Who's in Charge of the Store? Essay

The Food and Drug Administration, also known as the FDA or USFDA, is responsible for protecting and advocating public health. They are the official government agency that ensures our drug supply is safe and effective. This is achieved through the regulation and supervision of food safety, dietary supplements, veterinary products, cosmetics, vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, prescription and pharmaceutical drugs that can be purchased over- the- counter.

think marijuana is a dangerous drug that can kill. This is true if taken in heavy doses but

FDA stands for Food and Drug Administration, it is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring that foods are

A person, in California, who uses marijuana medically agrees to follow the Health and Safety codes as defined by the Attorney General, Edmund G. Brown Jr., and the Department of Justice (state of

This testimony is in regards to Bill HB 2107 (Lucio III), currently referred to the House Committee on Public Health (C410) for review. This bill relates to authorizing the possession, use, cultivation, distribution, transportation, and delivery of medical cannabis for medical use by qualifying patients with certain debilitating medical conditions and the licensing of dispensing organizations and testing facilities; authorizing fees.

Right after the U.S. Department of Justice announced in March 2009 that it would no longer prosecute marijuana patients and providers whose actions are consistent with state medical marijuana laws (Meyer & Glover, 2009, para. 1), political windows suddenly opened for California marijuana reform advocates to push for legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. As a result, California Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control & Tax Cannabis Act, became a ballot initiative on November 2, 2010 statewide ballot. Supporters argued that legalizing creational use of marijuana would help California to regulate the use and sale of marijuana, reduce correctional costs, redirect its court and law enforcement resources to other more serious crimes, and collect additional exercise taxes and sales taxes that would help with California’s budget shortfall. In spite of being a

The FDA also looks at several products that have chemical implications to them, such as drugs. It looks at drug manufacturing standards, as well as the labels of each drug (both over-the-counter and prescription drugs) and must give its approval on new drugs before they can be sold to the public. The FDA also looks at cosmetics. It must ensure that, like food articles, each product is properly labeled as to what comprises each item. Biological products, such as the nation’s blood supply, are also regulated by the FDA. It does research to improve upon the testing methods of blood, to ensure that the supply in hazard free. It also is in charge of handing out licenses to product and manufacturing establishments.

The legalization of marijuana in other states has increased access to and acceptability of this drug for both medicinal and recreational purposes. In the absence of well-designed research and FDA approval, this creates unique challenges for both practitioners and regulators alike. Doctors are being pressured to recommend medical marijuana based off of the requests of the users. The regulations that have been put on marijuana are extremely loose fitting and hard to control

These types of drugs are classified to have a high potential for abuse, no recent acceptable medical use in treatment, and a low acceptable safety for use. The FDA has studies the drug for decades and keeps confirming that there are no medical benefits given by smoking marijuana, and actually can cause harm by using it (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2006). Citizens against Legalizing Marijuana (CALM) are opposed to any State law that tries to destroy the Federal Controlled Substances Act. Their place is that California Proposition 215 was misrepresented under the misguided claim that ingesting marijuana gives effective medical value, and that there are unimportant, harm and negative effects from the use of it. However, SB 420 failed to attempt to verify some qualities of Prop 215 (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2006). The SB 420 settles agreements with patients’ advocates and law enforcement, which involve controversial new state guidelines concerning how much marijuana patients can grow and own without being exposed to arrest (California,

In recent years legalization of marijuana has been a controversial issue. With states like California and Colorado establishing recreational systems other states have yet to even allow medicinal usage. This much heated debate has raised cause for concern everywhere and is a relevant topic. The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 was first installed in California and now 20 years later it is being passed in the state of New York. Two decades of experiments, studies, and policies have still left many open questions. The legalization of marijuana is not fully recognized by our country but studies have shown that further knowledge is needed to make better reform on the matter which is why I believe that marijuana should be legalized and regulated.

Marijuana legislation in the United States seems to be divided between very subjective and objective credence’s. The objective perspective seems to be that marijuana is a substance that has medicinal properties and merits further research into its utilize as a substance that can be utilized for medical treatment. While the subjective perspective seems to be more fueled by propaganda than scientific research. All too often, arguments for and against the utilization of marijuana have been predicated more on emotion and personal opinion shaped by propaganda and the taboo subject of illicit drug use, than genuine scientific fact. This should not be what decides if there should be legitimate scientific research on the subject. Currently, marijuana is a schedule I controlled substance, indicating it is considered highly addictive and of no medical use. Due to the many claims that marijuana is of medical benefit, many states have passed laws that allows limited access of

It is necessary that a federal agency be created to control the standardization of production, manufacturing, distribution, and vending of products containing THC, just as there are agencies controlling over the counter medications, alcohol, and tobacco. I have proposed that this agency be called the Federal Marijuana Regulatory Agency (FMRA). This agency will oversee the implementation of legalization, furthermore, it will function as the standing agency for all marijuana related commerce and practices. The policies enforced by the FMRA will include but are not limited to the following: All THC containing products will be marked as such and present a warning of the negative effects. Furthermore, all THC containing products will display an ingredient list and potency information. The manufacture and production of any THC containing products will be subject to all OSHA regulations, and all safety and standards practices in the FMRA guidance manual. Any discrepancies found during annual inspections will incur a fine of up to $25,000, based on annual sales. No person under 21 will be eligible to work in direct contact with any THC containing products. Any merchant selling/serving marijuana must have the required permit and no persons under 21 will be allowed inside. A permit must be acquired at the expense of the grower, distributer, vendor, or merchant. This permit will

Society’s view of the legalization of marijuana is rapidly changing. Many states have accepted cannabis as a valuable form of medicine, and some states have legalized its use for recreational purposes. Citizens operating within the parameters of established law should have the legal right to grow marijuana. Restricting adults from the independent choice to cultivate this plant creates unnecessary issues for both medical patients and recreational users, as well as a strain on the judicial system.

Since the passage of the CSA, many campaigns to have marijuana rescheduled under a less restrictive category have failed. However, popular opinion began to sway in the 1990’s and California became the first state to legalize the use of medical marijuana in 1996 with the passage of the Compassionate Use Act (Reinarman et al., 2011). Unfortunately, the federal response was swift and threatened to be severe. General Barry McCaffrey, the drug czar under the Clinton Administration, advised the federal government would “vigorously prosecute persons who supplied medical marijuana, revoke the prescription writing authority of physicians who recommended marijuana to patients, and deny various federal benefits (including licenses) to anyone who used marijuana pursuant to California law” (Mikos, 2011, p. 637-638). The Bush Administration picked up the torch and continued the war on medical marijuana by carrying out almost 200 raids by the DEA on dispensaries in California as well as prosecuting those people associated with medical marijuana. However, advocates of medical marijuana remained vigilant and kept spreading their message and gaining support. To date as listed on ProCon.org (2013) 18 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws legalizing the use of medical marijuana.

"In any civilized society, it is every citizen 's responsibility to obey just laws. But at the same time, it is every citizen 's responsibility to disobey unjust laws." Martin Luther King Jr. Many people ask “why should marijuana be legalized”? when the real question that we should be asking is “why shouldn’t marijuana be legalized”?. Marijuana also known as hemp is a naturally grown plant that has been around for decades dating back to around 2697 B.C., when the Egyptians would use it to cure many common ailments, and the Chinese would use it for therapeutics. Using marijuana not only to cure common illnesses but for your pleasure as well should be up to you the free citizens of California and not to the government. The first major reason