...Should Marijuana be Legalized? BCOM/275 November 26, 2012 Should marijuana be legalized? Throughout the years, the topic should marijuana be legalized is often heavily debated. For many years the use of marijuana was forbidden and outlawed in the United States, but in more recent years marijuana seems to be becoming accepted. Scientist has found many useful applications for marijuana. Recently, here in the United States, many states have approved legislation for marijuana for medical purposes. Most recently, two states Colorado and Washington have passed referendums that will allow people over the age of 21 recreational use of marijuana without the penalty of a criminal offense. These two states will oversee the use of marijuana for its constituents similar to how alcohol is controlled. Whereas, the government at the state level in Colorado and Washington is in favor for the legalization and passed legislation for the legalization of marijuana, the federal government has not. This causes legal, moral, and ethical issues and begs that questions; should marijuana be legalized? Pros of Legalization One benefit of the legalization of marijuana would be the ability for state and local governments to tax the legal production and sale of it. Currently, because marijuana is illegal the sale of it is not taxed so the local, state, and federal governments do not reap any of the benefits of this “$10.5 billion dollar industry” (Miron, 2005, p.4). In a report written by Jeffrey A....
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...Legalized Marijuana: Colorado’s Answer? The current presence of Marijuana in the United States is at an all time high. Everywhere you look and read you’re sure to hear or see something that has to do with marijuana. Marijuana has become a huge element within our current culture and it is easily seen. Since marijuana has been on the rise in the United States, there has been a push for legalization of it for both medical and recreational use. With the current movement that is ongoing, we have seen 21 states within the U.S. legalize marijuana for medical use and the states of Washington and Colorado have legalized it for recreational use (ProCon.Org 2014). Colorado has been in the spotlight of the movement ever since the legalization for recreational use of marijuana went into effect. It’s been considered a modern day Amsterdam in the United States with the amount of marijuana that is being consumed and produced there. But, with the legalization of marijuana also comes the negative elements that can and will be produced by the drug. The ongoing debate in the U.S. concerning the legalization of marijuana benefits seems to outweigh the potential of negative consequences it could potentially cause. Those who are in favor of the legalization of marijuana believe it will aid in reducing the populations in jails and prisons, free up law enforcement resources so they can target more serious crime within the U.S., as well as increase states’ revenue through the taxation of sales of legal...
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...Legalization of Marijuana Michelle Shepard Soc 120 July 16, 2012 Danielle Camacho There is no denying that the drug problem in our country today has reached an epidemic proportion. The problem has gotten so out of hand that many options are being considered to control and or solve it. Trying to end the drug war may not seen to be the best answer in the beginning, but those so-called wars on drugs have not been very successful at stopping the drug wars. I feel that there should be some different options. The legalization of marijuana is an option which hasn’t received much of a chance, but should be given one. Given that marijuana has known important medical uses, such as the alleviation of nausea, and the treatment of glaucoma, can the government justify banning it just because some individuals use it for recreational purposes? Is it even the business of the government to regulate the private lives of its citizens? I really don’t condone the use of any kind of drug use, but a drug such as marijuana should be legalized to a certain extent, because marijuana helps people with some medical conditions they may have. In order for one to solve the ongoing issue of the legalization of marijuana one must take a look at the classical theory of deontology. Deontology is the classical theory where the reason for which an act is done is assessed. (Mosser, 2010) When assessing the issue of the legalization of marijuana, one must question the exact reasons as to why individuals...
