Should Marijuana Be Legalized For Recreational Use?

For many years American society, especially our youth, has been bombarderd with a large amount of strong and broad "anti-drug" messages. Much of the time when this message was being broadcasted to people, again especially in the case of young children, it is simplified to just saying "drugs are bad", such as in the famous Public Service Announcment named "This is Your Brain on Drugs". In reality not all illegal drugs are the same, speicfically mairajuana is really not as dangerous as people would assume based on these messages that lump it together with drugs like heroin or cocaine. Beyond just being safer and less addictive than other substances, marijuana should not remain illegal for recreational use because it alleviates some of the pressure on America 's War on Drugs, and the sale of marijuana has become a profitable industry in the places it is legal.

The THC chemical (tetrahydrocannibinol) is the main active ingredient in marijuana that causes its psychological and physical effects on the body. It mainly affects the communications system in the brain and body. Scientists have called this system the endocannibinol system (or EC system). The THC enters the brain and attaches to the cannabinoid receptors. The natural

The United States is facing a new problem that it has not encountered before which is the increasing rate of underage use of marijuana in a volatile legal environment. The fact is that what used to be illegal in all of the United States is now starting to become legal, especially in Colorado and Washington, for both medical and recreational use. While many other states have legalized marijuana use for medical purposes, it is still illegal for anyone to use it recreationally. Marijuana use in adolescences is currently on the rise due to the perception of the drug, in addition to the interest, as of today.

Addiction in America, it is a sad reality that we must pay more attention to. Not only does it destroy and kill lives, it also is hard to treat. When you are addicted for long periods of time, your dependency on it is like having to breath. Without "it" you will die. In America even marijuana which is debatably just as harmful as tobacco and alcohol, can put you in jail from from 1-5 years for possession and 10 to life for selling or growing. Now in some states it is legal for recreational use, so this topic has gained some attention where people in other states have already been in jail for a long time for doing what someone in another state is doing it without consequents. Cocaine, Heroin, Meth, etc. are much more addictive and have harsher punishments. These drugs have been proven that without proper treatment, people can become dependent on them again even after 5-10 years of being sober. In jail the treatment options are minimal, only in some rare cases have private prisons have had a decent rehabilitation success rate. Some states have federally funded rehabilitation sites where instead of jail time from a possession charge, they can go to these rehabs. These rehabs where established to treat individuals from addiction rather than jail time. Doing this was more ideal to lower the people from doing this again and is also very much more cost effective. In a review from the Justice Policy Institute in Maryland, the success rate of completed treatment of ADAA programs is

Legalizing marijuana is the most argumentative issue in United States. It has been discussed for many years. There are many debatable questions that need the final answers such as: Should Marijuana be legalize and taxed? Should medicinal marijuana in all states? Should the issue be addressed at the national or at the state level? Everything has its own pros and cons, so does legalizing marijuana. It can reduce the pain in medical purposes, prevent consumers from consuming marijuana illegally, and develop the United States economic. Marijuana should be legalized in just limited departments, and it should be taxed with high rate because marijuana can seriously bad effect to human’s health when using without controlling, and moreover, the

Colorado attracts millions of tourists every year mostly because of ski resorts, touring and outdoor trips. This list has been enlarged by a legalized access to recreational marijuana in January 2014. People from other states can now stop by marijuana dispensary and purchase up to ¼ ounce of retail marijuana at once. According to the Marijuana Policy Group research, out-of-state visitors purchase 44% of metro area retail demand and about 90% of retail demand in mountain counties. This demand from tourists has increased income of Colorado marijuana dispensaries dramatically. However, as there are only 2 states in the US, which legalized marijuana for recreational use, it is hard to judge whether it is good or bad for our society, but its legalization would definitely have a positive impact on the US economy.

Marijuana is a controversial issue which has come into questionable scrutiny in society today. Although defamatory accusations have been made against the miracle plant, the truths are gradually beginning emerge. The truth, unfortunately, has come under excessive scrutiny due to a bromidic view the public has on a perceived “pot smoker”. This misconception of a lethargic and apathetic America is the by-product of over seventy years of propaganda and deceitfulness spread by private interests who required the plant illegal for their own personal gains. Marijuana presents several positive benefits, such as hemp cultivation, that far outweigh the negative and for that reason action should be taken to legalize it and the first step is

Cannabis also known as Marijuana has become a widely known and controversial topic in the United Sates. It is currently legal for recreational use in Washington, Oregon, and Colorado. Medicinal Marijuana has also been legalized in 11 other states. Many people are against the idea of legalizing marijuana for medical use in all states for reasons such as impaired driving, addiction, and a gate way to other drugs. Others say the pros outweigh the cons in this situation . I believe that marijuana is an effective and safe alternative than most legal drugs that are currently being used in our country and should be legalized in all states for medicinal use.

