Chicago Pot Dilemma Summary

First, from 1900 to 1940, marijuana, including opium and cocaine were considered part of everyday drugs. As time went on, the U.S. cracked down on crack and opium, eventually outlawing them, but continued to be very “loose” with the use of marijuana. Hoxter a weed smuggler explains how he began in the 1960’s trying weed and years later saw himself unloading four hundred pounds of pot in Vancouver. The story of this man ends in his isolation and argument of why he couldn’t smoke weed even if he stopped selling? He asked a parole officer and she didn’t know what to respond. It is true what Hoxter states, fifty years ago alcohol was illegal and now it’s not, was it bad then? Will weed be legalized? And will the conflicts have been in vain? (Schou 8). Around the late 90’s and early 2000’s, scientific studies started to produce jaw-dropping results. Scientists started to discover that marijuana can significantly help people who have become ill. Medical Marijuana has been tested to help people with cataracts, cancer and severe depression (Zeese 1999). With this new worldwide discovery, the argument about medical marijuana ignited. States wanted to only make medical marijuana legal so it may help sick people, but the government did not want any form of marijuana legal. The law that was known throughout the United States was any form of marijuana was illegal. But now with this new discovery, doctors in states across the country want the

The role of how marijuana is used in the United States is being reexamined, rethought, and recalibrated, Barcott emphasize throughout his book. The new adjustment in America's relationship with cannabis cannot be measured in just monetary or social terms, “there are more profound movements going ahead here; social realignments, social alterations, and budgetary modifications” Barcott believes. Barcott show marijuana came to be one of the most vilified drugs in the market ever since the war on drugs was announced in the 1980s. However, the author shows how those who were against that movement are now cheerful that the way of that line of thinking is finally coming to a close. “Weed the

The topic of legalizing recreational marijuana in the United States has been a very controversial one. States such as Colorado and Washington have gone on the offensive and have legalized recreational marijuana and have enjoyed the high revenues brought in from cannabis sale. On the other hand other states have kept low profiles because they are wary of the possible negative outcomes of legalizing recreational marijuana and are using the states of Colorado and Washington as guinea pigs to see what their next course of action on this controversial topic should be. This is not only a highly debated topic among politicians, but also by the people. According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center 52% of Americans

For many years in the past, marijuana has been made to look like a dangerous drug, linked to crime and addiction. In the early 1920s and ‘30s most people still did not know what marijuana was or had even heard of it yet. Those who had heard of it were largely uninformed. The drug rarely appeared in the media, but when it did it was linked to crime and even thought to be murder-inducing. A 1929 article in the Denver Post reported a Mexican-American man who murdered his stepdaughter was a marijuana addict (Baird 2011). Articles such as this began to form a long-standing link between marijuana and crime in the public’s mind. Soon, laws against marijuana began coming into place. In 1970, Congress classified

The legalization of marijuana has been a topic of debate for many years. This may be because of the cultural diversity that the United States of America is known for. Recently, bills were passed in Colorado and Washington to implement the legalization and regulation of recreational marijuana use. These events along with the ever growing popularity of the drug in society, media, and entertainment are proving to be more than anti-marijuana advocates can handle. In this paper, I explore the financial, social, medical, and political benefits of legalizing marijuana.

Right after the U.S. Department of Justice announced in March 2009 that it would no longer prosecute marijuana patients and providers whose actions are consistent with state medical marijuana laws (Meyer & Glover, 2009, para. 1), political windows suddenly opened for California marijuana reform advocates to push for legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. As a result, California Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control & Tax Cannabis Act, became a ballot initiative on November 2, 2010 statewide ballot. Supporters argued that legalizing creational use of marijuana would help California to regulate the use and sale of marijuana, reduce correctional costs, redirect its court and law enforcement resources to other more serious crimes, and collect additional exercise taxes and sales taxes that would help with California’s budget shortfall. In spite of being a

Marijuana is the people’s drug of choice; it’s the most popular drug of all the drugs. Made famous in movies (Cheech and Chong), hit an all-time boom in the 60’s when smoke to rebel against law enforcement. It is popular even though it is illegal in the United States; I explain in this paper why we should take advantage of its popularity and help our struggling economy. How we can use the way Amsterdam regulates its recreational marijuana, and implement it in the United States. Violence will drop dramatically especially in the towns close to the Mexican border. These are more than enough reasons as to why we should legalize marijuana, there is nothing but benefits.

