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Impact Of Marijuana On Society

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Legalization of Marijuana:
Does it Impact Society?
Destiny Wright
Criminology 200

Abstract

The legalization of drugs has always been a big debate in the United States. For hundreds of years, our citizens have argued over what they think would be best for our nation. From The War on Drugs to the legalization of Marijuana in Colorado, the United States has transformed. Many believe that this was the worst decision Congress could ever make and others think that this changes life for the better. Although this had always been a great debate, there is nothing much that people could argue over now that Marijuana is legalized in more than one state.

Legalization of Marijuana:
Does it Impact Society?

Many times there are always …show more content…

295 and p. 369). During this time, many drug lords and criminals were convicted and thrown in jail. There was no act criminalizing the possession of drugs until The Harrison Act of 1914. It was a law saying that made it a crime to possess, among other drugs, opium, without having registered and paid a special tax for this purpose. (Knapp 1993). After passing this law, the crack down on drugs became very crucial. People would no longer be able to be caught with any drug, or they would be taken to jail. Our former and first President George Washington grew Marijuana on his farm at Mount Vernon, but called it hemp (p.295). Of course, this was before it was illegal to possess any drug, but it shows you that even those who runs our country may have some ties to a type of …show more content…

According to Chu (2015), as of July 2014, 22 states and the District of Columbia had passed laws that allow individuals with designated conditions to use marijuana for medical purposes. Although the direct effects of these laws are limited to legally qualified patients, it is a popular belief that legalization of medical marijuana has increased illegal marijuana use among non-patients as well (p. 482). This could be true, but it could also be inaccurate. Many people never told that they had already used the drug before it became legalized, but after it did, many people were honest with their choices. Chu also discovered that medical marijuana laws increase t proxies for marijuana consumption by around 10–15 percent. However, there is no evidence that cocaine and heroin usage increases (p. 481). As one could see, just because Marijuana was legalized does not mean that it increased the usage of other drugs. If it did increase anything, it was just recreational use of

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