Essay About Marijuana

Marijuana is a misunderstood drug. Many assume that the usage of marijuana, or cannabis, is dangerous, but it can be the exact opposite. So why is the legalization of marijuana in the United States such a problem for many people today? Considered to be a gateway drug and the reason for the downfall of our youth nowadays, marijuana has developed a negative reputation. Lester Grinspoon, a professor at Harvard University, states, “Few drugs in the United States have produced as much affective heat as marijuana, particularly during the last decade. The controversy essentially revolves around the question of how dangerous or safe the drug is." However, many people are persistent users and believe that this drug is no more harmful than

Purpose: To persuade my audience to: support the legalization of marijuana, because of it being able to provide many medical as well as economic benefits for the United States if legalized.

2. Once they discover that the government has been lying about marijuana, they are less inclined to believe official warnings about other drugs. 3. Once they buy marijuana on the black market, they are more likely to have the opportunity to buy other drugs” (Sullum). There is an obvious connection between pot smoking and other drug use because people who like the “high” that they get from pot, will enjoy a different “high” from another drug. However there is no connection between using marijuana and the desire to use other drugs. It is a matter of personality, environment, and personal influence. Even a National Academy of Sciences panel stated “There is no evidence that marijuana serves as a stepping stone on the bases of its particular drug effect” in a recent report (Sullum). Many other pro-prohibitionists have stated that marijuana is responsible for a long list of health problems. Although marijuana is connected to immediate lung problems like occasional coughing and phlegm production, and an increased risk for acute chest infections, there has never been a single tie to cancer. The results of studies linking marijuana smoking to lung cancer have also been hindered by small test sizes and subject bias, and the true results are saturated with unconfirmed studies and secret procedures with public results (Buddy). Marijuana is gaining headway with the most recent Gallup poll reported that 48 percent of the population supports decriminalization of marijuana, while

Wether you call it Hemp, Mary Jane, Pot, Weed; it doesn't matter. It is still Cannabis Sativa, or cannabis for short. And it is still illegal. The use of marijuana as an intoxicant in the United States became a problem of public concern in the 1930s.

Marijuana—often called pot, grass, reefer, weed, herb, Mary Jane, or MJ—is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried out, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flow¬ers of Cannabis sativa—the hemp plant. A large amount marijuana smokers use hand-rolled cigarettes called joints, amongst other names; some use pipes often calles bongs. Marijuana cigars, or blunts, are also popular. To make blunts, users cut open cigars, eliminate some of the tobacco, and mix the remain¬der with marijuana (Timberlake, 2009).

Every other year researchers assessed marijuana use. During the annual interviews, researchers examined socioeconomic and family influences by asking several questions regarding marijuana use, family structure, poverty level, neighborhood quality, self-control and risk taking. After data analysis, researchers concluded that young women are less likely to use marijuana

Marijuana usage when discussed brings about debate and division no matter the forum. This is a topic that many individuals feel either one or the other about. Very few feelings can be described as “Middle of the Road”. As students at Texas Christian University we felt that in the time we were in attendance no one had tried to measure how students felt and view Marijuana. This information could be used by organizations such as NORML; it could help them decide whether or not pursuing a NORML chapter on TCU’s campus would be worthwhile. NORML is a marijuana advocacy group that is working to “move public opinion sufficiently to legalize the responsible use of marijuana”.

Both points of view neglect to include what causes the teenage smokers that are the ones giving it to their friends, the ones that are popular and aren’t stressed. Today’s research is only done on a specific group of teens not the remaining individuals and why they started and currently smoke marijuana.

