Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

Since the 1970’s, marijuana has been an extremely controversial drug. While some argue that it does not harm to your body, and can do good in the world, others classify it as a “gateway” drug. As the number states in the U.S. legalize the drug increases, 26 to be exact, the debate is only getting more heated. Also known as weed, cannabis, dope, etc., marijuana has been scientifically proven to do good in the medical world, be safer than alcohol and tobacco, and increase a growth in our economy.

This paper will look at the benefits and drawbacks to legalizing marijuana by looking in at Colorado.The state made forty million dollars by taxed marijuana in 2014 alone, also Colorado saved countless millions because of the extremely lower amounts of marijuana arrest and court cases. It is not clear how having new recreational marijuana stores opening will affect the cannabis market, or businesses expanding around them. Gov. John Hickenlooper says that the economy is thriving with record setting numbers of tourists (73.1 million). 49 percent of those tourist said that legal marijuana influenced their decisions to vacation in Colorado. The ER’s in Colorado have also seen a rise in numbers of marijuana related cases and those cases in non-residents have almost doubled. An unexpected situation that arose from legal cannabis was the amount of electricity that is being use to grow the drug. Some cannabusinesses have to go green with solar or wind power. There are many varying views on the effects of legal marijuana have developed in Colorado since marijuana became legal in 2014.

Since the first efforts to legalize marijuana in the 1960s, Americans have become progressively more accepting of requests to liberalize laws restricting possession and use of marijuana, but the shift has not been a straight line. After 11 states decriminalized marijuana possession in the 1970s, recoil led by suburban parents led too much harsher implementation of drug laws. But since California legalized medical marijuana in 1996, outlooks toward the drug have relaxed significantly.("A Brief History of Public Opinion on Marijuana Legalization.")

Glaucoma is an eye disease that causes pressure in the eyeball leading to the optic nerve becoming damages and causing vision loss. Marijuana helps the chance of by decreasing the eye pressure and slow the progression of the disease lessening the chance of blindness. Another serious issue that cannabis is showing great help with is presently seizures caused by epilepsy or Dravet’s Syndrome. The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) controls the brain cells that are responsible for relaxation and excitability helping to rest the body from future epileptic seizures.

Should marijuana be legalized? Many Americans have been asked this question or have heard some type of news about the issue. Marijuana is commonly known as cannabis which refers to the dried up hemp plant cannabis sativa, even though marijuana is a plant and has no chemical additives it has been a tropic of controversy for many years but nowadays it is in the spotlight more than ever. For centuries, marijuana has been used by people throughout the world for religious, recreational and medical use. A few countries like the Netherlands and Uruguay have already legalized marijuana for recreational use and many other countries are taking a step towards doing so. Is it finally time for the United States to take a closer look into possibly legalizing marijuana. Marijuana should be legalized for medical and recreational purposes because it would aid in the War on drugs, it would become an important source of revenue for the government and reduce overpopulation of American jails.

To legalize or to not legalize drugs, that is the popular question lately. The current repeat visitor to each states legislative sessions is making marijuana legal. Currently in the United States there are twenty states with legal medical marijuana and the District of Columbia. Out of those twenty only Colorado and Washington have also legalized marijuana for recreational use. When it comes to legalizing drugs marijuana appears to be the most popular one being advocated for. However, does that leave the door open for other drugs to be advocated for as well? Should they all be legalized or just a select few?

One of the primary focuses of Americas war on drugs is the controversial drug, marijuana. Marijuana also called cannabis, pot, mary jane, weed comes from the dying and shedding of the leaves seeds , flower and stem of cannabis sativa also known as the hemp plant. Cannabis has been used for over 10000 years and it still remains one of the widely sought illicit drug. An estimated 2.4 million people try it and approximately 25 million people use Marijuana making it in the most successful cash crop in the United State of America. This plant is known to be a drug that gives users a “high” and is illegal in almost every location of the world. . Although many slanderous claims have been made about cannabis in recent history,

Marijuana or cannabis is a preparation of the cannabis plant intended for use as a hallucinatory drug and a medicine as well. The principal hallucinatory constituent of marijuana is Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. Twenty three states and the District of Columbia has legalized marijuana for medical or recreational purposes in the United States. Legalizing marijuana has many benefits to it. Not only has marijuana been proven to counter act some symptoms of cancer and other diseases, it can also boost the economy and increase tax revenues. Along with all these things legalizing marijuana can also lesson crime rate and allow police and federal agents to focus

