Persuasive Essay On Legalizing Marijuana

In America there are a lot of problems, ranging from violence to obesity. A growing concern of many Americans is the drug “epidemic” with the growth of the war on drugs. Marijuana, throughout history, has been demonized and illegalized, however now a newfound acceptance of the drug is growing rapidly with some states fully legalizing the drug recreationally, and others medically.

Marijuana is a very controversial and obtrusive issue in our society today. Although many have made malicious remarks about it in the past, and even still in the present, the truth and beneficial facts of marijuana are finally resurfacing. Unfortunately, our society has become a very critical crowd towards the legalization of marijuana due to the stereotypical view of the kind of people who are considered

Marijuana use is on the rise, especially among teenagers and young adults. With the recent laws passed in eight states about legalizing medical marijuana , many stand divided when it comes to this never ending debate, but I firmly believe that this miracle working drug should be legalized throughout the United States.

The use of medical marijuana (slang: Acapulco gold, ace, bhang, cannabis, hash, dope, ganja, grass, weed, hashish oil, hemp, home-grown, honey oil, indica, Jamaican roach, sativa, sinse, sinsemilla, tea, weed oil) has a been a major topic of debate for countless years. People all around the United States have seen propaganda of some sort regarding the legalization of marijuana. For example, with the ongoing discussion of legalization throughout the states, it’s abruptly mentioned in the news, everyday conversations, school topics for debate, and within stories of social media. In the article, “Is marijuana prohibition coming to an end”, Michelle Johnson a North Carolina journalist, states “Legalizing marijuana for a medical or recreational

Marijuana can be used by the public for many purposes. Medicine is an important part of our lives and marijuana has been tested to cure cancerous cells as well as help people with their epilepsy. Using marijuana for medical purposes is one major aspect that people should take into consideration for legalizing it. Marijuana’s market has also been brought to many people’s attention because it has been poised to grow faster than smart phones. Together, these reasons have been more than enough for people to consider legalizing marijuana.

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/ )

There is one big problem about the testing of marijuana; the government still classifies it as illegal. They refuse to put it down to a schedule two drug along with cocaine and morphine which they classify as having medical value. Maia Szalavitz of Time magazine compared the addiction rate of marijuana users against tobacco and other hard drugs. She stated, “Marijuana is much less addictive, coming in at 9% to 10%. In contrast, 23% to 25% of heroin users get addicted, along with 15% of alcohol users and 15% to 20% of those who use cocaine.” Nicotine in cigarettes addicts about up to 30% of those who smoke, along with being more harmful to the body according to Robert Melamede. Marijuana seems like it would be a legitimate candidate for medicinal use country wide when compared to alcohol which is legal, cocaine, and morphine which have accepted medical use but also can be more harmful to the user.

Flyers and posters were placed everywhere reading “Marijuana a puff- a party- a tragedy! Assassin of Youth(marijuana).” All sharing one common goal: convincing the public of the abominable drug that marijuana was being presumed to be. Then came the grand slam, the Reefer Madness film. The film’s main focus was how badly the teenage marijuana users were affected by the drug. These adolescents became unexplainably violent and deranged. The film even showed an extremely irrational behaviors, like suicide, because of how “potent” the high was. The movie was successfully advertised and pushed to be seen. Quickly after, this falsified idea of marijuana spread across the US like wildfire and its information was absorbed. Generation after generation carried on these false interpretations on cannabis. All medical miracles and its obvious economical benefits were lost due to blind ignorance and lack of knowledge.

Given stark figures like numbers of cannabis smokers and amount of money spent to keep stoners in jail, it seems ludicrous to argue that prohibition of cannabis be maintained. Yet despite of all the credible scientific, medical and sociological reports indicating that cannabis prohibition is damaging, or, at least, not helping the nation, public opinion of U.S. residents is counter. This can be attributed to the multi-million-dollar propaganda campaign waged by the government and the anti-drug industrial complex. It may not surprise you to learn that major sponsors of D.A.R.E. and similar (mis)education and advertising (propaganda) campaigns are often alcohol and tobacco companies! The opposing opinion that cannabis should not be legalized is often based on erroneous and outrageously wrong evidence. Statements that cannabis is a "gateway" drug, that it "causes" schizophrenia and

Scotts is entering an extremely controversial market of semi-legal marijuana. According to the article, only sixteen states approved laws to legalize marijuana for medical reasons. 68% of the U.S. states have not legalized marijuana and still disapprove of its use. Scotts will need to pursue a unique public relations strategy to address such potential concerns about growing marijuana. Scotts will need to build an awareness and credibility to its product and promote its benefits in the new market. It will carefully need to choose its messages and vehicles to deliver them. Its communication mix will have to defend the product in the new market and advocate the medical benefits it will create and generate.

Marijuana has been one of the hot topics in America and is yet to still be looked down upon by the media and government. One example of this is a poster for a 1942 movie called “Devil’s Harvest”. It’s a tale that has been highly fictionalized and exaggerated on the use of marijuana and justice taken to stop the spread of marijuana around the nation. In other words, an investigator goes on a hunt to take down marijuana dealers. Though marijuana is looked down upon and is also illegal in many states, it is in some ways still a beneficial medicinal substance in ways such as reducing nausea during chemotherapy. But the nation or, more specifically, the government, does notice a lot of recreational use by mostly teens and higher ages who get arrested on average of 800,000 people every year. This poster not only advertises to the audience about the movie but also gives the evil eye on marijuana in society. It could be portrayed as a warning to marijuana users and to others to keep an eye out for the “devil’s harvest.”

The trend in the medical cannabis industry can be identified as one of growth as a direct influence of the decline in stigma. This decline is represented by the loosening of laws, legalising medical cannabis use as seen in Australia introduction of legislation in favour of it (Thompsen, 2016). Also, the nature of medical cannabis itself contributes to this decline as it is not a traditional remedy to medical issues listed in figure 2. Since it is a step away from traditional forms of medicine such those treating mental illness as it medical cannabis can be administered in a variety of ways to suit everyone, for example through food. Since medical cannabis is not legalised worldwide, its geographic segmentation is limited consequently. Hence in recognition of a limited segment, a competitive industry can be surmised and approached effectively a head of time. Also, the demographic segmentation is broadened to people of all ages. In order to be effective within the medical cannabis industry, the need to differentiate from competitors is key. This can be accomplished through the market targeting strategy, market specialisation, where a variety of needs are catered to in a specifically segment – In this case, the demographic segment. This is because medical cannabis is predominately seen as

Marketing Marijuana in Colorado takes place in the middle part of 2014, which weighs the activities of the first six months, subsequent the legalization of marijuana for recreational use, and the evolution from medical dispensaries to recreational retail stores. As of August 2014 Colorado had 501 medical marijuana dispensaries, 152 medical edible makers, 66 retail edible manufacturers, and 732 medical and 293 recreational marijuana growers. Authors John A. Quelch and David Lane (2014), evaluate marijuana’s effect on health, state and federal regulations, and growth opportunities in Colorado.

There are so many misconceptions about marijuana that a lot of people are not aware of. For example, people have always said that marijuana can cause brain cancer or smoking marijuana is worse than smoking cigarettes. Studies have shown that marijuana use has no sign of changes in the brain structure and is not associated with effects on the pulmonary function (Poindexter “12” par 7 and 11). Another misconception that people have about marijuana is that it is known as a

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.