... on if marijuana should be legalized for all purposes, to include medical and recreational. The question should lie as to what is the actual harm that comes from making the drug legal. Why not legalize the drug and place a tax, just like the tax occurred on tobacco. In the 1890’s, marijuana/hemp was replacing the cotton plantations and it was a major cash crop in the southern states. The product was being placed in some prescriptions; it was even listed on the United States Pharmacopeia from 1850 until 1942. During this time, using marijuana for recreational use was not illegal. In the 1950s it was an accessory of the beat generation; in the 1960s it was used by college students and "hippies" and became a symbol of rebellion against authority. It was being used by musicians and the people in show business. During this time clubs were opening in most major cities and these were tolerated by the community because the patrons did not disrupt after using the drug. The government has tried to use criminal penalties to prevent marijuana use for over 75 years and still to this day marijuana is now used by over 25 million people annually. Now that Colorado and Washington have legalized use and possession of marijuana and 20 states have legalized its medical uses, many people, including virtually everyone who has studied the matter, hope that other states will also legalize and ultimately force the federal government to repeal its strict criminalization of marijuana. Starting...
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...PHI-105 Critical Thinking Legalization of Marijuana There has not been one marijuana induced death reported to the U.S Center for Disease Control, yet every year approximately 79,000 deaths are reported for alcohol induced deaths. (CDC, 2010). Alcohol is clearly more dangerous then marijuana, yet marijuana is illegal in 27 states. There are several positive arguments about this controversial subject, which will be addressed in this essay. Legalizing marijuana in the United States would benefit citizens with certain medical conditions, stimulate the economy, and reduce drug related crimes. Even though marijuana is considered a Schedule I controlled substance, meaning it has no accepted medical use, it would still benefit many citizens in the United States with certain medical conditions if it were legalized. Currently 23 States have legalized the medical use of marijuana, as well as DC. (Carter, 2008). Using marijuana as a safe an effective treatment option for citizens who have cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma pain, epilepsy, and asthma provides benefits that cannot be found using anything else. (Carter, 2008).. It doesn’t have debilitating side effects and it gives a relaxing effect which lowers anxiety, reduces nausea and pain, and enlarges and relaxes the bronchial passage. It has been said that marijuana is psychologically addictive which is why it is so important to understand the medical benefits that marijuana offers. Any time something...
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...com/od/legalandethicalissues/i/Is-It-A-Good-Idea-For-Marijuana-To-Be-Legalized_2.htm http://casac.org/legislation/shouldmarijuanabel/ http://hightimes.com/legal/ht_admin/1842 http://www.mjlegal.org/alctob.html http://www.saferchoice.org/content/view/24/53/ http://guyism.com/lifestyle/10-major-health-benefits-of-medical-marijuana.html http://norml.org/legal/item/war-against-marijuana-consumers http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Legalize-tax-marijuana-to-fill-budget-gap-1121668.php Why marijuana should be legalized? I. Expensive keeping marijuana illegal II. Drug dealers and violence reduces III. Marijuana vs. alcohol and tobacco IV. Marijuana has medical benefits References Brown, M. (2003). Legalize, Tax Marijuana to Fill Budget Gap. Retrieved from http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Legalize-tax-marijuana-to-fill-budget-gap-1121668.php. Hartney, E. (2011). Is It a Good Idea For Marijuana To Be Legalized? Retrieved from http://addictions.about.com/od/legalandethicalissues/i/Is-It-A-Good-Idea-For-Marijuana-To-Be-Legalized_2.htm. Marijuana Legalization Organization. (1999-2008). Marijuana vs. Alcohol and Tobacco. Retrieved from http://www.mjlegal.org/alctob.html. Marijuana Legalization Organization. (1999-2007). Why Should Marijuana Be Legal? Retrieved from http://www.mjlegal.org/. Marijuana Legalization Organization. (1999-2002). Why Should Marijuana Be Legal? Retrieved from http://www...
