The Controversy: The Legalization Of Marijuana

Legalizing marijuana is a concept that can potentially benefit the public as well as the local economies. There has been a nationwide debate on whether marijuana should be legalized or not. The major consensus is that marijuana is not only bad for one’s health, but it is also dangerous to the community. These allegations are not true. Marijuana actually has health benefits that most people overlook. The following essay will address these health benefits in an attempt to present this concept in a way that the audience can better understand how legalizing marijuana can beneficial to an individual health, how it can give an increase to the economy.

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

Some call it ganja, some call it pot, and some call it marijuana. Some smoke ganja to get high and fly , some smoke pot to be stoners, but then they are the people who smoke marijuana to medicate. Legalizing marijuana has been a big controversy for a while. But in 1996 and 2004 California took two steps forward for legalizing marijuana. The first was prop 215 making possessing and cultivating pot legal for medical purposes. The second was an extension on prop 215 which is SB 420 allowing dispensaries or collectives to be open for the distribution of medical marijuana for patients only. To be a patient you have to poses a medical card. Dispensaries have been opening around California since 2004 and still are in the process of opening, but recently dispensaries have been getting shut down. They have been getting shut down due to random raids and no zoning laws. Medical marijuana is a medication for many with severe illnesses or pain. By shutting down dispensaries not only are you taking away access of medication to patients you are taking away jobs.The raids and no zoning laws for dispensaries are unjust not only for the collective owners but also for the patients.

Anslinger also tried to confront the public relations nightmare that resulted from many popular entertainers, such as musicians and Hollywood actors, who were known marijuana smokers. Anslinger warned that there were “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 use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others.” Some jazz musicians even celebrated their marijuana use with songs such as “That Funny Reefer Man” by Cab Calloway, “Gimme a Reefer” by Bessie Smith, and “Muggles” by Louis Armstrong. Accordingly, he kept personal files or “gore files” on many celebrities.

The General perspective that society throws on marijuana is that equal to any drug; negative. However, many researchers have found that the effects of marijuana for medicinal purposes can be beneficial to the right patients, as well as the United States government. The negative effects from marijuana use in a medicinal environment are far less than that of most over the counter drugs, while the benefits remain the same. There are instances in which marijuana was legalized for people with prescriptions from licensed doctors; however, full legalization is leaps and bounds away from the current status. Another way full legalization could help is money the government uses to try and fight marijuana

The topic of medical Marijuana brings much controversy when discussing amongst people that are for it or against it. Medical Marijuana has been the heated topic of discussion for the past few years now mainly for it’s medical benefits and the fight to decriminalize the herb.

Legalization of marijuana has been an extremely controversial topic in the united states, as well as many other countries, for years. There is evidence that marijuana has been consumed since around 2700 B.C. It often served as a substitute for alcohol in the middle east, as the Quran banned followers of Islam from drinking alcohol. Marijuana was first introduced to America in 1545 by the Spanish. The colony of Jamestown used hemp, a variety of marijuana, as a means of creating paper, clothes, and many fibrous materials, creating a fair amount of jobs and income. The production of cotton took over as a cheaper and faster means of making those goods, replacing marijuana. Marijuana was then mostly used for recreational use, sparking clubs called “tea pads” to pop up. The increase in popularity of reefer in the 1920s is often argued to be the spark that birthed jazz music. In the 1930s, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics (now the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs) intended to give marijuana a bad reputation, stating that it is highly addictive, and would lead users into doing other narcotics. It was made illegal in the 1930s to give the alcohol market much more room to grow. Marijuana is now considered a schedule 1 substance, meaning it is very easy to abuse and has no medical value, despite the evidence that it has many potential uses in medicine. It is considered as dangerous as heroin, despite

The article "Common Sense Is Needed in Marijuana Policy." By Cathy Young talks about how Marijuana should be legalized to reduce crime rates because experts believe that if marijuana were to become legalized it will reduce the amount of drug dealers, which would then get rid of many crimes revolving around narcotics. The legalization of marijuana would lead to less possession charges if it were legal to carry and it would reduce the smuggling process if marijuana were legal to grow in the United

The controversy of legalizing marijuana has been raging for quite a while in America. From some people pushing it for medical purposes to potheads just wanting to get high legally. Marijuana has been used for years as a popular drug for people who want to get a high. All this time it has been illegal and now it looks as if the drug may become legal. There has been heated debate by many sides giving there opinion in the issue. These people are not only left wing liberals either. Richard Brookhiser, a National Review Senior editor is openly supportive of medical marijuana yet extremely conservative in his writing for National Review (Brookhiser 27). He is for medical marijuana since he used it in

Marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance and is a mood – altering drug that can produce a calm feeling. Marijuana contains THC, otherwise known as, tetrahydrocannabinol. The plant can be smoked, brewed, eaten, etc. Marijuana also has medical use for pain management, and other chronic conditions, such as cancer. “Cannabis can be traced back to 2900 BC to the Chinese Emperor Fu His” (Davis, 2015). There are positive and negative aspects about this “drug” and what it is capable of doing. However, through the eyes of the media, and the public forming their own opinions about it, it seems to have raised some moral and ethical issues.

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. Unfortunately, these truths are under heavy criticism due to the stereotypical view of what people view as the typical “pot smoker.” This skewed perception of a lazy and unmotivated American is the result of over seventy years of propaganda and misinformation spread by private interests who relied on illegal cannabis illegal from their own personal gains. As a marijuana consumer and a current medical marijuana patient, I strongly believe that marijuana should be legalized for all users. Currently in the United States today, marijuana is

"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

The use of marijuana by Americans has been no secret; over the past century whether it has been legalized or not. It has only recently become a huge controversial issue in America in the past several decades. Marijuana was not outlawed in the United States until the 1930’s. By 1931, 29 US states had outlawed marijuana, but it wasn't until 1937, when congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act, that the drug effectively became criminalized. In the early 1900’s marijuana was seen as an evil drug associated with Mexican immigrants; terrible crimes were attributed to marijuana and the Mexicans that used it. It wasn't until the 1960’s that attitudes towards marijuana became more relaxed. The drug started to be used for recreational fun in the white upper middle class. In the 70’s the drug took flight across the nation. With music festivals such as Woodstock and peace movements during the Vietnam War the drug became very popular. In 1996 California became the first state to legalize the medical use of marijuana with the passing of Proposition 215. Within the following years several states began to decriminalize marijuana, and legalize marijuana for medical use, but it wasn't until last year that the states of Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana for recreational use. With many states changing the laws on the use of marijuana it beings a problem for the federal government being that federally marijuana is still illegal. The use of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes

The medical use of marijuana has been a discussion that has been in the news and all around us recently. This is currently a hot topic of interest. There is an enormous amount of evidence that marijuana could be effect against many things. For example evidence shows it could be used to help relieve pain during chemotherapy, but along with this there is also evidence that at times marijuana can cause harm to someone as well. As nurses we must see each side of the debate to make our care for our patients sounder. One quote that directly applies to this topic, which is very important, was written in the Journal of Clinical Nursing:

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.