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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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...Release the Green! Marijuana is a very noticeable and scandalous issue in the world today. Although many malicious entitlements have been said about cannabis in current history, the certainties are slowly starting to reappear. Unluckily, these facts are being very heavily criticized because of the clichéd view of what people see as the classic “weed smoker.” This twisted observation of a lazy and unenthusiastic America is the consequence of over seventy years of information and deception spread by private interests who needed weed illegal for their own particular gains. As just a regular citizen and someone that doesn’t even use marijuana, I think that the drug should be legalized for all uses. Consuming marijuana for pharmaceutical purposes is not a new discovery. Actually, written references to consume medical marijuana go back to almost 5,000 years ago (herer, 167). Western treatment included marijuana’s medical properties in the mid-1800s, and by the start of the 20th century, doctors had issued more than 150 credentials in the Western medical literature recommending its use for a variety of disorders (Miron, 117). These conditions include relief from pain, glaucoma, nausea and movement disorders. It can also be used to help patients that have or had HIV/AIDS or cancer patients that have to go through chemotherapy because it motivates their appetites. In our day, thousands of patients are capable of use marijuana as an effective technique of cure for their illnesses. This...
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...Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is a form of the cannabis plant. In 1923, marijuana was added to the Confidential Restricted List as a prohibited drug in Canada. However, many Canadians believe that marijuana should be legalized because it can play a significant role in the medical industry. However, others hold the opposite attitude toward Marijuana legalization. This serious controversy has lasted for many decades. Canada’s neighbor, the U.S. government, has forbidden this drug since the early 1900s. However, this implementation didn’t produce a satisfactory result. (National Prevention Strategy, 2011) Marijuana should be legalized in Canada because its advantages outweigh the disadvantages. These advantages are likely to promote the Canadian economy, eliminate social issues and benefit the health of its residents. In terms of the economy, legalizing marijuana could conduct not only negative effects, but also positive effects. In the past decade, underground trade of marijuana has caused harm to Canada’s income. Werner Antweiler, the UBC professor, believes that the marijuana market is sizable. (2013) In B.C., the estimates show that Canadians consume at least 3 billion dollars in marijuana products annually. (Barmak, 2013) Other data from The International Journal of Drug Policy indicate that the retail value of marijuana consumption in B.C is between $443 million and $564 million. In addition, further estimates point out that marijuana legalization is likely to help the...
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...ITT-Tech The topic of legalizing marijuana has become a very hot topic here in the Unites States of America. With sixteen states having medical marijuana laws already in place and seventeen states with pending legalization legislation (http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002481); many communities are split on the issue due to misinformation and stigmas. Even though marijuana is stigmatized as a gateway drug that leads children to harder drugs, marijuana should be legalized for medicinal use because it is incredibly expensive to keep marijuana illegal and adults deserve freedom to use marijuana as medicine without having to deal with the criminal element or fear of being unjustly prosecuted. The gateway effect states that marijuana acts as a stepping stone, or a gateway, that leads people to harder drugs. They support their argument with statistics that show that most people who use hard drugs have tried marijuana before (http://www.mjlegal.org/gateway.html). What though is the gateway theory? Is it based on facts brought to light by years of scientific study? No, in fact the gateway theory does not explain anything at all. It is simply an observation that has been vague at best and dispersed by media outlets and the governing body. It is true that many people that use hard drugs such as heroin, cocaine, or LSD did in fact use marijuana before they tried the harder drugs. The true reason for this is marijuana is much more accessible due to its popularity...
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...NORML-National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws By Abigail Galicia PID: A09469570 POLI 100E Final Paper Prof. Galderisi 12/13/2012 Abigail Galicia POLI 100E Galderisi 12/13/12 Final Paper NORML-National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws “It’s NORML to Smoke Pot.” How is NORML organized, and how does it pursue its policy interests? I. Introduction. The issue of the legalization of marijuana has been a hotly-debated and increasingly bitter confrontation among Americans. On the one side lie those who oppose everything about the drug and believe it to be a threat to society’s health and well-being, while the other side is composed of “the millions of smokers, many of them well educated, successful people who resent being defined as criminals for using what they regard as a mild but enjoyable drug (Anderson 3).” Both sides—for and against the legalization of marijuana—have presented proper research and evidence on either the virtually harmless or life threatening effects of marijuana along with either the economically beneficial or detrimental effects drug policy reform will have on the US. Either way, this debate has gained political momentum in the past decades and can no longer be seen as one-sided. Fueling this debate and whole-heartedly representing the pro-marijuana lobby organization, is the interest group NORML. NORML stands for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and has been the top main advocate in leading the...
