Marijuana. Stinking filthy disgusting marijuana. Your church says it 's the Devil 's tool. Your government says it directly accounts for almost all crime and skumbags on the streets. Your teachers said "just say no." Your grandmother says it 's a "dirty Mexican drug." But the question is: what do you think about it? Did you ever actually have a chance, or the educated means, to make an informed decision and personal policy on marijuana? Or did you just follow the judicial trend? You pick up this article and furrow your brow; maybe this article could really help you out. Afterall, you 're smart enough to look past the stigmas and stereotypes for a moment to see the bigger picture. *** From the federal government 's point of view, …show more content…
*** Also consider the historical context behind this war against marijuana. When the first laws against marijuana use were enacted in 1915, it was a reaction against the Mexican immigrants, the Mormons, and the African American jazz musicians. At a congressional hearing, Texas legislator Harry Anslinger testified, "All Mexicans are crazy, and this stuff [marijuana] is what makes them crazy!" The whole congregation just nodded their heads. If that isn 't blatant racism, then what is? In Utah, half of the Mormons left to Mexico once polygamy was publicly denounced by the head of the church; when these Mormon missionaries came back with their new drug and Mexicans, they were met with harsh criticism and new laws. In 1947, Anslinger wrote in a letter to another legislator, "Jazz musicians aren 't good musicians; we 're going to round the up, but we need more agents." At this time, doctors tested marijuana on dogs (for reasons they couldn 't even explain); congressional hearings lasted twenty minutes at most; women on death row were latching onto the drug as a plea bargain; and after the Korean and Cold Wars, fighting drugs became a campaign to unite the country against a common evil. *** Today, marijuana prohibition symbolizes many things. It 's a way for the US Government to shirk responsibility for social problems like unemployment,
On Nov 8th if you asked Arizona, what is marijuana? About51% of your answers would have shed some sort of negative light on the plant and what it does to your body. After years and years of lies being told to the public by our government America is almost to a point in which the negative stigma surrounding weed can be removed and replaced with an understanding of marijuana and the effects it has on people and potentially society. What many people fail to realize is before the hippies and teenagers got hold of marijuana it was a very prevalent part of the world. From 2737 B.C. to 2016 Marijuana has been used to for numerous reasons: It’s been used to create textiles, ease pain and even just get the occasional high which has been a very common practice throughout history. Weed contains psychoactive materials and creates an intoxicating effect on its user which could very well spark creativity in ones
Over the past few years, the issue of the legalization of marijuana has become a very controversial topic. When confronted with the issue, it feels almost instinctive to feel as though marijuana should forever be illegal. However, when the issue is really dissected and thought about, it becomes apparent that ther
“Police officers in Texas claimed that marijuana incited violent crimes, aroused a ‘lust for blood,’ and gave its users ‘superhuman strength.’ Rumors spread that Mexicans were distributing this ‘killer weed’ to unsuspecting American schoolchildren.” With this information 29 states outlawed marijuana between 1916 and 1931. Then the Marijuana Tax of 1937 pretty much banned it nation wide. “During the mid-1970s, virtually all states softened penalties for marijuana possession,” reports The New York Times. However, the federal government continued to cling, as it does today, “to a policy that has its origins in racism and xenophobia and whose principal effect has been to ruin the lives of generations of people.”
The issue of legalizing marijuana, also known as Cannabis Sativa, has been controversial for a long time, and has become even more so in recent years. Cannabis Sativa is a plant that has been used for a variety of purposes by many cultures for thousands of years. Not only does the Cannabis Sativa plant produce Marijuana, it also produces Hemp. Hemp was used to make food, clothes, shoes, ropes and paper, making it a very useful cash crop. Legal up until 1937, Marijuana was used in America for recreational use, medicinal, and industrial products as well. In the 1960’s the government’s war on all drugs was created putting Marijuana in the same category as Cocaine, Heroin, and Morphine. Today Marijuana remains a
The War on Drugs has continued to be a very large expense ever since President Nixon declared drugs as “public enemy number one” back in 1971. The expenses continue to climb as years go by. Ian Urbina’s New York Times article "Blacks Are Singled Out for Marijuana Arrests, Federal Data Suggests" states that, “In 2010, states spent an estimated $3.6 billion enforcing marijuana possession laws, a 30 percent increase from 10 years earlier. The increase came as many states, faced with budget shortfalls, were saving money by using alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders. During the same period, arrests for most other types of crime steadily dropped,” (Urbina). So not only is upholding the ban on cannabis incredibly costly on a year to year basis, but it also leaves
Growing up, time and time again, we are urged not to do drugs and are told that “drugs are bad for you,” in schools, at home and by many other authority figures. A child typically does not fully understand the reasoning behind this, all they know is that everyone is telling them that drugs are either bad, unhealthy or unsafe without real reasoning. As a child matures, he or she observes people that use drugs even though it is illegal and they do not understand why someone would go against the law and even jeopardize their health to use such drugs. The drug most commonly seen in our culture is marijuana and it is all around everywhere. Marijuana is shown throughout today’s culture in the media that people enjoy such as: movies, music and TV shows, the people using it do not even attempt to hide the fact that they use this substance. Young adults who have personal experience with the drug know its effects on themselves, as well as others, and wonder why it is still illegal. Why is it that this drug has been illegalized across the globe? The debate to legalize marijuana in the United States of America, alone, has been fought over nonstop since the appearance of the drug in the late 30’s. Marijuana has been tested and proven to provide a very positive impact on the American society for several reasons, including economic, medical and crime factors: all of which could very well help America to thrive in the future.
