The Issue Of Legalizing 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.

Thesis Statement: Marijuana has been regarded as a harmful plant that can endanger lives and is thought to be nothing more than an extra problem to be dealt with in today’s society. However, based on its economic value and medical benefits, the cannabis has proven to outweigh its negatives with numerous other positives.

Also, marijuana can be seen as being addictive in nature. “Approximately 9% of individuals that use marijuana become addicted” (Marijuana Statistics). Marijuana contains many chemicals, such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which can cause many positive and negative effects to the human body and brain. A major attribute for medical marijuana is the economic advantages that are produced from the distribution of the drug. Also, the legalization of medical marijuana can portray positive and negative outcomes for law enforcement. Therefore, medical marijuana has many positive effects, such as treatment for diseases, and negative effects, such as immune system suppression. Throughout this research paper, medical marijuana will be thoroughly explained to exemplify the advantages and disadvantages of legalizing the

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

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 United States is splitting up into two sides with the date of 4/20 coming closer with one wanting the legalization of the plant substance and the other opposing it. According to the United Nations, 158.8 million people around the world use marijuana—more than 3.8% of the planet’s population. Marijuana was legalized on the 20th of April in Colorado in 2014. It has been legalized in various other states such as: Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. The question is, is the legalization of marijuana good for the United States, and how does it affect the economy? The people that are

In this research paper, we will be discussing one specific herb, Marijuana, as there are many misconceptions around it rendering it illegal, and we will attempt to argue with its unfounded illegality. What is Marijuana? Where, how and why is it consumed? What are recurrent misconceptions? First, we will be talking about the origins of the plant and where it is mainly found and grown, then we’ll be discussing the various uses for it and its effects on consumers, to finish off with its legality and position in today’s

"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

Medicine is akin to controversy in many areas that are seen to conflict with the law with currently marijuana being a hot topic. While medical practitioners see it as medical marijuana, in the eyes of the law it is still illegal in many states. According to FindLaw (2012), in medical practice, medical marijuana is described as the use, possession and cultivation for medical purposes. In this case it is recommended for terminally ill patients suffering from chronic pain and symptoms of terminal ailments.

Does it really come to morality after all? The decision to legalize marijuana has been subject for debate since first introduced in 1969; many arguing the fact that we are sitting on an industry worth an estimated 113 billion dollars. For once we have an opportunity to make a real impact in our economy. We have an aid on “the war on drugs”. But are we then showing our children that legalizing drugs is really the answer to our problems or does only the big picture mater in the end? Will this bring for a stronger, richer nation or will this bring us down to our knees.

Oscar Wilde once said, “Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace.” This is indeed what is required when it comes to the lately controversial issue of legalizing cannabis. Of course, several states have publicly legalized marijuana to the extent of medical use (with the exception of Colorado as it legalized both medical and recreational use). If something with a notoriously high capacity for abuse is forbidden but more and more exceptions are being made until everyone starts experimenting with it, we’ve got a problem on our hands. Although there are any number of reasons you can come with as to why marijuana should not be legalized, the bottom line includes: its scientifically proven negative effects on health, the threat it

Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in America behind only alcohol and tobacco, and is estimated that nearly 80 million Americans use it at least one occasion.   According to government surveys, some 20 million Americans have smoked marijuana in the past year, and more than 11 million do so regularly despite harsh laws against its use. Being used for medicinal purposes or simply for recreational, there are not only laws to consider when the topic of legalization comes up but also ethical concerns as well. For this paper I will outline some of the uses for this drug and some of the benefits of its use. I will apply the

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.

Although there are few, cons of medical marijuana do exist. Those who are against medicinal marijuana are very passionate against it. One thing we do know about medical marijuana is if we it was to become legal statewide it would have to