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...Legalizing Marijuana What do George Washington, Ted Turner, Michael Bloomberg, Barack Obama, Michael Phelps, and Carl Sagen all have in common? All have either admitted to growing, and or smoking marijuana. Peculiar, to say the least, all of these extremely influential people would be prosecuted and possibly arrested had they had been caught partaking in these illegal acts. If one were to go back to the time of George Washington’s presidency and take a glimpse at the first president’s garden they would be shocked to see that the leader of the American Revolutionary War Army grew marijuana. The growth of cannabis in today’s world carries quite a hazy perception. Most people would be shocked at the thought of someone; much less the president was growing marijuana. It is in this perception in which the problem stems, why be shocked? Why think less of person? Why even consider Marijuana to be this life-threatening, lazy causing, brain cell killer, schedule one drug? Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in America today. It is estimated that one hundred million people have admitted to smoking marijuana. However the winds of reform and legalization have begun to sweep this nation. Americans, now more than ever, are advocating the legalization of marijuana, as seen recently by two states legalizing the plant for recreational use. I, for one, am a strong advocate for the recreational use and legalization of marijuana in the United States. I have found that to understand...
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...The legal status of cannabis during 1619-1915, coupled with a ban on alcohol during 1920-1933, has provoked questioning of the rationality of the current US federal legislation on both drugs, as marijuana is currently illicit whilst alcohol is not. Research has suggested that marijuana could be equally if not more beneficial than alcohol to the economy, with fewer negative externalities. This discussion has been sparked anew after the states of Colorado and Washington infringed federal legislation by instating the open legality of marijuana. The topic, in current debate, must be viewed objectively to reach a valuable conclusion, since much of the argument is highly opinionated and biased owing to the stigma attached to such substances. Marijuana is currently a Schedule I substance under federal law whereas alcohol is federally regulated through the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) alongside stringent state and county laws. Existing federal law makes alcohol legal to those over the age of 21, with high taxation placed on consumption. Hence, the substance is highly regulated, although not currently prohibited. We intend to examine the economic effects that alcohol has on the economy and compare these findings with the hypothetical benefits of legalised marijuana. Analytically considering the reasoning behind its current illegal status, we will compare the negative externalities of cannabis against those of alcohol to determine whether there is logic behind...
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...Legalizing Marijuana makes Pennsylvanians Rich Introduction Growing up on the gritty streets of West Philadelphia I was exposed to many drugs. From an early age I can remember seeing guys hang out on the corner. It wasn’t until I became a preteen that I realized that these young men weren’t just “hanging out”. They were actually hustling and making drug transactions. In high school I was offered my joint. Scared of my parents finding out and remembering the negative effects of drugs that I learned about in school forced me to decline. Many of my peers were not as strong and fell into peer pressure. The smell of marijuana on the way to school became a familiar scent. As I got older and began to explore the City of Brotherly Love I learned that Philly is drug infested. I’ve met a lot of good people who have fallen into addiction. Their drug usage impedes their everyday life. I have a friend who I went to high school with. My friend was a top athlete and scholar. After a terrible car accident he developed an addiction to prescription pain killers. He ran from doctor to doctor trying to keep his fix alive. The process lingered on for a couple years, One day I asked him why he didn’t get help or try to stop. His main argument was that he wasn’t doing anything illegal like crack or heroine, so he didn’t think he had a problem. His argument got me thinking about the government and how they dictate what medications are okay and not okay for people...
