Legalizing Marijuana Research Paper

According to Jessica Atkins many crimes in several states are increasing due to the “selling and possession” of the substance. Atkins also pointed out that marijuana is a “natural herb” and it is extremely less dangerous than any other illegal substance. With that being said many also worry about parents who also consume this drug and the effects it would have on their children. Dr. Melanie Dreher conducted many experiments and has inferred that children who are born to marijuana consuming parents show no factors of birth defects, also the child tends to be more intelligent than children not born to marijuana consuming parents. There is also a lot of benefits towards consuming medical marijuana also, it can benefit anyone who has a mental illness and could also help a woman's pregnancy with decreasing the sense of nausea and vomiting. Marijuana is a very controversial topic especially legalizing it but people need to realize that there are substances that are killing many people today that are completely legal under the federal law and it is injustice to keep a drug that has many benefits and could help people

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

     Marijuana does have some negative effects, but compared to other drugs marijuana is harmless. Other drugs are highly addictive were marijuana is not. Alcohol is one of the most leading causes of car crashes. Marijuana is nowhere near being a leading cause of death. Other drugs can lead to cancer where marijuana is used to cure it, and other drugs can lead to deaths. Other drugs impair you vision, but marijuana does not. All the other drugs except alcohol are gateway drugs, and the only way to purchase them is by smuggling them across the border. Many advocates say “we should begin to reflect that reality in our state and federal legislation, and stop acting as if otherwise law-abiding marijuana smokers are part of the crime problem. They are not, and it is absurd to continue using law enforcement resources arresting them.” (Gary) Many advocates also say, “Far more harm is caused by marijuana prohibition than by marijuana itself.”(Gary)

Marijuana has negative side effects on a consumer that may end up being the reason why the legalization is wrongful. Most drugs have crimes tied along them, and this automatically gives a reason to keep drugs illegal. Along

First and foremost, majority of society is uneducated and unaware of the many benefits legal marijuana can bring about. These benefits are for us as individuals, for our economy, and for our government as a whole. You can have thoughts and opinions, criticize ones who use marijuana, say that they are a drug attics or bad people, but you would clearly be uneducated having said that. The plant, cannabis, “marijuana”, has a class of

For the last century there has been an abundance of false information being spread about the drug marijuana. Even in commercials on television, misleading facts about the drug have been presented to the audience. Some misconceptions about the drug include its potential to cause addiction, the damaging of brain cells, genetic damage, violent behavior, and damage to the immune system. These misconceptions, which have plagued a large percentage of the population into thinking that marijuana is a bad drug, have caused many set backs in the process of gradual legalization. (http://legalizationofmarijuana.com/ )

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 stigma of marijuana started in the 1930s when it was first prohibited nationwide, but since then, the stigma has changed quite drastically to the point where the sigma could be completely eradicated in the near future. The stigma that was created from the prohibition of marijuana is something that still affects every American today. In a brief history of the stigma, it can be traced back to the 1930s where its prohibition would begin, by the 1960s, no one would do it in their right mind because it was closely related to the anti-war protest/hippie movement, and finally by the mid-1990s, it would become legal in a few states for medical purposes. Since the 1990s, the stigma has really changed to the point where Americans are on the verge to the end of the 80+ year prohibition of the substance. (Hari, Johann) The stigma can really be defined by almost anything from marijuana’s relationship to a certain group, to the propaganda that defined it in the 1950s. Even though these are important factors contributing to the stigma, the most influential factors is its legality and of course, what marijuana means to people during the time period they are living. Marijuana’s stigma was obviously different in the 1960s than it is today for Americas and this trend of constantly changing definitions of the stigma will probably continue even after its legalization. The stigma of marijuana today is based on its legality and the growth of marijuana as a whole in the last decade.

Marijuana is a controversial substance. It is considered a schedule 1 drug by the DEA but it is still legalized in 4 states for recreational purpose which include Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon. Laws against the use, possession and cultivation of this plant are different in different parts of the world. People have been debating about its advantages and its disadvantages for many years. There are a lot of myths about marijuana and very few seem to be true. Most of the people know very less about this so they tend to go with all the ideas that the society has about it. It has a potential to play a significant role in the economic development of a country and lower the crime rates.

Throughout America many people believe marijuana should be legal because it's not bad for you. There are many different theories about this conflict. There are also those people who believe that marijuana is the gateway drug, the drug that takes you to more drugs. This drug can take your life in a heartbeat.

The legalization of marijuana is one of the most debatable topics in our society today. What is marijuana? According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, Marijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the Cannabis sativa or Cannabis Indica plant. Marijuana is also known as weed, herb, pot, cannabis, maryjane, and a sort of other nicknames. Most people believe that marijuana should be legalized for the numerous medical health benefits, and that marijuana is found to be less harmful than consuming other drugs and alcohol. However, the people who oppose legalizing marijuana believe that it is too dangerous for a person’s well-being; it can also inspire people to try other drugs like cocaine or alcohol. In the article, “Marijuana should stay illegal,” Carly Zive asserts that smoking cannabis is bad and it should remain illegal, yet, in “This is Why Marijuana Should Be Legal Everywhere,” Renee Jacques depicts marijuana as a substance that perceives health benefits for people.

The legalization of cannabis has been a subject of controversy in recent years; despite the progress we’ve made in understanding marijuana there are many who criticize the drug. Misconceptions and prejudice plague marijuana, giving it an infamous reputation. However, if one took the time to look at it in a just manner, they would be enlightened to the true fact that marijuana is not as evil as society perceives it to be. To better understand cannabis objectively, we need to look at it medically and why it was made illegal in the first place.

“Marijuana is the the third most popular recreational drug in the United states,” stated in the NORML article. Societies viewpoints tend to stand on two opposite extremes. In some states, the drug is becoming legalized for medical purposes. In other states, the drug is just become legalized for the purpose of being openly consumed, marketed and sold. The other viewpoint blames this drug for the rate of crime, poverty, and unemployment rising. Some people also fear that although the drug doesn’t directly lead to death, it is the gateway to harsher drugs making the legalization and use immoral.

Within today’s society, Cannabis is seen as a harmful substance of such negative controversy. Marijuana is a very prominent and controversial issue in society today. Despite many malicious allegations have been made regarding marijuana today, the truth of what marijuana’s real dangers are are beginning to come about again. Sadly, these facts have been held under considerable judgement because of what people stereotype a pot smoker as. This has been brought under heavy criticism due to the stereotypical view of what people view as the typical “pot smoker.” This image society has of a lazy and unambitious America has all been the result of almost one hundred years of false propaganda and stereotypes gossiped by certain private individuals trying to keep weed illegal for their own personal benefit.

From their point of view as parents for instance who hear about the horrifying stories and accidents caused by drugs, fearing for their children’s safety in society outside the comfort of their homes, they truly believe that Marijuana is a drug that falls under the same category of all negative and dangerous drugs. Marijuana to these people is an addictive substance that only results in violence and incarceration when it is put along side by side with negligence of young people who don’t know what’s right from wrong and can easily follow bad influence. It may be true that, in the hand of careless people or people who are after their own gain, it does end up on the wrong side of the image. Reassuring the idea that Marijuana falls in the category of dangerous drugs that has no use