Marijuana is a very prominent and controversial issue in society today. Although many slanderous claims have been made about cannabis in recent history, the truths are slowly starting to resurface. The big question succeeding these truths is if marijuana should be legalized in the United States collectively. Unfortunately, these truths are under a substantial amount of criticism due to the stereotypical view of what people see as the typical “pot smoker.” This twisted perception of a lazy and unmotivated America is the product of almost one hundred years of propaganda and deception spread by private interests who needed cannabis to be illegal for their own personal benefits. When taking into account the positives and negatives of the legalization of marijuana in the United States, the amount of benefits greatly outweigh the costs, making legalization necessary in a
Drugs are a major influential force in our country today. The problem has gotten so out of hand that many people are even considering legalization of one of the most used drugs, marijuana. The legalization of marijuana is a controversial issue that has been fought for and against for several decades. Marijuana is defined as a preparation made from the dried flower clusters and leaves of the cannabis plant, which is usually smoked or eaten to induce euphoria and to heal and soothe. (dictionalr.com)
Prohibition hasn 't stopped the use and domestic production of marijuana so it 's time everyone faced the facts. Marijuana should be legal because punishment such as prohibition or incarceration does not help the country in any way shape or form but in return causes a lot of problems. There is no true good evidence that prohibition or even incarceration decreases the use of drugs or drug dealing. Actually there are many theories that suggest prohibition might actually increase drug use i.e. the "forbidden fruit" effect, and easier accessibility for the youth. Prohibition and incarceration has failed to control the use and domestic production of marijuana. The government has tried to use criminal penalties to prevent marijuana use for more than 75 years and yet marijuana is now being used by over 25 million people every year. Marijuana is currently the largest cash crop in the United States, and marijuana is grown all over the world whether it is grown legal or illegal. Claims that marijuana prohibition is a successful policy are outrageous and very much so unsupported by the facts. Arrests for marijuana possession mostly affect blacks and Hispanics and reinforce many people’s perception that law enforcement is biased and prejudiced against minorities. Blacks account for approximately 13% of the population of the United States and about 13.5%
Weed, bud, ganja, chronic, dro, herbs, grass, trees, pot, reefer; these are all names of the one drug that causes so much dispute, marijuana. Loved by so many, and hated by the law. It’s a two sided argument which everyone has their own opinion on. Is there any specific reason why weed should be illegal, or is the government just making money from catching people with it? Is there any real medical purpose for marijuana, or is it just a gateway drug for kids? These are the questions everyone should know the answers to. Whose side are you on?
Marijuana! What comes to mind when you think about that? Is it a lazy teen sitting on the couch; is it a tool that can be utilized by police to target people of color? Whatever it is that comes to mind when thinking about marijuana you have a stance on whether it should or should not be legalized. Many might deem Marijuana as a gateway drug, or even addicting. Most responses that one hears in the opposition of legalizing marijuana are regurgitated propaganda that has been force fed down the throats of Americans since the elementary days of campaigns like D.A.R.E.. Very seldom is the other side of the argument ever presented let alone spread to the masses. What is the other side of the argument, one may ask? The arguments of those in favor could go on for days; But the arguments that will be focused on will be, the fact that medical research is now debunking a lot of myths surrounding Marijuana usage, how the government uses marijuana as a tool to target people of color and criminalize them, as well as the profitability the government would see legalizing it rather than not.
Think for a minute about alcohol. It's something we are well accustomed to in our every day lives. We associate it with celebrations, parties, relaxation, and many other things that involve leisure. What else do we associate alcohol with? How about drunk driving and the deaths that occur as well. The thought of alcoholism and the destruction of the body as well families might spring in to mind. Now think about marijuana. Pot is something we all have been taught is next to sin. " Pot will make you stupid and lazy." "Pot will ruin your life." These might be a few examples of phrases that accompany the mentioning of the marijuana in any context, and the government has spent a lot of
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.
The United States has been in a financial repression, our economy is at the lowest point it has been in in decades. Currently $33 billion is being spent on the War on Drugs (DrugSense.org). In 2009, over 1,663,582 arrests were made in the year alone, for minor possession charges (DrugSense.org). The economy is unstable and does not have the time of money to spent on issues that are minute to society. The economical standing point is clear, the economy does not need to execute something that has been pitifully downgraded by society. People do not understand that marijuana crops could also be used as a source of income for the economy. In Arizona 1,500 jobs alone will be created due to the medical marijuana industry, but not only will those 1,500 direct jobs will be made due to marijuana growers and dispensary employees, but there could be another possible 5,000 due to indirect jobs like grocery
Do you know what marijuana is? “Marijuana is a drug that is always being talked about all over the media. There is constant debate on whether it should be legalized or not. Also, debate on if it were to be legalized, how would they make it work. All these questions are things the government takes into account every day. There is a big divide between people’s beliefs on this matter. Some people think it should be, others think it shouldn’t, and some think it should be with some modifications on the usage. When you look at the benefits, there is no question that marijuana should be legal throughout the entire country. There are way more positive things that could come out of it being legal. The first reason weed should be legalized is because how many other drugs are legal. Weed is one of a few not too harmful drugs that are illegal.”