...get the paper, come back inside to eat, brush your teeth and what have you. You get in your car, drive to your neighborhood pharmacy, go through the drive through, and get your prescription. You get home and look in your little orange container, which is surprisingly light and quiet. You find three large, green with purple infused, marijuana buds. Right then it hits you, marijuana is illegal, you must be dreaming. But what if that dream could be the reality? Many people believe that the legalizing of marijuana would be good for our economy, good for helping people find jobs, and lowering our country’s crime rate. There will be nothing in the following pages that talks about the medicinal value of marijuana. There is no overwhelming data that shows that getting THC into your blood has a positive medicinal purpose. I, as an endurance athlete, am a firm believer that inhaling smoke is not healthy for you or your body regardless of what cure it may provide. It has been proven time and time again that inhaling smoke is one of the worst things you can do to your body, whether it is first hand or second hand smoke. There are a lot of rumors out there that suggest that smoking marijuana kills your brain cells, and that it can lower your life expectancy. There is no solid evidence that backs this up. Also, anything said about how marijuana is bad for you can also be used to describe nicotine and alcohol, both of which are legal drugs. According to saferchoice.org “Marijuana...
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...| Marijuana Legalization: Why Marijuana Should be Legalized in All Fifty States English 102 Final Paper Table of Contents I. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………… 1 II. Is Marijuana a “Gateway Drug?” ……………………………………………………... 2 III. Arguments against Legalization ………………………………………………………. 3 VI. Recent Legalization Efforts …………………………………………………………… 4 V. Medicinal Uses of Marijuana …………………………………………………………. 5 VI. Economic Arguments Against Criminalization ………………………………………. 7 VII. Marijuana Cultivation and DTO ……………………………………………………... 8 VIII. From Decriminalization to Legalization …………………………………………… 8 IX. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………… 10 Marijuana Legalization: Why Marijuana Should be Legalized in All Fifty States I. Introduction The issue of marijuana legalization in the United States is a charged one that brings forth supporters and opponents arguments alike. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Uniform Crime Reports, one marijuana-related arrest occurs every forty-two seconds in the United States. The government conducted over 1.53 million drug-related arrests in 2011, 90% for possession alone, and nearly 50% due to marijuana (FBI Uniform Crime Report). State governments are currently responding to shifts in public opinion, especially given the recent legalizations that passed in Colorado and Washington. According to Gallup Polls, more Americans supported the legalization of marijuana than not in 2011 (50% vs. 46%)...
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...Economics of Marijuana in the USA Millions of people across America, and even around the world, use marijuana everyday, but what exactly is it? The National Institute on Drug Abuse defines marijuana as “the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, which contains the psychoactive (mind-altering) chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as well as other related compounds”(NIDA). Marijuana, frequently referred to as weed or cannabis, is the most common illicit drug used in the United States. It is often frowned upon mainly because it is still illegal in a majority of the country. Cannabis activists from all around the US have been fighting for legalization of the drug for years. Their main argument is that marijuana is actually a much less dangerous drug than alcohol and tobacco, which are both legal. About 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning, and there are over 400,000 deaths a year attributed to tobacco smoking. On the other hand, marijuana is considered non-toxic and cannot cause death from an overdose. Because many states have yet to pass laws for legalization, only a small percentage of marijuana is sold legally through licensed dispensaries run by state governments. The rest is sold illegally on the streets, which is where the real dangers of marijuana arise. More and more states are passing laws to decriminalize marijuana and to allow its medicinal use. Recent progress in legalizing marijuana in the...
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...Marijuana Legalization in the United States Elisha Havraniak Ottawa University LAS 30012 Writing and Critical Thinking in the Liberal Arts October 11, 2013 Marijuana Legalization in the United States Marijuana has had a long history as an illicit drug, but is quickly becoming a mainstream issue. Some people use marijuana to ease their pain and treat their illnesses. Many others use it because of it mood-altering effects. Laws have been passed to regulate both of these uses of the drug. Those who advocate legalization favor easing or overturning laws against the possession and use of marijuana for recreational purposes, medical use, or both. In general most proposals for legalization fall into one of three categories: decriminalization for recreational use, legalization for recreational use, or legalization for medical use. In opposition to these three choices is the option to keep marijuana illegal for both recreational and medical purposes. The purpose of this paper is to explore the facts, pros and cons, regarding the legalization of marijuana. The information for this paper was obtained from scholarly and peer reviewed journal articles, books, and online sources. The research questions answered are as follows; * Could the legalization of marijuana rescue our struggling economy or could it provide much need relief to the overcrowded prison system? * Will the legalization of marijuana lead to a regulation nightmare…can it even be regulated...
