The Classification of Cannabis Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971

This report provides an analysis and evaluation of the current law in Scotland regarding cannabis. It provides information and statistics about the potential medical benefits from cannabis use. However, in turn it shows research indicating the mental and physical harm the drug can cause. The aim of this report was to answer the question: “Should cannabis be legalised in Scotland?”. Through the information presented and questioned, Scotland or the UK in general should look to legalise or decriminalise cannabis, as there is a wide array of medical benefits that cannabis can provide for those in pain. Substances such as alcohol and tobacco are legal, yet they are behind a substantial number of deaths and ailments throughout Scotland every year.

Hall & Degenhardt explain in this article how marijuana has caused adverse health effects on non-medical cannabis usage in the United States. This article observes how the younger generation has caused an epidemic in the high income countries. These two authors researched through the past 10 years that the young generation that use marijuana for non-medical reasons cause problems and obstacles in their adulthood. They used several studies and observed the fact of public health’s

Marijuana has falsely been said to be highly addictive. Tobacco and alcohol have proven to be far more addictive than we are told. A comparative risk assessment using the margin of exposure(MOE) approach was taken to demonstrate the risk factor of many different drugs. MOE tested a wide range of substances: heroin, cocaine, cannabis, tobacco, and alcohol. In short, MOE: “Specifically, the results confirm that the risk of cannabis may have been overestimated in the past.” The four main substances that were

One of the ways the government fits into how we classify using concepts is by altering our perception and in the process effecting the way we classify things and people. The government often does this through the laws and regulations that they create. High standing government officials that garner a great deal of respect may also alter our perceptions through speeches that they make. Sometimes the government and officials are trying to alter our perceptions in an attempt to make us classify things the way that they do, while other times our altered perceptions are an unintended consequence. Whether the altering of our perceptions is intentional or not it can and does affect the way that we classify things and people.

According to a report put out by the British Police Foundation in March 2000, cannabis has been shown to produce less harmful effects than its other legal counterparts such as alcohol and tobacco. This kind of information calls into sharper focus the question on the minds of many as to why such a plant that is not only less harmful than legal drugs but has significant health benefits has remained illegal.

Marihuana use for medical practices can be traced back to 2800 BCE (Heilig, S., 2011), and since then the plant has travelled around the world with each culture using the properties of the plants for different medical and recreational purposes. In Canada “a recent survey of Canadians over age 14 found that 44% reported using cannabis at least once in their lifetime” (The Legal History and Cultural Experience of Cannabis, 2017). In Health Canada’s 2015 ‘Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey’ reported 24% of the 12% of Canadians who used cannabis in the past year did so for medical uses (Health Canada, 2017). Of concern, is use among youth as “adolescents are particularly at risk for marijuana-related harms since their brains are undergoing

"Marijuana is the second most popular drug after alcohol in the country today. So many people smoke marijuana that the numbers alone seem to legitimize and condone its presence in people's lives. Yet, even in moderation marijuana is not 'safe.' Somehow this information had not filtered down to people who think they are smoking a fairly innocuous drug. Our society perpetuates the myths about pot being a fun, harmless, recreational drug. These myths feed into people's denial of marijuana's problems" (Baum 6). However, the abuse of marijuana is a problem. It is not only a personal problem, but also more importantly a social problem. Throughout history marijuana has been used to serve various purposes in many

Monaghan, Mark. 'Policy analysis: Drug Policy Governance in the UK: Lessons from changes to and debates concerning the classification of cannabis under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act.'?International Journal of Drug Policy,25, 2014, pp.1025-1030.

In the span of 2013-14 the reports of drugs in Australia increased. There were record high reporting’s of many types of illicit drugs at the border patrol. Furthermore, many other illicit drugs had their second highest reporting in history. Cannabis is the most common drug in Australia. The number of detections of cannabis in 2013-2014 decreased, but the total weight of detected cannabis at the border control increased dramatically and was the biggest cannabis find in the last decade (Australian Drug Commission 2014). In the draft for the National Drug Strategy 2016-2025 cannabis is mentioned as a priority drug as it is the most common used illegal drug (Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs 2015). As the recent news that the Australian government is planning to legalise growing of medical cannabis there a gap in the policy of how to regulate medical cannabis and cannabis used as an illicit drug (Yaxley 2015).

Living in the 21st Century, a majority of the laws and regulations that guide our daily lives have already been legitimized and written decades ago. Although a large portion of these laws still exist today, there is always need to revise and rewrite laws. In this article I will talk about the myths and beliefs of marijuana and compare them to reliable sources to form an opinion on whether or not marijuana is a relatively safe drug for medical and recreational use along with the physical and social effects to the user and their environment. Regard, this paper will not focus on any other associated topics such as the price of prisons, annual marijuana dispensary revenue, drug trafficking or law policy’s. However many of the used articles compare and contrast the use of alcohol to cannabis.

The article included peer-reviewed literature to assess the risk of cannabis-related mortality. Searches were limited to individuals from January 1990 to January 2008. The focus was on mortality associated with cannabis use or dependence. Cannabis exposure varied across the study. It compared heavy use (50 or more times per year or more than 10 joints in a year) or weekly to light use (less than weekly) and no use at all. The review included all-cause mortality, car accidents, cancer and suicidal behaviors.

Cannabis is becoming increasingly widespread and increasingly common in modern-day society for both recreational use and for medication. The article by Craig Reinarman, ‘Criminalisation, legalisation and the mixed blessing of medicalisation in the USA’ generates many controversial issues of cannabis.

In the UK currently committees of inquiry have encouraged the prescription of cannabis (Hall & Degenhardt, 1) But we know that the rest of the United States and other various places have yet to establish these laws.

Currently drug abuse is the issue that has plagued almost all the societies in the world. This problem poses serious threat to the life of people both in developed and underdeveloped countries. There are different kinds of drugs such as heroin, cocaine, cannabis, hallucinogens, ecstasy, and methamphetamine and so on (McGeorge & Aitken, 1997). Young and age-old people largely use many of these drugs. People usually consider these drugs as a relief from their worries, but these drugs lead them towards addition and psychotic disorders that eventually destroy their health. Legislative authorities in almost every part of the world have been trying to save their generations from the abuse, but the use of these drugs never ended. However, these legislations help to minimize the numbers of drug users where their implementation is done properly (Hall et al., 2004). The aim of this research paper is to provide knowledge about the Cannabis Legalization in Australia and the people’s approach who favor or oppose this legalization. Cannabis drug use, impacts, cannabis legalization in Australia and its advantages and disadvantages will also

For centuries cannabis has been used for medical and spiritual healing across the world and is believed to have originated in Asia over 12,000 years ago. Cannabis was criminalised in the UK in 1928 as a part of the Dangerous Drugs Act (1920). The act was a necessity after Britain signed the 1925 Geneva International Convention of Narcotics Control. A proposition to include Cannabis in the 1925 agenda came from Turkey and Egypt with Egyptian delegate Mohamed El Guindy claiming amongst other concerns that “the proportion of cases of insanity caused by the use of hashish varies from 30 to 60 per cent of the total number of cases occurring in Egypt.” (1924) The British delegate initially abstained from voting and suggested further investigation is required nonetheless he signed the act in the end.  At the time in Britain, there was no parliamentary debate and there was little to no opposition of cannabis use, prohibitionist campaigners spent their time and resources campaigning against alcohol and cocaine consumption.