Essay On Cannabis

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

For decades America has associated marijuana with many things, and none of them ever any good. From the ‘60s with the hippie revolution, to today with criminals of all kinds, there have been numerous associations that are arguably unwarranted in this day and age. Why is it that we have such negative feelings about marijuana? In America today, the government considers it a Schedule I drug, meaning that it has a “high potential for abuse” and “no currently accepted medical use.” The problem with this classification clearly lies in the second half of its classification. Marijuana certainly has medicinal purposes, and humans have been using it for centuries to primarily treat chronic pain and a lack of appetite. It is hard to construct a

Medical Marijuana Marijuana is medicine. It has been used for thousands of years to treat a wide variety of ailments. Marijuana (Cannabis sativa L.) was legal in the United States for all purposes - industrial and recreational, as well as medicinal until 1937. Today, only eight Americans are legally allowed to use marijuana as medicine. NORML is working to restore marijuana's availability as medicine.

Each year the United States government documents drug related deaths in our country, breaking the deaths down into categories of cause. These categories include tobacco, alcohol, prescription medications, illegal drug, and of course marijuana related deaths. Every year the number of deaths coming from marijuana is equivalent to zero. So why is there even controversy over the issue of legalization? Obviously, there are still some people out there who believe the drug is a topic for concern in our nation. In recent years, there has been tremendous progress being made in the field of medicine. University hospitals around the country have been proving again and again that the drug poses no threat to human health and well being, even

Joycelyn Elders, former Surgeon General, once spoke about the legalization of marijuana for medical use in a press conference. "It's criminal to keep this medicine from patients," she said (Silverman, 1995, pg. 2). She received criticism not only from many citizens of the United States, but also strong criticism from the President who appointed her. The legalization of marijuana for medical use has always been a sharply debated subject, and many of the debaters are uneducated about the effects of using this illegal drug for therapeutic use. Many studies have been done and the results are clear. As a medical drug, marijuana should be available to patients who do not adequately respond to currently available

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.

Reading ‘The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace’ by Jeff Hobbs gave me food for thought about marijuana abuse. In my opinion marijuana should be legal in state of Connecticut but many people argue that it should be illegal because teenagers might use it even more. On the other side, it will cause many more problems for our federal system. There is no magic bullet for preventing teen drug use, but parents have a considerable amount of influence on their teens, even though it doesn't seem that way. Also, the federal system must cooperate with the people and be able to respect our freedom. Many people asked why marijuana should be illegal and responded, “Because it’s bad” which

Canada currently allows for the cultivation of the cannabis for seed, grain and fibre production under licences issued by Health Canada.1 Cannabis was first banned in Canada in 1923, with regulated medical cannabis becoming legal in 2001.1 On July 1, 2018, the Canadian Federal government will pass Bill C-45, to legalize recreational marijuana use, effectively ending the prohibition on marijuana.5 Cannabis contains trahydrocannabinol (THC), one of at least 113 cannabinoids identified in cannabis and is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis.2 A WHO report stated that “cannabis is used by a significant proportion of Canadians, with youth and young adult use being higher than that among adults 25 years and older, and use being higher among males than females”.4 In anticipation of Bill C-45, the Ontario provincial government has set out some rules to address the issue of cannabis use amongst youth and to reduce and prevent harms associated with the drug.4,5 The Ontario government is using the same approach it is using for tobacco and alcohol. You will need to be 19 and older to buy, use, possess and

A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly fifteen hundred pounds of marijuana within about 15 minutes to induce a lethal response... In strict medical terms, marijuana is far safer than many of the foods we commonly consume. For example, eating ten raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death." DEA Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young. Between 9 and 17 million Americans are occasional users of marijuana and about 3 million are daily users. As many as 40 million have tried the drug for many different reasons such as experimentation and peer pressure (Schleichert 40). Much of America's youth is experimenting with the drug and

Marijuana is one of the oldest, most versatile, most historically significant plants in the history of man. Commonly referred to as hemp, it was the fiber used to create the sails of the conquistadors until steam power ruled the ocean blue. Hemp was universally known and clothed a lot the known world, even before cotton and wool. Its versatility was a virtue and was envied as one of the most valuable plants for any farmer, on any continent. Legislators in many different states across America passed laws promoting its production. In colonial times, the military wanted to make sure it had enough hemp rope for times of war and as a source of revenue for the colonies. In 1767, the Georgia government passed a law which distributed seeds

The human brain has 2 different types of cannabis receptors called type 1 (CB1) and type 2 (CB2) (4). The CB1 receptors are involved with neurobiological departments of the brain including the: hippocampus (memory), amygdala (emotions), cerebral cortex (conditions), limbic forebrain (motivation), and finally the cerebellum (motor condition) (4). A 1997 study concluded that THC causes dopamine release at the same rate as heroin (2). When activated the receptors in these regions release the chemical compound called dopamine affecting the brain in many ways. It is the chemical responsible for users to feel the euphoria or ‘high’ that is associated with marijuana consumption (4). Hand-eye coordination, judgement, reaction times, and tracking ability are all lowered due to marijuana usage (3). Short-term memory is also impaired while under the influence of cannabis (3). Furthermore a decrease in the user’s attention span is apparent (3). In adults who use marijuana, higher rates of psychosis with predisposition to schizophrenia are observed (3). Furthermore, a publication in the British Medical Journal concluded that marijuana use can cause adverse psychological effects including depression, anxiety, and incite violence in users(6). Constant long-term usage of cannabis can cause a dependence or an addiction to the THC in adults (3). MRI scans users also concluded that structural abnormalities in CB1

Marijuana also known as Mary Jane, pot, bud, or ganja has been used in the world for thousands of years. It has been used for different reasons, medical or recreational. “The main psychoactive (mind-altering) chemical in marijuana, responsible for most of the intoxicating effects that people seek, is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The chemical is found in resin produced by the leaves and buds primarily of the female cannabis plant. The plant also contains more than 500 other chemicals, including more than 100 compounds that are chemically related to THC, called cannabinoids.” (National Institute on Drug Abuse 1). The cannabis plant, known as marijuana has a positive view for medication, but the side people do not see, is where weed can damage a person physically and mentally, along with influencing one’s brain to make unordinary decisions while damaging the brain at the same time.

Marijuana prohibition stands as one of the most unwarranted policies of the United States. Every year we are spending billions of dollars on the War on Drugs with little benefit. Data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation show there were an estimated 1,552,432 arrests for drug-related crimes in 2014 – a slight uptick from the 1,531,251 drug arrests in 2013. Marijuana offenses accounted for 48.3 percent of all drug arrests. Most marijuana-related arrests were for possession of the drug. By mere possession, there was one marijuana arrest every 48 seconds in 2014. Including arrests for distribution, there was a pot-related arrest every 42 seconds. This prohibition makes no sense, especially in a country where alcohol use is

Have you ever thought about drugs like marijuana and the history or impact it can cause on your life? Many people do not think about these things when it comes to taking drugs. They just like to take drugs for fun and usually don’t care what happens. Well many people don’t know a lot about marijuana. There are a lot of things you should know before taking any type of drug like marijuana.

Over the past 50 years, scientists have studied the plant Cannabis Sativa. After research, they believe cannabis can lead to schizophrenia. Some may think that cannabis is a causal agent, and others think cannabis is a trigger. Cannabis helps to increases natural levels of dopamine in the body. A natural level of dopamine in the body is regular. However, when too much dopamine is produced then a disorder is brought about. This disorder is called schizophrenia. Therefore, this is why scientists do believe cannabis “causes” schizophrenia.