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...Legalize It! John G. Krape JR COM/156 June 19, 2011 Lugene Rosen Legalize It! The legalization of marijuana would not hurt the country, but it would benefit it in many ways. Alcohol and tobacco are legal although they are more harmful than marijuana, which can be used to raise revenue, decrease the crime rate, and help heal the sick. Marijuana, or cannabis, has many positives much good can come from it being legal. Some of the main positives of legalizing marijuana include raising revenue for the country as a whole, decreasing the crime rate and number of prisoners, and it can be used as a cheap way for people to self-medicate. As with everything where there are positives there are negatives. Some negatives that could be argued would include how the government would control it, what to do with prisoners who were arrested prior to the legalization, and what kind of damage long term use could cause. The benefits of legalizing cannabis outweigh the negative side of it, like raising the revenue and economy of this country. One reason why marijuana should be legalized is that it can raise the revenue and economy of this country tenfold in a short period of time. People do not just start doing something because it becomes available in mass quantities with no prosecution. Marijuana can be grown by companies, like Phillip Morris a cigarette company, and taxed by the government. A high tax should be put on the product of course, making enjoying it a rare occasion. Alcohol and...
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...Alborta 1401LOGIC321335A-class Heather Wilburn 10 September 2013 Pros and Cons of Legalization of Marijuana Marijuana has been debated for decades all over the world, and it still unsure what is the best option for the people, either make it legal or keep it illegal like in almost all the countries. But here I am going to explain and show you some facts of each side of the coin. For the pro side there are many aspects that show how legalizing the marijuana can bring more benefits than keep it illegal; for example, there is evidence that show how marijuana helps some illness which means is good for medical use, there is also a fact that combating the Marijuana the governments spend tons of money, and also comparing the effects and causes of marijuana to the effects and causes of alcohol and tobacco makes thoughts easier to see legalization of marijuana makes the things better; On the other hand, looking to the other side of the coin, we got this drug which causes bad things in our bodies, it has immediate bad effects right after using it, it has also long-term effects, it seems also as a gateway drug in our society. The positive side of legalize the Marijuana. It has proved that Marijuana can be used as a treatment for many illness and bad symptoms of illness; for example, for those people who has Cancer Chemotherapy treatment and causes extreme nauseas and vomiting to them, Marijuana reduces those extreme symptoms, and it also alleviates pretreatment anxiety. For those...
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...The legalization of marijuana has been one of the most highly debated topics of today’s society. It has the potential to be both beneficial and harmful to mankind as a whole; however, the pros of legalization far outweigh the cons. The most common argument against marijuana is that if it were to be legalized that it could have adverse health effects, especially when used in large doses; but any substance can be harmful if not taken in moderation. Why are substances such as tobacco and alcohol legal, when they all carry equal risks and benefits? Why is marijuana unfairly controlled and restricted without consideration to the facts? Cigarettes are legal yet one in ten smokers will have lung or heart related complications that have been directly linked to the tar in cigarettes by many studies, including the 2014 Surgeon Generals Report. The study details the correlation between lung and heart complications and smoking cigarettes. The possible applications for marijuana In medicine are astounding; even in the early stages of medical marijuana research, leaps and bounds are being made in pain relief and management for the sick, elderly and terminally ill. It is truly helping millions of people around the world manage a whole range of ailments. To ignore the facts about marijuana is a step back for society as a whole. Almost 25,000 different commercial and industrial products can be made from hemp/marijuana, including: milk, clothes, paper and medicine. Why is this valuable...