The American people have been watching Reefer Madness since 1936 while reading the foreword: “Marihuana is that drug - a violent narcotic - an unspeakable scourge - The Real Public Enemy Number One!” Many Americans still believe that marijuana is a highly addictive and life threatening drug. However, there have been zero reported cases of cannabis overdose. Marijuana prohibition and propaganda have caused America to fail to benefit from marijuana legalization. The factors of the consequences of the cannabis ban, organized crime being responsible for the distribution of marijuana, the success of Colorado’s statewide legalization, and the American public becoming less opposed to the proposal of legalizing marijuana are causing America to move forward towards permitting cannabis. All of these reasons determine prohibition of marijuana is failing and causing more devastation than the plant itself. These are legitimate motives to have a nationwide repeal of the federal law which outlaws marijuana use or possession.

I once heard an inmate patient of mine say “Weed might be illegal but that doesn’t make it bad. Is everything that’s legal, good for you?” This statement begs attention when the argument of whether or not marijuana should be legalized is of topic. According to The Foundation for a Drug Free World, marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States; however after years of studies this drug is still illegal in almost all states while alcohol and tobacco continues to claim thousands of lives every year (n.d). Don’t get the wrong idea, this is not to persuade you into thinking that smoking weed or eating a marijuana brownie does not have its disadvantages. However the idea is to get you to understand and see that smoking

Marijuana is the preparation of Cannabis for use as a medicine or drug. Marijuana is a psychoactive drug that “affects brain function, resulting in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior,” (Wikipedia, “Psychoactive Drug.”) these affects I believed were what we call a high. With so many compounds in the drug I wondered which ones were the main causes for getting some one high. After reading more about marijuana, tertrahydrocannabinol or THC was revealed as the compound responsible for getting users high. THC has many effects such as “relaxation, alteration of visual, auditory, and olfactory senses, fatigue, and appetite stimulation” (Wikipedia, "Tetrahydrocannabinol.”) while also treating pain. While studying THC, my main wonder was how much of it was present in marijuana. I learned that THC is actually reduced in marijuana when prepared for medical use. I also learned that marijuana itself has many forms for consumption such as resin and oil, some forms having higher amounts of THC than others.

As of 2013, fifty-eight percent of Americans are in support of marijuana legalization. States are slowly beginning to defy Federal laws and live by their own guidelines regarding medical and recreational use of the product. Yes, technically, every state has its very own right to do as they wish on this law, but at the same time, individuals can still be Federally prosecuted. This causes the public to feel doubt and distrust. Statistics are beginning to show medical benefits, large profits, and a drop in the percentage of violence and other crimes in states that have already chosen to legalize. Individual states deserve the power to legalize marijuana over the Federal Government, and should be given the opportunity to treat their residents

Presently, Marijuana is illegal in the United States due to the racially motivated Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This law was proposed by Harry J. Anslinger the acting commissioner of Federal Bureau of Narcotics. In his testimony to Congress he stated, "There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others" (ukcia.org, (n.d), para. 1). Since this time, the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 has spawned more strict laws that have many unintended side effects. After many decades, effective federal propaganda has won public support for these laws. Only recently, U.S. citizens have started to question why marijuana is illegal. I feel that it would be beneficial to discard these laws and beliefs of the past. We need to analyze how the legalization of marijuana would positively affect the United States and its citizens in the following fields: medical, criminology, and financial.

The Jamestown Settlers where the ones who first brought the Marijuana plant over to North America in 1611. The plant is also commonly known as Hemp to people when it was first introduced. Through the Colonial period in North America hemp fiber was a very important export to this country. In 1762 Virginia would award rewards for those who would cultivate and manufacture the hemp plant. For those who would refuse to produce the hemp plant, faced consequences and penalties. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew the hemp on their plantation farms for recreational and medical uses (Medical Marijuana). The current drug laws are doing more harm than actual good. Decriminalizing Marijuana would have a positive effect on the country and even put a dent in drug cartels operations.

In addition, another benefit in which legalizing drugs can provide would it’s health benefits. This argument is more applicable for the drug, marijuana, as there are many uses for this drug for medicinal purposes. Massachusetts, California and New Jersey are some states that legalize marijuana and use of the drug under certain conditions. A medical condition that marijuana has proven to have shown a positive effect on is cancer. Many patients diagnosed with cancer who experience and have to go under chemotherapy find that marijuana helps in aspects of mood, nausea and vomiting and