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...Marijuana Legalization No matter your opinion regarding marijuana legalization, the tide is beginning to move in that direction. Marijuana use has become a topic of controversy over the last few years. Support and opposition have come from all angles. Some believe legalizing marijuana will lead to higher usage by youths. Yet others argue these rates are higher than ever despite the fact that it is currently illegal in most states. What we can agree on is the costs incurred by the United States of over a billion dollars a year to incarcerate people for marijuana-related offenses. (alternet.org, 2007) Maybe it is time we look a little closer at the effects of legalization and the tax revenue created when this substance is regulated. At the federal level, the DEA classifies all drugs based on medical use and dependency potential. Currently, marijuana is listed as a Schedule 1 narcotic. This class is defined as having no known medical use and a high potential for abuse. The Controlled Substance Act regulates drugs based on this schedule. Schedule 1 drugs are illegal in any form. (United States Drug Enforcement Administration) Between 1996 and 2014, 23 states and the District of Columbia changed their laws regarding marijuana despite federal mandates. (ProCon.org, 2014) These changes allow for the medical use of marijuana when under the supervision of a licensed physician. Each state’s laws differ in the amount that can be “prescribed”, but all of them allow its use in some form...
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...In this paper I am going to argue why Marijuana has medical usage and the benefits of having it legalized for that purpose. Does marijuana have any medicinal use? Quite a few say yes marijuana does have medical use and yes it should be made legal for that purpose. The people that think this way are correct marijuana does have medical use. It has been used as medicine since 2727 B.C. were the first recorded use of cannabis as medicine in Chinese pharmacopoeia but not only was it used in China but every part of the world. Humankind has used cannabis for a wide variety of health problems for not just centuries but over a millennium. But there are still people who deny that marijuana had medical use. These people who are wrong marijuana does have medical use. They also have their own scientific studies...
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...smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly fifteen hundred pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response... in strict medical terms, marijuana is far safer than many of the foods we commonly consume. For example, eating ten raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death.” - DEA Administrative Law, Judge Francis L. Young. The National Center for Health statistics reported that drugs caused 37, 485 deaths in 2009; followed closely by alcohol related deaths totaling 23, 199. When research was done to identify the drugs and alcohol used in these fatal events, Cannabis (Marijuana) caused zero deaths. So why is a drug that is grown so naturally and causes zero deaths at the center of so much controversy? Marijuana has been used for medical purposes and is a popular subject in the economic and political debate arenas. “Cannabis sativa is an annual plant that grows wild in warm and tropical climates throughout the world and is cultivated commercially. The leaves and buds of the plant have been used in herbal remedies for centuries. Scientists have identified 66 biologically active components, called cannabinoids, in marijuana. The most potent of these is thought to be the chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, although other active substances are being studied. The medical use of marijuana is limited because different strains of the plant contain different amounts...
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...epilepsies allowing her to grow and learn for the first time in five years. (Gupta, 2013) This is just one of many ways marijuana has helped people with their diagnosis and has continued to work. In 1930 medicinal marijuana was put on the Schedule 1 list for narcotics by Harry J. Anslinger, the Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN). Decades later, after marijuana became illegal, states around America are starting to take a new position on the drug and have legalized marijuana. Knowing this, people around the nation are still hesitant of pro-legalization and the Federal Government is taking little interest in the matter. The legalization of marijuana would increase crop cultivation in America, provide jobs for those in need during this economic downfall, and decrease the amount of criminal activity involved with the use and distribution of marijuana. Before marijuana was made illegal by the FBN and before the roaring twenties, marijuana cultivation produced valuable products such as paper, rope, canvas, and textiles. Canvas is a Dutch word in which its meaning is cannabis, hemp or marijuana. All around the world professionals are finding ways to recycle materials in order to avoid cutting down trees and greenhouse gasses. These professionals are aware of hemp and its increase production, for example; an acre of hemp can produce four times more paper than...