Marijuana is an addictive drug. Fifty percent of everyday marijuana users become addicted. Most of all my peers I go to college and went to high school with smoke everyday with no intention in stopping. They smoke maybe five times throughout the day and when I ask why, they told it helps them stay calm and chills them. So they are really telling me that their body cannot function properly without their daily dose of marijuana because their body is trying to keep at homeostasis. That is why when everyday users try to quit smoking, they suffer from irritability, sleeplessness, anxiety, and a decreased appetite. Marijuana effects motivation, short term and long term memory, and also school work. College students smoke throughout the day, so it makes it very likely that they try to do school work or even go to class under the influence. One fact that I really didn’t know about with marijuana is that it increases the heart rate, along with raising blood pressure and damaging the lungs. For me that is important because I was born with a defective heart that takes twice as much energy to pump blood and I also have high blood pressure which is hereditary in my family. So not only did I put myself at a criminal risk, I also put myself at a health risk as well. There is also a risk for someone to buy “laced” marijuana which means that there is potential that

This survey was conducted to further expand on the subject of marijuana use in our modern society. The survey consisted of 15 questions regarding social acceptance, the effects on society, related health issues, legal concerns regarding state versus federal law, and its use for both medicinal and recreational purposes. There were 50 participants involved in this survey varying in age from 18 to 66 compromised of 28 males and 22 females. Although other pertinent data was collected, the survey highlighted 4 key points of interest.

Medical marijuana refers to the use of cannabis as medical therapy in the palliative sense to treat diseases or alleviate symptoms. This treatment modality has proven to be a highly debatable issue within the medical field due to the use of this substance as an illicit drug. “The National Youth Risk Behavior Survey monitors priority health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth and adults in the United States” (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). The most recent survey conducted on ninth through twelfth grade students in public and private schools throughout the United States indicated that in 2011, a mean of 39.9% of participants reported ever using marijuana one or more times during their lives (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Although this substance has been most often used for recreational purposes, recent studies have shown that an increasing number of people are fighting to have legislation passed in order for the use medicinal marijuana to be made legal. The populations most affected by such legislation include those positively affected by the use of medical marijuana, patients suffering from chronic and debilitating illnesses, and those who utilize the drug for other reasons associated with recreation and personal pleasure. The issue highlights the beneficial aspect of marijuana use detailing symptom management and improving overall quality of life; and conversely,

People enjoy the euphoric feeling of cannabis. This is nothing new, it has been known for years. A study in Nova Scotia, a province of Canada, found that ninety-nine percent of the one hundred and seventy-seven people who were apart of this study use cannabis to get high. Only one person said that they do not use cannabis to get high. Only one of twenty-nine motives that were predetermined by the researchers reached ninety-nine percent. Even though it has the highest percentage of why people use marijuana it was not the most common reason. They participants were asked to select all the reason on why they either use or had used cannabis. The most common reason to use was out of curiosity. Humans are curious by nature. Curiosity is what drives people to explore and learn more about what is unknown to them or to the world. One hundred and seventy people out of the one hundred and seventy-seven participants said that their motive for using cannabis was out of curiosity. That is ninety-six percent of the

This assignment allowed me to investigate the behaviors and attitudes of students and their intentions on the potential use of marijuana. The purpose of the research in the article/study I reviewed was to experiment an example developed from the publications regarding how the information seeking traits of young adults is related to their motive to use marijuana.

There are many factors that are associated with the social context of marijuana use, such as the money it makes, culture, and even reputation among celebrities. A study from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, shows that the popularity of youth consuming marijuana from 1991 to 1994 almost doubled from 1.4 million to 2.4 million (Schensul et al., 2010). The previously stated factors may be the cause as to why the number of young individuals consuming marijuana grew so rapidly. According to Schensul (2010), the social setting that takes place while consuming marijuana is usually with a group of people, and these individuals prefer to share their experience with others. I believe that this may be a sign of peer pressure, and another

The second reason that the government should not legalize marijuana is that doing so will send the message that is okay to use other psychoactive drugs. Legalizing marijuana could result in advertising of this drug to adolescents. A study was conducted during 2003 showing that roughly 48 percent of twelfth graders reported using alcohol in the past thirty days and 24 percent reported smoking cigarettes in the past thirty days. Household access to illicit substances is coupled with a greater risk of marijuana use among both younger and older adolescents. This is often coupled with parental drug use which sends the message that it is okay to use psychoactive drugs (Joffe & Yancy, 2004, p. e636). The general idea is that we, as people, shouldn’t be making it easier for our children to get drugs. Thus far, it is shown that there is a struggle to educate the youth to avoid the use of psychoactive drugs. However, certain organizations, such as DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), have made solid efforts to