Joe Kearns Decriminalizing Marijuana 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

In the society we live in, everybody wants to be right. People will have their own unique stance on any controversial subject, and marijuana is no different. Marijuana is a very important topic of discussion especially in the current election season. The drug is discussed on television, social media, and virtually everywhere on the internet. In the article “This Is Why Marijuana Should Be Legal Everywhere” associate viral content editor for The Huffington Post, Renee Jacques, challenges traditional notions of the prohibition of marijuana by brilliantly using rhetorical appeals to persuade you to join the majority. Contrary to Jacques, John Hawkins, writer for www.townhall.com, takes a different stance in his article “5 Reasons Marijuana Should Remain Illegal” holding tight to the traditional, negative view of the drug by using a mixture of logos and pathos to make you question why any human with a brain would smoke cannabis. Although both writers use rhetorical strategies to persuade you to their respective side of the argument, the differing degrees the authors use those strategies renders Jacques’ article much more persuasive to a general audience.

Legalizing marijuana is a concept that can potentially benefit the public as well as the local economies. There has been a nationwide debate on whether marijuana should be legalized or not. The major consensus is that marijuana is not only bad for one’s health, but it is also dangerous to the community. These allegations are not true. Marijuana actually has health benefits that most people overlook. The following essay will address these health benefits in an attempt to present this concept in a way that the audience can better understand how legalizing marijuana can beneficial to an individual health, how it can give an increase to the economy.

Marijuana is a drug that is an ongoing issue in the United States for many years debating about whether it should be legal, so in 2010 the state of California proposed the “Tax, Regulate, and Control Cannabis Act” for voters to vote on which would make marijuana illegal. Charles Stimson, a former assistant U.S. Attorney specializing in crime, had strong opinions about what he thought about the issue and was paid to write an article by the Heritage Foundation where he could voice his opinion about legalized marijuana. In his article “Legalizing Marijuana: Why Citizens Should Just Say No,” Charles Stimson tries to persuade his audience, voters of California, that they should vote against legalized marijuana. He tries to persuade his audience

The decriminalization of marijuana is an incredibly controversial topic in the United States. Conservative views deem the drug dangerous and debilitating, while reformers suggest that legalizing the plant would have an enormous positive impact on the economy. While others, the terminally ill, wish for the plant to be legal so it can be offered as a less toxic and sometimes more effective alternative to harsh prescription drugs. an overwhelming wealth of facts that state the benefits marijuana can have medically.

Ever since marijuana’s introduction to the United States of America in 1611, controversy of the use and legalization of the claimed-to-be Schedule I drug spread around the nation. While few selective states currently allow marijuana’s production and distribution, the remaining states still skepticize the harmlessness and usefulness of this particular drug; therefore, it remains illegal in the majority of the nation. The government officials and citizens of the opposing states believe the drug creates a threat to citizens due to its “overly-harmful” effects mentally and physically and offers no alternate purposes but creating troublesome addicts hazardous to society; however, they are rather misinformed about marijuana’s abilities. While

Lastly, Cressy uses astonishing and intimidating facts to further his argument of the health benefits that medicinal marijuana provides. He starts out by stating “approach cannabis legalization with public health and harm reduction in mind,” and continues by listing a range of issues that need to be considered. Cressy opens the eyes of his readers by voicing his concerns about what Canada's government should restrict. He also makes numerous great points about how the health of Canadians is being pushed back because the need for medicinal marijuana is so

There are two legal issues related to this news article. Should the federal government simply decriminalize marijuana and does the current criminalization of marijuana hold any basis in ensuring public

Throughout this paper, there will be the highly debatable discussion between legalizing medical marijuana and regular marijuana. Both sides of the argument have their pros and cons and there is an in depth description of both sides of the argument. At the end of the day though, the paper thoroughly supports the legalization of medical marijuana and marijuana in general. Medical marijuana less harmful than most other legal tobacco products and has the ability to reduce the pain within ailing people. Cannabis also can be a curable and more natural drug to help people in pain. Marijuana also has the potential to raise the U.S. out of their tough economic struggle as well as lower crime rate and create more jobs for many more

One of the author’s main reasons to support his view is that he believes the new generation of drug users are constantly trying to self medicate with drugs instead of getting help for any emotional or mental health issues. Another reason is that he advocates for the decriminalization of marijuana, which is different from legalization, as it regulates the quality and quantity, as well as place other restrictions on it like age restrictions. One of his

The legalization of marijuana and other controlled substances is a highly discussed and controversial topic. Opponents have generally repeated arguments formed from long lasting government propaganda in the past, and proponents have been working tirelessly to break down those preconceptions. There are many arguments for and against the legalization of marijuana, and in many ways it is the same discussion that led to the end of prohibition. Generally, the opposing arguments are geared toward moral standards and focus on correlation as causation; the arguments for legalization are generally based on university studies and case studies from other countries and states that have already legalized marijuana. This essay will attempt to dispel the

"Marijuana is the second most popular drug after alcohol in the country today. So many people smoke marijuana that the numbers alone seem to legitimize and condone its presence in people's lives. Yet, even in moderation marijuana is not 'safe.' Somehow this information had not filtered down to people who think they are smoking a fairly innocuous drug. Our society perpetuates the myths about pot being a fun, harmless, recreational drug. These myths feed into people's denial of marijuana's problems" (Baum 6). However, the abuse of marijuana is a problem. It is not only a personal problem, but also more importantly a social problem. Throughout history marijuana has been used to serve various purposes in many

Legalization of marijuana is one of the most controversial topics in American society today. Surveys done by the US Government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive showed that 95 million Americans have used marijuana. There are two opposing sides that have strong stances on whether it should become legal or should remain illegal. We have one side that is anti-marijuana and the other is pro-marijuana. Each side provides valid and strong arguments supporting their views. The purpose of this paper is to carefully examine each opposing side and try to find some way to come to a compromise.

The article, “Hooked on Just Saying No”, was written to address the problems of the War on Drugs. It discussed the problems with prohibition. Back in the early 20th century, America’s prohibition of alcohol failed; it caused social and economic problems all over America. When alcohol became legalized, bootleggers ended up becoming legal brewers and distillers, becoming wealthy from the profit. However, “prohibited drugs could yield even bigger profits than prohibited alcohol” (the Economist). Therefore, after marijuana becomes legal, it should be controlled and regulated, to prevent the monopolization of the market. Taxation of marijuana and less incarceration for marijuana would yield economic benefits to the government, leading to more funding for productive activities such as better education and drug rehabilitation.

Cannabis is becoming increasingly widespread and increasingly common in modern-day society for both recreational use and for medication. The article by Craig Reinarman, ‘Criminalisation, legalisation and the mixed blessing of medicalisation in the USA’ generates many controversial issues of cannabis.