To: President of USA From: Think Tank for a better USA " Scenario: A Date: 27th February 2014 Word count: 1796" "" The Context! Our country is facing a huge dilemma with respect to criminal charges for marijuana possessions. The country is divided into two factions - one being the freedom demanding, marijuana legalizing while the other being the anti-drug, let us crush all the drugs and drug takers. The effects of a policy in this regard spills out and affects more parties than the ones directly involved." " Analysis of the dilemma! Before a policy can be thought upon, proper analysis of the current scenario needs to be done. For this, we need to debate various arguments of both sides and judge the merits based on scientific and statistical facts. " " Some common arguments regarding marijuana legalization " " 1. Case about freedom" " Our country is based on the principles of freedom. The civil war was fought to bring freedom to everyone irrespective of the color of the skin. Today, we have achieved that but there are still matters of conflict when talks about freedom arise. The right to victimless crime of smoking marijuana is one of them. Each and every American has right to freedom than why does that not cover the right to have recreational marijuana as and when one wishes? A marijuana consumer doesn't harm anybody - physically or mentally. Unlike the right to gun, it doesn't empower him or her to take someone's life; unlike alcohol it doesn't induce violent and uncontrolled behavior; unlike smoking it doesn't push him or her to the abyss of cancer. Then why do our laws see marijuana under a criminal light?" " 2. Making it legal will make more people users" " The most common outcry against marijuana lega... ... middle of paper ... ...th:marijuana is a gateway drug. Retrieved from http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/lists/top-10- marijuana-myths-and-facts-20120822/myth-marijuana-is-a-gateway-drug-19691231" Myth: Using marijuana leads to crime and delinquency. Retrieved from http://www.rollingstone.com/ culture/lists/top-10-marijuana-myths-and-facts-20120822/myth-using-marijuana-leads-to-crimeand- delinquency-19691231" About Marijuana Policy Project. Retrieved from http://www.mpp.org/about/" Pot Legalization Could Save U.S. $13.7 Billion Per Year, 300 Economists Say. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/17/economists-marijuana-legalization\_n\_1431840.html" These 5 Numbers Show Marijuana Legalization Is Going Well in Colorado. Retrieved from http:// justsaynow.firedoglake.com/2014/02/25/these-5-numbers-show-marijuana-legalization-is-goingwell- in-colorado/" Page #4 of #4
The opinion of Marijuana during the 70’s was much more relaxed than it is today. Approval of Marijuana by 27 states, new medical studies, and its consequences on those convicted from use of the most common general, the argument about marijuana in this country is: should Marijuana continue to be given to citizens based on its health effects, medicinal values, and costs to the country? The reasons why this argument is so important are great. As previously stated, Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the world, and with millions of people using it regularly and almost 100 million that have ever used it in this country, the laws behind this drug hold great influence. It is because of this and the immergence of new evidence, that the justification behind prohibition of this drug is being rethought scientifically, socially, and economically. The use of Marijuana as both medicine and a recreational drug is being thoroughly questioned in the US. 27 states have Marijuana approved in some form, many of those for medical purposes however those users can still, and do get placed into prison by federal law. Currently, 830,00 people a year are in trouble with the law in regards to Marijuana and numbers seem to be on an uphill trend . Furthermore, the US invests 30 billion a year into the drug war, half of which is dedicated to Marijuana. Many are questioning its success all together. Both imprisonment and the war cost our country, and therefore our people, money. A change in laws is going to have a dramatic affect on America.
Four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. He gave the Union soldiers a new perspective on the war and a reason to fight in the Civil War. Before the address, the Civil War was based on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the essence of America and the ideals that were instilled in the Declaration of Independence by the Founders. The sixteenth president of the United States was capable of using his speech to turn a war on states’ rights to a war on slavery and upholding the principles that America was founded upon. By turning the Civil War into a war about slavery he effortlessly ensured that no foreign country would recognize the South as an independent nation, ensuring Union success in the war. In his speech, Lincoln used the rhetorical devices of juxtaposition, repetition, and parallelism, to touch the hearts of its listeners.
On August 2nd, 1937, United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. The law was passed only 83 days after being introduced in the House of Representatives as House Resolution 6906. This law sought to place prohibitive regulations requiring medical professionals to obtain a one dollar tax stamp in order to continue prescribing cannabis sativa as medicine. However, physicians who wished purchase the tax stamp were also required to divulge an abnormal amount of detail regarding the patient, the condition being treated, the amount prescribed and the date of the prescription. Failure to follow these strict rules while prescribing marijuana resulted in harsh penalties to both the medical professional and the patient. According to the text of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, “Any person who is convicted of a violation of any provision of this Act shall be fined not more than $2,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both, in the discretion of the court.”
The Deviance of Marijuana Smokers Marijuana smokers were once considered regular members of society. In 1937 all that changed when marijuana was banned and made illegal. The smokers were labeled as deviants from then on. I studied marijuana smokers and discussed their experiences. I would like to see whether they are ordinary members of society or deviants.