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...America’s Cash Crop “Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn’t the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit . . . unnatural?” ― Bill Hicks The legalization of marijuana is a debate being held all over the country. Everyone has their own opinion on the whole idea of marijuana. There are legislators who think that if marijuana is legalized that it will be grown illegally, and medically abused. There are potheads who think it would be cool and that they would get cheaper weed. But what it comes down to are the numbers. Marijuana is a cash crop. How can Wisconsin say no to numbers like fourteen billion, and thirty five billion dollars? Can legalizing marijuana rescue Wisconsin’s economy? Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, DC, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington. In seventeen states, and DC it is legal to have at least an ounce of marijuana. In fourteen of them it is legal to even have plants (ProCon). Should Wisconsin be state number eighteen? NBC News produced an article Marijuana Called US Cash Crop and within that article they state “The study estimates that marijuana production, at a value of $35.8 billion, exceeds the combined value of corn ($23.3 billion) and wheat ($7.5 billion).” Wisconsin is in forty six billion dollars of debt and increasing every second (WisconsinDebtClock). If marijuana can bring in millions of...
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...The Benefits for Legalizing Medical Marijuana: Annotated Bibliography Working thesis statement: Medical Marijuana should be legal in all the United States because there it can treat many medical conditions and the tax revenue it brings can help lower the national debt. Titus, R.D. (2016). Puff, Puff, Pass…That Law: The Changing Legislative Environment of Medical Marijuana Policy. Harvard Journal On Legislation, 53 (1), 39-58. Summary of article: In recent years, a few states have legalized medical marijuana for recreational use. The article identifies how the government is placing their taxes on the newly legalized drug. A sample of what I will be using from this article would be, “Federal income taxation of medical marijuana is the same as for cocaine or heroin; the only permitted adjustment to gross revenues in calculating federal taxable income is cost of goods sold.” (Titus pg. 2). There is a lot of information that I am looking for to help me with my paper. Assessment of article: I found this source on the school library. The author name is R. D. Titus and she is a writer at Harvard Journal. This articles publication was in 2016. The author and the article gave a lot of information about taxing the sale of medical marijuana in sates that already passed the law about recreational use and dispensaries selling the product. I found this article in the school library is it is 100% a scholarly article. I will be using as much information I can find that relates to my topic...
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...Taji Bhinder English K101 Final Research Paper 12/17/13 Legalization of Marijuana Have you ever wondered if there is a natural medicine that can heal, help, and possibly cure people with irritable and deadly diseases? Well, there is a medicine; it’s an herb that is naturally grown from the Earth. Scientists have made discoveries leading back to 7,000 B.C.E. of this miscellaneous victor and its usage (Norml). The herb is called marijuana also known as pot, cannabis, weed, and God’s medicine in today’s society (Norml). Marijuana is a cannabinoid which is a chemical compound that naturally affects the immune and nervous system of humans and animals. It has been used for centuries as a natural therapeutic substance. This mysterious plant combats nausea, cancer, leukemia, and many other variants that still cannot be cured with prescription drugs. No one knows where this plant comes from, but findings of this plant’s DNA reach up to Northern China, thousands of years ago. For many decades this plant has been looked down upon. Media analysts and government officials in the United States give it a negative approach which allows the public to think negatively about it. Many people assume that weed is deadly because of what authority wants the public to believe, but what many do not know is the positive scientific evidence and facts that proves how effective it really is. The social policies regarding marijuana have changed throughout the years in the U.S. Although, several...
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...years, there has been an increase in the number of states legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational purposes. The prohibition of marijuana has been the source of countless debates with people on opposite sides of the spectrum defending their beliefs. The history of marijuana prohibition, the consequences resulting from the prohibition, money spent on enforcing prohibition and potential profits, medical marijuana, dangerous manufactured substances, confusion between the state and federal governments, the ineffectiveness of current laws, and marijuana’s affect on state and local politics have all contributed to large debates across the states as legislatures decide the right way to regulate marijuana. The prohibition of alcohol and the restriction of cannabis use have certain similarities. Both were directed against the evils of using these substances, the negative rhetoric against both substances was the same, and both started at the state level with congressional action following later. During the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s, the government spent millions of dollars trying to enforce an ineffective law it had in place.2 The same can be said about marijuana, but one a much larger, more devastating scale. The “evils” of alcohol were matters of public knowledge, with countless debates leading to the Eighteenth Amendment and later the Volstead Act. It was the direct opposite regarding marijuana. There were no public opinion polls before legislation was passed...