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...Reasons to Marijuana in the United States Orlando Perez ITT Technical Institute EN1420 Matthew L. Cole Abstract Marijuana legalization offers an advantage to the United States. Taxation would create much needed revenue just like alcohol and tobacco does for the United States. This taxation would create a quality control over the product. For the first time 52 percent of Americans support legalization of marijuana. Since 1996 over 12 million people has been arrested for marijuana. Over 3 billion is spent yearly on the war on pot which has done little or nothing to keep it out of the hands of youth. Surveys conducted on 2010 on Drug Use and Health says that 17.4 million of Americans used marijuana 30 days prior the survey. Education is the key. Many had been asking questions about marijuana because is currently an illegal drug for casual consumption yet, many Americans are not well informed when it comes to the medicinal use of marijuana. Currently twenty states and the District of Columbia use marijuana for medicinal purposes and two states Washington and Colorado legalized marijuana for occasional use. Reasons for the United States to Legalize Marijuana Marijuana use in the United States has been rising in recent years especially among teens. Today, many Americans think it is only a matter of time before marijuana becomes new trend just like tobacco was between the 1930s and 1980s. What is Marijuana? Marijuana is an herb that contains chemicals called cannabinoids...
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...Tutor Course: Date: Why Marijuana should be legalized Introduction Various governments have made numerous drugs illegal while others remain legal. Such drugs include cocaine, heroin, methane, marijuana, alcohol, bath salts or synthetic cathinone, hallucinogens, methamphetamine and many others. However, some are legal to use; the use of others are limited while others are illegal. For instance, alcohol is legal in most countries while its use is limited in others in terms of time one can use them and in terms of amounts that one can consume. Nonetheless, most of these drugs are illegal including cocaine, heroin, marijuana and many others. However, even though some drugs are termed as harmful, they should receive some considerations to legalize them due to numerous reasons. Particularly, marijuana should be legalized. Marijuana refers to the dried flowers, leaves, seeds and stems from the hemp plant. Scientifically referred to as Cannabis sativa, that contains the mind-altering (psychoactive) chemical, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), alongside other associated compounds. Commonly, it is utilized for its physiological and psychoactive effects that can elevate euphoria or mood, appetite, and relaxation. Discussion Over the past few decades, they have been serious discussion on whether to legalize marijuana or not. Many know the reasons as to why marijuana should not be legalized. Some of the reasons put forward for not legalizing marijuana are that it harmful to one's...
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...Legalization of Marijuana Research has been published in favor of legalizing marijuana. The legalization of marijuana is a political issue that has continued to surface for decades. There is countrywide support lobbying for reinstating the right to use this natural product. A large majority of this country's population refuses to accept the United States government’s decision to prohibit citizens from enjoying the benefits that this organically grown herb provides. In my paper I will research and have knowledge on the legalization and political issues about marijuana. Most Americans do not want to spend scarce public funds incarcerating nonviolent marijuana offenders, at a cost of $23,000 per year. Politicians must reconsider our country's priorities and attach more importance to combating violent crime than targeting marijuana smokers. Marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers at least $7.5 billion annually. This is an enormous waste of scarce federal dollars that should be used to target violent crime. Marijuana prohibition makes no exception for the medical use of marijuana. The tens of thousands of seriously ill Americans who presently use marijuana as a therapeutic agent to alleviate symptoms of cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, or multiple sclerosis risk arrest and jail to obtain and use their medication (Grinspoon and Bakalar). Americans, it turns out, aren't conflicted in their attitude toward marijuana. They want it illegal but not really enforced...
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...Marijuana has always been a vital part of our world's culture, with evidence dating back to as early as ancient Egypt and ancient Greece, and in the 19th century ( “History and Debate”). It has been used as a pain reliever, and now it's used as a vice drug, but it’s time for it to go back to its initial use, a beneficial use. Marijuana has been genetically modified for medicinal use, it can help people with disease no pharmaceutical drug can. It can change millions of lives in our country, by letting people actually live their life instead of constantly taking pills that aren’t nearly as effective. Medicinal Marijuana has more benefits than detriments and should be legalized. POINT (OKON) In the United States there are only twenty-four states that have legalized medicinal marijuana, and in these states there are approximately 1,137,069 patients depending on marijuana to help them on a daily basis. (...
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