Medical Marijuana: A Federal Frontier The United States’ Drug Enforcement Agency has created a Schedule of Drugs to distinctly categorize drugs, substances, and certain chemicals used to make drugs. The categorization process takes into account the drug’s acceptable medical use along with the drug’s abuse and dependency potential; then, it is classified into one of the five schedules. The abuse rate is a key determinate factor in the classification of a drug. For example, Schedule I drugs are considered the most dangerous class of drugs with no currently accepted medical use, a high potential for abuse, and potentially severe psychological and/or physical dependence. For sake of comparison and perspective, here is a list of several drugs from Schedule I and II. Schedule I includes heroin, LSD, ecstasy, marijuana, etc. Schedule II includes cocaine, methamphetamine, Adderall, Ritalin, OxyContin, etc. Now, I am neither a doctor nor a chemist, but classifying marijuana as more dangerous and having higher abuse/dependency potential over some of the Schedule II drugs seems quite unfitting. One can easily overdose on cocaine, not to mention there exists a variation of cocaine, street-named “crack,” that is highly addictive and physically dependent. A methamphetamine overdose is particularly lethal because it gives no immediate signs. The rapid onset of physiological deterioration that follows a methamphetamine overdose may lead to a sudden and unexpected death. Adderall, Ritalin, and OxyContin are all pharmaceutical prescriptions that, when abused or misused, can be highly and fatally addictive. As for classifying marijuana in the same schedule as heroin, unfitting may be an understatement. Heroin is highly addictive and builds tol... ... middle of paper ... ... even tracked by the government. Now, to reiterate, this is not an evaluation in attempt to sway others to say yes to marijuana. It is a mere attempt to broaden our vision, our perspective. Marijuana, like alcohol and tobacco, should be regulated and taxed by the federal and state governments. Let’s talk tax dollars! Colorado, one of two states to set precedent in legalizing the use and possession of recreational marijuana (let alone medical marijuana), is projected to gross over $40 million in additional tax dollars for the year of 2014. The state has already recorded nearly $3.5 million in marijuana-related tax revenue in the month of January 2014. This can and should ease a lot of the burden on our national deficit and debt. It is an unknown frontier for us as a country, but the facts are there, the evidence is there, it is a path worth pursuing.
Ever since the federal criminalization of marijuana in the United States in 1937, there has been a large underground drug market (Paul). Much like how the prohibition of alcohol simply forced imbibers underground, those who chose to partake in marijuana are forced to stay away from the prying eye of the law because of present marijuana laws. This means the drug world is concealed from the average citizen, hiding the dangers of drug deals gone wrong, police shootings, and other dangerous occurrences
use of marijuana? Perhaps it was you yourself who has found the use of the plant to be beneficial to your everyday life. Marijuana has long been popular for both its medicinal and recreational properties and in the last few years has become a widely discussed topic in the public. Many states have adopted the idea of legalization in varying levels and have left the decision up to the voters. Although many individuals in the United States contend the potential negative effects of marijuana use or exposure
Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is a plant that is consider one of the many illegal sustains. Marijuana is a plant that clams to make people addicted like other drugs like meth, cocaine, and other harmful sustains. Marijuana has been refer as pot, grass, reefer, weed, herb, mary jane, or mj by National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). (34) When mentioning of this plant, it cause sirs among the public about the dangerous use of the plant. The news media portal marijuana as harmful plants that changes
have used marijuana for over four thousand seven hundred years so why is it illegal. Marijuana has been scientifically proven to have healing effects that can be used to treat and cure a wide range of illnesses and health problems. There has been a tremendous amount of discoveries that show marijuana being one of the most effective drugs while only having some minor side effects. Since the criminalization of marijuana, it is still used in the manufacturing of products allowing marijuana to slowly
The Impact of the Internet on Society The Internet is, quite literally, a network of networks. It is comprised of ten thousands of interconnected networks spanning the globe. The computers that form the Internet range from huge mainframes in research establishments to modest PCs in people's homes and offices. Despite the recent hype, the Internet is not a new phenomenon. Its roots lie in a collection of computers that were linked together in the 1970s to form the US Department of Defense's communications