now have confessed to utilizing weed (Sznitman). Most surveys on Americans and their marijuana use float around the 40% stamp for having attempted pot in any event once. This is contrasted with the 16% of Americans who have tried cocaine, which is clearly a substantially lower rate. Weed is turning out to be increasingly pervasive consistently in spite of being less addictive than espresso. There 's a reason people are feeling more secure and more reliable attempting the medication, which leads us to our next point. Marijuana is much more secure as of now than legitimized drugs (Jacques).

On the other hand, some people who argue that cannabis should not be legalized argue that cannabis is more lethal to the human body than alcohol, which is legal. This is demonstrably false. Obviously, cigarettes and alcohol are harmful to humans, causing lung cancer, liver failure, brain damage, and other ailments. The proponents of legalization of cannabis argue that cannabis is already being used all over the world and less deaths can be attributed to it compared to other drugs. Rarely, if ever, has a death been attributed to cannabis use. The reality is that no human has ever died from marijuana overdose. Cannabis does contain carcinogens, which critics say is one of the dangers that need to stay

By comparison, marijuana is nontoxic and cannot cause death by overdose. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that more than 37,000 annual U.S. deaths, including more than 1,400 in Colorado, are attributed to alcohol use alone (this isn't including accidental deaths). On the other hand, the CDC does not even have a category for deaths caused by the use of cannabis. -“The estimated fatal dose [of THC, the primary active compound in marijuana] in humans derived from animal studies is between 15 and 70 grams. This is a far greater amount of cannabis that even a very heavy cannabis user could use in a day,” - Prof. Wayne Hall. While alcohol on one hand makes people become belligerent marijuana calms people down and helps them relax.

Many people claim that there is no known case of people dying due to marijuana. This is a half truth since it’s not the marijuana itself that kills; it’s its side effects. Marijuana causes lung and throat cancer much like cigarettes. As a matter of fact, marijuana is worse for the lungs, since it contains three times as much tar as cigarettes and it’s usually smoked without a filter. They also claim there is not nearly as much crime due to marijuana use compared alcohol. This is also true but for one simple reason. Alcohol is legal and more easily accessible than marijuana. It’s the fact that marijuana is illegal that is keeping these numbers so low. Legalizing marijuana would be like adding fuel to a fire. If marijuana were to be legalized these number are sure to increase.