While an undereducated, youth fostered movement towards the legalization of marijuana is rapidly spreading across America, Father Gerald Coleman, in Is America Going to Pot, steps back from the frenzy to examine the gross amount of physical evidence that opposes the rash movement. Approaching legalization of marijuana from numerous avenues, Coleman systematically degrades many of the popular pro-marijuana arguments circulating today. In addition his article is able to simultaneously provide a number of well-founded arguments ranging from the various health troubles, the gateway drug potential, and the resounding positive effects on the black market drug trade that legalization of marijuana would and is currently promoting, to support his anti-legalization

Despite being written in the early 2000s, the issues discussed in the book are still relevant in America today. All of the industries involved have been subject to intense government scrutiny for years, but still managed to thrive anyways. Through his extensive research, Schlosser provides an in-depth look at the issues and the history behind them. Starting with marijuana, an issue still making its way through the government today, he retells the origins

Dope, Mary Jane, Pot, Grass, Weed, Blunt, Joint, and Nuggets are only a few of the countless names for marijuana, a narcotic drug used for recreational and sometimes medicinal uses across the world. Recently growing enough popularity among younger generations due to the glamorization of media, and the overwhelming financial gains through taxes and fees seen in Colorado, have caused Ohio legislators and citizens to consider the idea of legalizing marijuana for both recreational and medicinal marijuana use. Marijuana is a toxic gateway drug that impairs the judgement of its users and should not be legalized for recreational and medicinal purposes aside from the numerous ‘benefits’ it will bring to Ohio because of the consequences will be far greater.

Even with all the laws enacted against marijuana and the taskforces assigned to tackle the problem, new users are sprouting up and replacing those who have ceased their activity with this natural substance. This cycle closely relates to that of alcohol prohibition during the early 1900s. Alcohol was once considered illegal like marijuana and is now as ubiquitous as produce in a grocery store. However, unlike alcohol the wide acceptance for marijuana has been drawn-out and at best slow. There is an iota of hope for marijuana reform. Four states, Colorado, Washington, Alaska, Oregon and including Washington D.C., have already approved marijuana for recreational use and so far the results have been successful. Tamar Todd, a policy director at the Drug Policy Alliance, was quoted in The Guardian stating that, “Marijuana prohibition has been a costly failure – to individuals, to communities, and to the state [of Oregon].” Also that “Oregon is taking a smarter, more responsible approach to marijuana that ends the wasteful and racially disproportionate practice of arresting and citing people simply for possessing a small amount of marijuana.” This is proof that decriminalizing marijuana can be beneficial to society by not ruining lives over personal interests, and by saving resources that would

In the United States institutionalized prohibition-based cannabis policies defy widely accepted societal values, delegitimizing the state's authority of law, neglecting its responsibility to respect individual free will and ultimately, the right of self-determination. These unjustified policies take a heavy financial and social toll on society, forcing law enforcement to spend time and money to arrest a majority of non-violent, low level-offenders. In addition, marijuana policies and enforcement have been seen as inherently biased and discriminatory. Not only that, but the medical applications of cannabis are increasingly becoming recognized and accepted as a standard in terms of treating diseases and relieving physical or mental ailments. Furthermore, statistics have shown that legalization leads to a decreased use of marijuana among teens and minors. Dollar wise, cannabis

In this paper I will talk about the historical backdrop of pot, the modern employments of hemp, the preclusion of cannabis, the practical effect forbiddance has on America, the impacts of maryjane use on the brain and the body, pot for medicinal utilization, and how sanctioning of weed would have a positive impact on America. Despite the fact that I bolster the sanctioning of weed

The decriminalization of marijuana has been a great issue and has contributed to the arrests of thousands. In Jon Gettman’s article, “Arrests, Usage, and Related Data,” he reports on the reasons for arrests in California. Gettman asserts that, “Marijuana arrests in California have increased from 61,375 in 2003, to 74,024 in 2007.” This suggests that law enforcement has focused on this issue immensely, and it has proven to affect many lives. It goes to show that the arrests for marijuana possession are only increasing as the years go by as well. Gettman also claims that, “Marijuana possession arrests accounted for 80% of all marijuana arrests in California during 2007”(Gettman).This suggests that so many people have a marijuana offense on their record for simply having it, and not being caught using it. If marijuana is legalized, as much as 80% of these users would no longer face arrests as possessing marijuana would no longer be a crime. In his article, “California Arrested Nearly Half a Million People for Pot over the past Decade,” Christopher Ingraham also stresses that although an effort to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana in 2011 was made, thousands are still getting arrested for it. Many are getting arrested for misdemeanors and felonies. The perfect records of many are being destroyed

This article introduces the benefits of marijuana that it has to the states that have legalized it. This article explains how self-funding a product like marijuana can relieve other issues within the state. John Hudak wrote this article for a western law review. He has also written for CNN as well. He is a fellow at the Center for Effective Public Management, Managing Editor, FixGov Blog, and The Brookings Institution. Prior to joining Brookings, John served as the program director and as a graduate fellow at the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. He holds a B.A. in political science and economics from the University of Connecticut Andan M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Vanderbilt University. The credibility comes from