Of course, the status quo of vote seeking politicians and conservative policy makers has put up a strong resistance to this "new" reform lobby. The reasons for the resistance to the changes in drug policies are multiple and complex. The issues of marijuana’s possible negative effects, its use as a medical remedy, the criminality of its distribution and usage, and the disparity in the enforcement of current drug laws have all been brought to a head and must be addressed in the near future. It is apparent that it would be irresponsible and wrong for the government to not evaluate it’s current general drug policies and perhaps most importantly, their marijuana policy. With the facts of racial disparity in punishment, detrimental effects, fiscal strain and most importantly, the history of the drug, the government most certainly must come to the conclusion that they must, at the very least, decriminalize marijuana use and quite probably fully legalize it.
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 marijuana has a small amount of negligible effects to its users, the herbal drug more importantly has remarkable health benefits, and legalizing one of the oldest and most commonly known drugs would redirect America’s future with the advantages outweighing the disadvantages.
Wilson, Clare “The Case for Marijuana by Prescription." Marijuana (Contemporary Issues Companion). Tardiff, Joseph, ed. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press, 2008. 63-70. Print
...ry have changed drastically by the time of this address. He believed the Civil War created a “new birth of freedom” within the nation.
Cannabis, since its discovery, has been used for recreational and medical purposes. It was seen as a drug that was “safe” and did put the body at risk but benefited it. However, this is not the case anymore because the government under I Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970 law banned the use of the narcotic and has the right to persecute anyone who attains the substance. Nonetheless, the question is not whether the drug is “safe” to use but whether the States should have the power to regulate marijuana or the federal government should continue having the control over the drug. Since 1996, 23 states including Washington D.C have passed laws that have legalized the medical use of marijuana, yet the federal government does not protect or even recognize the rights of users or possessors. The debate over marijuana has picked up momentum and many would agree that all this uprising conflict can be traced back to the constitution and the flaws it presents. The constitution is blamed for not properly distributing the States and Federal powers. Although the federal government currently holds supremacy over marijuana, States should have the power to regulate the drug because under the 10th amendment the federal government only has those powers specifically granted in the constitution, Likewise the States have the right to trade within their own state under the Commerce Clause.
In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson stated that all Americans are entitled to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” However, since using the drug medicinally isn’t legal everywhere in the U.S., its users are at the risk of losing the liberty to better their quality of life and their pursuit of happiness. The people who turn to this drug for comfort are left at the mercy of the disease they suffer from, even though they can find relief by smoking or taking medicinal marijuana to lessen their pain, nausea, or mental
Marijuana has been linked with both medical and recreational use for nearly 10,000 years. This dates back to the writings of Chinese emperor Shen Nung stating that the plant was useful as a medical treatment for several ailments including gout, malaria and even senility. Later, it was also used in India and the Middle East for recreational purposes as an alternative to alcohol which is forbidden by the Muslim faith. This paper will argue, applying a Utilitarian perspective, for the benefits of legalizing marijuana in the United States. It will conclude that marijuana is no more of a health hazard than legal substances such as alcohol and tobacco nor does it contribute to an increase in crime.
Despite the 1976 ruling by the federal government that marijuana has “no acceptable medical use”, sixteen states have passed medical marijuana laws that allow for patient use o...
With America’s war on drugs being highly focused on the increased use of marijuana, there is not much time for officers to focus on crimes of greater importance. Crimes related to illegal marijuana use are becoming more problematic due to drug deals that go bad, occasionally ending with murder. It has been estimated that one marijuana-related arrest is made every 42 seconds. With marijuana being illegal, keeping crime related activities under control cost the United States approximately twenty billion dollars per year (Sledge). According to Brian Bremner and Vincent Del Giudice, “A 2010 study by the libertarian Cato Institute, forecasted that states could save $17.4 billion annually from reduced drug enforcement costs and increased tax revenue, assuming marijuana production and sales were legal nationwide” (11). Several law enforcement hours are exhausted with pursing, questioning, and arresting citizens that are in possession of or consuming marijuana. There would be a decrease in the number of misdemeanor possession cases that are pending hearing. These cases would be dismissed, decreasing costs affiliated with each case. There are excessive numbers of people who remain incarcerated for nonviolent crimes related to illegal marijuana use. Legalizing marijuana would allow these people to be released, opening jail space for the true criminals. Legalizing marijuana would free up law enforcement officers from focusing on illegal marijuana use and allow focus to be put on more serious
Recreational marijuana should not be legalized because of the many negative health effects it has on a person. Marijuana has a big effect on the lungs and when marijuana is smoked it can cause harm to the lungs. The smoke from marijuana has cancer causing substances in it. “Smoking marijuana can cause large air sacs, called bullae, to form. Bullae normally form in young marijuana smokers (less than 45 years old.)” (Drake and Slatore). Marijuana smoke has the same harmful chemicals that tobacco products contain, and marijuana smokers develop lung damage because of this. The fact that marijuana smokers hold the smoke in their lungs longer than tobacco smokers and there is no filters in bongs, bowls, blunts, or joints, there is no safe way to smoke marijuana. Blunts are the wrapping of a cigar filled with marijuana, a...
Last year, a total of $7 to $10 billion was used towards arresting and processing marijuana. The big picture here is that 90% of those arrests were just for possession. It is crazy that as a country we spend most of our time trying to stop the biggest drug in America when it is just wasting our money. There are fewer arrests for violent crimes than marijuana charges combined. These “violent crimes” consist of assault, rape, robbery, and murder.