The Statewide Legalization Of Marijuana

The statement “marijuana is a lot safer than alcohol” cannot go unchallenged and should be debated. One important subject is the risk that marijuana use (especially in young adults) can lead to some kinds of mental illness. “Studies support findings that risk of schizophrenia doubles in young abusers” (U.S. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 2009). According to Joseph Califano Jr., CASA founder and chairman of Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) “If we were to make marijuana legal and taxed it, for approximately every dollar of tax revenue, there could be as much as seven dollars incurred in medical costs”.

Many people from all around the world believe that marijuana is an addictive drug that has ruined the lives of millions. The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that more than 37,000 annual U.S deaths are the effects of alcohol alone. Alternatively, there is not even a category for the deaths caused by marijuana. Many of us think that marijuana kills brain cells but studies show teens that use marijuana as well as alcohol suffered significantly less damage to the white blood cells in their brains. Alcohol use contributes to aggressive and violent behavior while marijuana will only make a person feel more comfortable. “Alcohol is clearly the drug with the most evidence to support a direct intoxication, violent relationships, whereas cannabis reduces the likelihood of violence during intoxications” (Shuette, 2013). The government does not even track violent acts specifically related to marijuana use. Marijuana and alcohol should be switched where marijuana is legal and alcohol is not because it will benefit people more than alcohol will.

In order to gain an understanding of marijuana's so called "harmful" negative effects; it should be compared to other drugs that are presently legalized in this country. In the pharmaceutical world, over-the-counter drugs are being prescribed for everything these days. Ritalin and Adderall are readily available for college students in the university health centers across the country. Kids are staying up all night studying, complaining that they can not pay attention, and are immediately referred to the prescription drugs which in many cases they do not even need. Along with the prescription drug problem in our nation, we have a serious issue concerning alcohol and tobacco. Alcoholism is killing people daily with liver malfunctions

Beginning in the 1830’s, temperance movements began pushing for abstinence from alcohol. The wartime Prohibition Act was passed in 1918 in order to save grain for the war effort. A year later, the 18th amendment was ratified and went into effect on the federal level. This outlaw of alcohol gave rise to an organized network of crime, including gangsters like Al Capone and speakeasies (Kelly). The Prohibition was meant to keep people away from the negative effects of drinking (Esler, Ellis

In the 1920s, the 18th Amendment banned a person's right to manufacture and purchase liquor. Banning the transportation, manufacture,and sale of intoxicating beverages was known as prohibition, the most fought over law of the 1920’s. Prohibition was firmly backed by the government and the women in the United States that were also being abused. Important groups of

The rise of mass disobedience to prohibition took the amendment’s supporters by surprise. Working class consumption moved from the saloon to the home, backyard stills and bathtub gin replaced the mass-produced alcoholic items that were no longer available and those who could afford to flocked to speakeasies. All of those who produced booze at home or partook of the glamour and glitz of the speakeasy were breaking the law, but doing so was considered chic and to a large percentage of Americans a perfectly acceptable thing to do. Society culture largely ignored the act while immigrant and working-class culture was unduly affected by the act. The closure of all alcohol-related businesses was a reason for a rise in unemployment. People were struggling to feed their own families and were forced to turn towards the trade of illegal alcohol. Making booze was a quick and easy method during hard times to feed your family. Turning the unemployed bar workers, restaurant workers, brewery workers, distillery workers, and the packaging and delivery people into criminals for doing what had prior been their lawful profession.

In the 1920’s they passed the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution that made drinking illegal. This Amendment was more commonly known as the Prohibition; because of this new law, they arrested anyone who they found drinking or selling alcohol, which turned out to be a lot of people. The over populated courtrooms and jail cells became too much to handle and some courts were reluctant to find the defendants guilty. Soon enough alcohol was being smuggled into parties and the police could barely do anything about it. In the article “Prohibition and Its Effects” Lisa states, “People who could afford the high price of smuggled liquor flocked to speakeasies and gin joints. These establishments could be quite glamourous.Whereas

When you think about the 1920’s you probably think gangsters, jazz clubs, sports, and movies. But in actuality it was one of the first times “that put the rights of the individual in conflict with the demands of society or the state” (Lerner). This conflict was over the eighteenth amendment, also known as the Prohibition Act. Prohibition “banned the production, transport and sale (but not the private possession or consumption) of intoxicating liquors” (“Digital History”).

Ever since marijuana’s introduction to the United States of America in 1611, controversy of the use and legalization of the claimed-to-be Schedule I drug spread around the nation. While few selective states currently allow marijuana’s production and distribution, the remaining states still skepticize the harmlessness and usefulness of this particular drug; therefore, it remains illegal in the majority of the nation. The government officials and citizens of the opposing states believe the drug creates a threat to citizens due to its “overly-harmful” effects mentally and physically and offers no alternate purposes but creating troublesome addicts hazardous to society; however, they are rather misinformed about marijuana’s abilities. While

The state of Colorado has now voted for the use of pot in bars and restaurant. Indeed the use was not possible apart in some

On January 17, 1920, the 18th Amendment to the constitution of the United States of America took effect. The 18th Amendment had been ratified a year earlier, banning “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors”(Okrent, 1) within the United States and its territories. This new decade is called the Prohibition. The prohibition is the era of bizarre and engaging images of speakeasies, intoxicated flappers dancing the Charleston, bootleggers, and mobsters protecting illegal trades. Daniel Okrent seeks to explain the build up to the era, passage of the 18th Amendment, the public 's activities in the age of Prohibition, the ultimate repeal of the law by the 21st Amendment, and the final outcomes.

Cristian Diaz Mrs. Ridgley English III Honors 30 April 2015 Prohibition in the 1920’s By the 1920’s the U.S economy was thriving. The consumption of alcohol was rising exponentially. As the use of alcohol rose, so did the danger that came along with it.

In the 1920’s there was a lot of crime. People thought that the reason for this crime was alcohol. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. There was a person in the book who was a bootlegger. In the real world that was a big problem. The government made the eighteenth amendment, which made the use and manufacturing illegal. In the 20’s people would abuse their wives and children. “Drinking got so bad that men who drank a lot would abuse their wives and kids. In 1920 alcohol manufacturing was banned after world war I.” This is the reason why they wanted to ban alcohol. Men would drink a lot and they would abuse their family because they can’t control themselves. In the Great Gatsby Tom would drink a lot. “ ‘I'll say it whenever I

The marijuana legalization movement is one of the most controversial social movements of the modern day. Efforts to reform marijuana policy have been organized since the mid 1900s. There are two major organizations leading the battle for marijuana decriminalization. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and the Marijuana Project Policy (MPP) are both looking to reschedule and eventually legalize marijuana for the use of responsible adults. These two organizations provide various strategies that, along with additional tactics from other sources, have strongly influenced the position of the marijuana legalization social movement. The mobilization of resources is strongly influenced by the two leading organizations

With the passage of Amendment 64 to the state constitution, Colorado became the first state ever to legalize the sale, possession, and use of marijuana. On November 6, 2012, voters passed the amendment with a 9% margin. Interestingly, “Amendment 64 received 53,281 more votes in the state than Barack Obama did during the last presidential election” (Charlton). However, actual sales of marijuana for recreational purposes were delayed until the start of 2014. Amid of flurry of media scandals and protests from anti-marijuana activist groups across the country, Colorado opened its doors to the pot industry with the entire nation watching.