“There’s nothing new about cannabis, of course. It’s been around humankind pretty much forever. In Siberia charred seeds have been found inside burial mounds dating back to 3000 B.C. The Chinese were using cannabis as a medicine thousands of years ago. Marijuana is deeply American too—as American as George Washington, who grew hemp at Mount Vernon. For most of the country’s history, cannabis was legal, commonly found in tinctures and extracts” (Sides). This is how the national geographic article “Science Seeks To Unlock Marijuana’s Secrets” by Hampton Sides was opened. Very good opening sentences that provide a good idea of marijuana and a little history on it as well. There are many problems in todays society, but the argument of

Each state has their own regulations and laws about the usage of marijuana. In recent years, many states have passed laws to legalize the usage, purchase, and sale of marijuana. The District of Columbia passed a law to legalize the growth and possession of the drug, but not the sale. Currently, nearly half of the states have legalized the use of medicinal marijuana for patients that qualify for it. However, there is still a federal law prohibiting this drug. These people who have medical reasons and qualify through doctor evaluations, can still face federal offenses even though it is legal in the state. If there is a drug out there to aid people dealing with a disease that could be cured by using this drug why are there so many people against it?

Many of you have your own opinion on whether marijuana should be legalized or not, for recreational or medical use. Marijuana has been looked down on by federal governments since before 1915, when Utah passed the first anti-marijuana law. Since then, the black market (illegal trade) has become extremely violent causing the crime rate to skyrocket over the years. The black market is based off of a variety of illegal, dangerous drugs. Marijuana differs from other drugs because of its medical advantage. Pulling marijuana out of the black market trade and selling it through dispensaries has the potential to change our society for the better, having marijuana being sold and taxed safely in a retail store. It will also help the people who use marijuana as their medicine over other prescription drugs that have harmful side effects and killer withdrawal symptoms. My point is to inform you of the medical advantages of legalizing marijuana. There are many questions relating to marijuana since most of the time people only hear the negative aspects of the schedule I substance. This paper will begin with some history on the controversial event of legalizing marijuana, then go into how exactly the herb helps people, an inside look at dispensaries, and a comparison of marijuana to prescription drugs.

The legalization of marijuana is a controversial topic within today’s society. It is commonly debated upon during election time. Many states are trying to legalize marijuana, while others are firmly against it. As people in the United States vote for their political leaders, they are also voting on whether or not to support bills such as those that legalize marijuana. There are several states that have already legalized recreational use of marijuana such as Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Maine, California, Massachusetts, Nevada and the District of Columbia. Some states condone recreational use but have endorsed medical usage. A total of 27 states have medical providers that are currently prescribing marijuana to patients for a variety of medical purposes. The legalization of marijuana in Kentucky would be a tremendous mistake because it is harmful to the body, it leads to increased crime rates, it can ruin a person’s life, and legal regulation will be extremely difficult.

The NIH (National Institute of Health) is one of the many advocates for medicinal marijuana. They claim that marijuana may be helpful in the alleviation of chemotherapy, to reduce nausea and enable the patients to eat. The drug also helps in the stimulation of appetite and reduction of the loss of lean muscle mass in AIDS patients. These AIDS victims also find that the drug also helps with the “wasting syndrome” that often characterizes the terminal illness. It has also been proven it can prevent epileptic seizures.(Potter, 1998) In addition, marijuana aids in the reduction of interlobular fluid pressure in the eyes caused by glaucoma, which can causes serious damage to vision, and in some cases can lead to blindness. Migraine sufferers have found relief form their headaches, and victims of spinal injuries and multiple sclerosis reported that marijuana controlled their spasms.(Randall, 1998)

The most common used drug is cannabis, mostly known as marijuana. Manijuana has been around for many years. Mostly all high school students have tried marijuana, some like it and get addicted as for others they might try it and not like it at all. In today’s society some kids have even tried it as early as middle school. Marijuana is a drug that’s been around for many years, and it is still very common. Some people use it for pleasure others use it for health reasons.

Cannabis, formally known as marijuana is a drug obtained from the tops, stems and leaves of the hemp plant cannabis. The drug is one of the most commonly used drugs in the world. Only substances like caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are used more (“Marijuana” 1). In the U. S. where some use it to feel “high” or get an escape from reality. The drug is referred to in many ways; weed, grass, pot, and or reefer are some common names used to describe the drug (“Marijuana” 1). Like most drugs, marijuana has a very long history. People have been using the plant around the world for thousands of years. The oldest record of the marijuana plant dates back to 2727 B. C. in China where the plant was used as a medical herb for treating conditions like rheumatism, gout, malaria and even absent-mindedness (“Cannabis, Coca, & Poopy: Nature’s Addictive Plants” 1). Slowly, the plant started spreading around the world. By 1545, cannabis was starting to appear throughout the western worlds. Being introduced to South America by the Spanish to be used as fiber. The crop also had many other common uses around the world. In North America, cannabis was often used to make paper, ropes, clothing and other materials (“The Origins of Cannabis” 1).