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....“ Legalizations of Marijuana While being interview by a reporter from the New York Times Obama was quoted as saying (Seelye, 2006) “When I was a kid, I inhaled, that was the point.” As referring to when he was a young man that he had inhaled marijuana. And he became the Presidential of the United Stated. In many ways, it’s the way that some people in society has demonized the use of marijuana it, (Scheer, 1999) Eight million American have tried marijuana and report have shown that there is no proclivity to move on to harder drugs. This accorded to an 18 month study commissioned by the federal drug czar Barry R McCaffrey. We will look at the several economy impacts of decriminalizing or legalizations of marijuana. (Brown 2003) One why to assist the farmer's domestically grown marijuana is the second largest cash crop in the United States, behind only corn. The above references are from people that have no finance gain in the legalization of marijuana and the other one is the Presidential and he would not lie. (Schlosser 1998) States According to the detail of the show the numbers of people in Jail for marijuana arrest are one in every six. There are more people now in prison for marijuana offenses than for violent offenses. There are 1.1 million inmates in American prisons. And if 1 in every 6 is held because of marijuana arrests that make it about 180.000 in jail. And certainly, at a time when there's a shortage of prison space and when murderers are serving on average...
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...Legalization of Marijuana Medical and Recreational Uses Cullen Fitzsimmons ITT Technical Institute Authors Note This research is being submitted on August 17, 2015 to Hugo McPhee’s GS1145 course at ITT Technical Institute by Cullen Fitzsimmons. Abstract I decided that a very controversial subject was that of the legalization of Marijuana, both for medical and recreational use. I found that there are many health benefits to medical marijuana. There also can be many benefits to the recreational use/sale of marijuana. Like all controversial topics there cannot be positives without the negatives. Some of the negatives are accessibility to children, gateway drug and impaired driving. The legalization of marijuana has been a long debated and often heated subject. The federal government has not legalized the recreational use of Marijuana, but that did not stop four states from legalizing it with in their own borders. Through the course of this paper I tend to discuss the many pros and cons of the legalization of Marijuana. There are two main ways of legalizing marijuana; medical use and recreational use. Positives Currently there are four states and Washington D.C. that have passed the legal right to recreational marijuana, Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. Besides the medical benefits from marijuana there are also multiple reason why making it legal is a good thing. Colorado has seen a recent drop in crime rate. According to Rough (2015) “violent crime...
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...other dangerous substances with that title. I am talking about Marijuana. Just bringing up that word around certain crowds can cause quite a scene. But why? Because people are often extremely uninformed and unaware of the benefits that can come with legalizing marijuana, and often just think of it as another kind of heroin, or cocaine. Rather than being able to see if for what it truly is and what is has the potential to do. The United States as a whole is in a huge economic recession, and the legalization and taxation on marijuana can completely help us with this problem. According to statistics the cost for the war on drugs in 2010 was over $41 billion dollars. Of that amount about $8.7 billion can be attributed to marijuana. So legalizing marijuana would immediately save us $8.7 billion dollars a year enforcing existing laws. More than 5,000 people are put in jail each year on marijuana related charges, most of which are non-violent offenses. In the State of California, it costs more than $47,000 per year to incarcerate just 1 person. That’s nearly $250 million dollars a year to keep marijuana users in prison because most of those cases are simple possession cases. Not to mention that our prisons are currently exceeding their capacity, and criminals who did a lot worse things than smoking marijuana are being released early to make room for new inmates. Is that really what we want? I’d much rather have marijuana users out in the streets...
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...Dominic Terrible 9/28/14 Essay The Effects of Legalization of Marijuana Americans have gone back and forth about whether to legalize marijuana or not , in some states this has already been done and there are pharmacies that sell medicated marijuana to patients who have glaucoma. Legalizing marijuana could solve some of the US's problems , but could also create a plethora of new ones. One of the very few pros of legalizing marijuana is that it would put most of the drug dealers out of business. Why would anyone want to go to a drug dealer when they could go straight to the store and know exactly what they're getting and most importantly know what they're doing is legal. They would also go to the stores because there would be a variety of marijuana. There would probably be all the essentials you need to smoke marijuana which would be very convenient for marijuana smokers. One of the many negatives it can cause is more fatalities with driving. In 2007 , marijuana was not legal in Colorado but pot-positive drivers accounted for 7% of total fatalities in Colorado. In 2012 Colorado legalized marijuana for usage other than just medical usage. In 2012 , pot-positive drivers accounted for 16% of total fatalities in Colorado. This is a serious problem that would only become worse if legalization happens across the US. Another negative effect is that more and more kids would start to get into smoking marijuana. We don't need preteens walking around high as a kite...