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...Torregrosa, Christianne Marie L. PHIL 1 SY1325 PROF. OCHANGO POSITION PAPER “Should Philippines legalize Marijuana for curing diseases?” INTRODUCTION Definition of Terms Cannabis- commonly known as marijuana and by numerous other names, is a preparation of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug and as medicine. (Wiki) Legalize- is the process of removing a legal prohibition against something which is currently not legal. Disease- an illness that affect a person, animal, or a plant: condition that prevents the body or mind from normally. BACKGROUND & SIGNIFICANT OF STUDY "Modern research has confirmed the beneficial uses of cannabis in treating and alleviating the pain, nausea and other symptoms associated with a variety of debilitating medical conditions including cancer, multiple sclerosis, and HIV-AIDS as found by the National Institute of Medicine of the US in March 1999," Six legislators have expressed their support to the proposal to legalize the regulated use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. House Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora, Pasay City Rep. Emi Calixto-Rubiano, OFW partylist Rep. Roy Señeres, Marinduque Rep. Regina Reyes, Masbate Rep. Elisa Olga Kho, and Misamis Occidental Rep. Henry Oaminal all co-authored House Bill 4477. Under the bill, or the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act, the State is directed to provide measures to achieve a balance in the national drug control program so that patients with debilitating...
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...Mario Prieto 7/25/2014 Mr. Ogrodowski English 102 Research Paper Marijuana Legalization Marijuana is the most used drug in the world; it’s as popular as it is polarizing. It’s been said to have medicinal benefits for the ill. Can it kill a human being? If it can kill, than why is it illegal? Why not legalize it, that way crimes will go down? All these are questions that have been asked when discussing the hot debate that is marijuana. While there is no clear answer to any of these questions, there is a variety of opinions out there in respect to marijuana. Marijuana has carried a big stigma for a long time. Back in the 20th century, not a lot was known about marijuana. We as humans tend to be afraid of the unknown, therefore we feared marijuana and what damages it could cause. As of today, 23 states have legalized marijuana, with Colorado being the state that gets the most recognition (ProCon.org). Those for the legalization of pot are devoted to this plant and go way back to 1965, where Beat Poet Allen Ginsberg led a march for marijuana legalization outside the New York Women’s House of Detention in Lower Manhattan (Lee, Martin A). Passionate protesters waved posters and shouted out slogans in one of the more renowned moments of the 1960s (Lee, Martin A). This protest launched the inaugural event of the New York chapter Committee to legalize pot, the group was led by Ginsberg and Poet Ed Sanders; these protests would be...
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...you think legalizing marijuana would bring to the U.S? Legalizing cannabis would actually generate 8.5 billion dollars in federal and state tax revenue per year, according to a 2013 study from Cato Institute in Washington D.C. Purpose (state specific purpose, relate topic to audience and establish credibility): Throughout the years, we have yet to legalize cannabis after all the facts of this topic have been completely laid out. It’s time we take this industry into our country’s hands and not let it go unregulated and untaxed. State Thesis & Main Points: The legalization of cannabis would be another step closer to the way out of this economic crisis our country is in today. the regulation of this product would bring economic improvement, new-found resources, and medical aid. however, we must establish both the positive and the negative sides to truly comprehend this movement. Body (3-5 MAIN POINTS PREFERRED (USE ONLY COMPLETE SENTENCES I. MAIN POINT (state as a single declarative sentence): A major upside in the legalization of cannabis is the benefit of economic improvement. A. SUBPOINT: Legalizing this drug would bring about millions to billions of dollars in tax revenue. 1. Marijuana growers account for 14 billion dollars a year in sales in CA, making it the states most valuable cash crop which is a perfect reason to tax it. a. Economist Stephen Easton estimated in 2012 that legal marijuana could be a 45-100 billion...
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