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...Should the U.S. legalize marijuana? • The U.S. legalization of marijuana has been a controversial subject for many years. Proponents of legalization cite many benefits including, what they claim to be substantial increases in tax revenue, reduction in crime, and widespread medical benefits. Opponents argue that marijuana is a harmful drug that increases crime, causes more problems with health than it benefits, and would cost taxpayers more than the revenue it would bring in. II First Source Klein, J., April 2, 2009. Why legalizing marijuana makes sense. Time magizine Retrieved from: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1889021,00.html • This author expresses the many benefits of legalization, while expressing just a few valid, weak arguments for those against legalization. • This article easily answers the question for the proponents of legalization but doesn’t offer enough information to argue against it. • Evidence is sufficient for legalization • Examples cited are revelant and conclusions do add up for legalization III Second Source DuPont, R., April 20, 2010. Why we should not legalize marijuana, A CNBC special report. Retrieved from http://www.Why_We_Should_Not_Legalize_Marijuana.cnbc.com/id/36267223/ • This article supports the opponents of legalization and offers nothing for the opposing view. • Evidence is sufficient and well written for the points expressed for not legalizing marijuana. • Evidence is insufficient...
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...In 1996, medical marijuana became legal in California, which inspired Richard Lee to open businesses associated with the usage of marijuana. Lee was a medical marijuana provider and activist with a dream to legalize marijuana; as a result, he created Proposition 19 in 2010 by using his own funding to the sum of $1.45 million. The creation of Proposition 19 was to legalize marijuana in California through regulation and taxation. In essence, passing of the bill would legally allow individuals that are 21 or older the ability to harvest and use marijuana. However, Proposition 19 would only grant legal rights related with marijuana under the state of California and not under federal law. As a result, federal law must still firmly enforce drug laws against harvesters and distributors of marijuana in California. Although Proposition 19 was unable to pass in 2010, Lee ensures that effort to pass this bill will never stop. Proposition 19 protesters argue that legalizing marijuana creates abuse among adolescents. In the article “Why We Should Not Legalize Marijuana”, Dr. Robert L. DuPont stated, “Marijuana is the most commonly abused illegal drug in the U.S. and around the world.” The United States Drug enforcement Agency has classified marijuana as a drug that has an extreme potential for abuse. They categorized marijuana as a schedule I drug which is under the same category as cocaine, heroin and morphine. Parents fear that the legalization of marijuana enables easier access...
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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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...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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...The Benefit of Legalizing Marijuana Of all legal reformations that should be made, the legalization of marijuana is perhaps the most necessary. If legalized on a controlled basis, it could greatly benefit our country in a variety of ways. Clearly the most controversial topic is marijuana's benefit to the medical community. The economy would also be a beneficiary of marijuana's legalization through taxation and all the while crime rates would inevitably decrease throughout the country. While many citizens are opposed to the legalization of marijuana they are often misinformed and misguided. Marijuana is a drug that is overlooked and can be used in many positive ways. There are many people that oppose the idea of legalizing marijuana and their point of view can be justified, but marijuana can be used for other purposes than getting “high”. Although there are valid points to each side, ultimately, if legalized the benefits of legal marijuana could greatly outweigh the risk. It has been documented that marijuana can severely reduce some effects of cancer. Also, it is known that marijuana has prolonged the lives of people who were diagnosed as terminally ill. Many rely on the drug to ease their pain and suffering. Another useful benefit is its aide in reducing nausea in chemotherapy patients. Medicinal uses for cannabis date back to 2737 B.C. when the Chinese emperor and pharmacologist Shen Neng prescribed the drug for gout, malaria, beriberi, rheumatism, and memory problems...
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