America is in a midst of a revolution that isn’t about preserving the planet or choosing healthier alternatives to fossil fuels. Some citizens are deeming this revolution the “green revolution”. It is the heated debate on whether to legalize marijuana. Over the last 50 years, due to large amounts of research, the public’s awareness and perception of marijuana has changed. Whether this change is a beneficial or harmful to ones causes or beliefs is not argued in this paper. The purpose of this paper will be to take a look at the effects of the publics perception and public policy toward the issue and how that has a direct or indirect affect on politics, politicians and legislative actions.
Marijuana: also called grass, reefer, pot, Mary Jane, or most commonly weed, is a green-ish mixture of dried, shredded leaves, seeds, stems, and flowers of the plant known as Cannabis sativa. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main active ingredient in the Cannabis sativa plant. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, when the plant is smoked THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream. Once entered into the bloodstream the chemical is transported through the organs, including the brain, and into the rest of the body. Marijuana can also be consumed in beverages or foods, although the effects begin to appear later, usually around one hour. Inhaling the smoke of the plant delivers significantly more THC into the blood streams and organs than eating or drinking the drug. Short term affects can include: the loss of coordination and distortions in the sense of time, the inability to comprehend or have long term memory of certain things, sleepiness, reddening of the eyes, vision and hearing impairment, increased appetite an...
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... as smoke covered as Colorado, but one thing is for sure, whatever the decision it will be for the best of the country.
Works Cited
Swift. A. (10/22/13). “For First Time, Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana”. Gallup.com. 2013. Web. 10/30/13. http://www.gallup.com/poll/165539/first-time-americans-favor-legalizing-marijuana.aspx
Use and Regulation of Marijuana. 64th Amendment of the Colorado State Constitution. 2012. Print.
Taegan Goddard’s Political Dictionary. 2013. Permanent Campaign. Web. 10/30/13. http://politicaldictionary.com/words/permanent-campaign/
“About NORML.” NORML: Working to reform marijuana laws. 2013. Web. 10/30/13. www.norml.org
“Pot Legalization Could Save U.S. $13.7 Billion Per Year, 300 Economists Say”. Huffington Post. 2012. 08/28/2012. Web. 10/30/14.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/17/economists-marijuana-legalization_n_1431840.html
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.
The controversy of legalizing marijuana has been raging for quite a while in America. From some people pushing it for medical purposes to potheads just wanting to get high legally. Marijuana has been used for years as a popular drug for people who want to get a high. All this time it has been illegal and now it looks as if the drug may become legal. There has been heated debate by many sides giving there opinion in the issue. These people are not only left wing liberals either. Richard Brookhiser, a National Review Senior editor is openly supportive of medical marijuana yet extremely conservative in his writing for National Review (Brookhiser 27). He is for medical marijuana since he used it in his battle with testicular cancer. He says "I turned to [marijuana] when I got cancer because marijuana gives healthy people an appetite, and prevents people who are nauseated from throwing up. "(Brookhiser 27) Cancer patients are not the only benefactors from the appetite enhancer in marijuana, but so are any other nauseous people. Arizona and California have already passed a law allowing marijuana to be used as a medicinal drug. Fifty Six percent of the California voters voted for this law. "We've sent a message to Washington," says Dennis Peron. "They've had 25 years of this drug was, and they've only made things worse." (Simmons 111) The Arizona proposition garnished an even wider margin of separation between the fore's an against in a sixty five percent support tally. Ethan Nadelmann insists that " these propositions are not about legalization or decriminalization. They're about initiating some non radical, commonsense approaches to drug policy." General Barry McCaffery disagrees saying, "I...
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.”
Today’s economy is struggling and it is in dire need of relief. As of 2013, the United State’s debt was $17 trillion, and if marijuana were to be legalized than it would help raise more money. It could be taxed and distributed for consumption sold like alcohol and tobacco. Taxes on cigarettes amounted to more than $43.3 Billion in 2012 (RJReynolds). The legalization of marijuana could possibly one day make that money helping to reduce this nation's debt. But, as the United States continues to prohibit the use of marijuana, it will make the taxpayers pay more money each year on the illegal usage of the drug. The marijuana prohibition costs both state and federal governments more than $20 billion a year (CATO Institute). One drug policy could change how much it wastes on the prohibition but the government has done so. A study by the CATO institute showed that...
The legalization of marijuana is, and has been a heavily disputed issue for decades. On one hand, marijuana could lead to a medical breakthrough, or at least provide relief to cancer and AIDS patients. On the other hand, legalizing a drug could expose it to too broad an audience. As a drug, marijuana has never proven to be anywhere near as harmful as cigarettes or alcohol. Each year in the United States, 400,000 people die from tobacco, 50,000 from alcohol, and from marijuana, zero. Regardless of what side one may take to this argument, there are some causes to this marijuana debate that everyone should know. Marijuana was not always illegal, and the reasons behind the history of narcotic regulation are interesting when viewed from today's perspective. The history of marijuana prohibition is a story of racism, political repression, and poorly represents the qualities this country claims to embody.
Lately it seems that drug policy and the war on drugs has been in the headlines quite a lot. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the policies that the United States government takes against illegal drugs are coming into question. The mainstream media is catching on to the message of organizations and individuals who have long been considered liberal "Counter Culture" supporters. The marijuana question seems to be the most prevalent and pressed of the drugs and issues that are currently being addressed. The messages of these organizations and individuals include everything from legalization of marijuana for medical purposes, to full-unrestricted legalization of the drug. 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 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 important, 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.
Today more and more people are deciding to side with the legalization of the substance, for America. For those who never give the legalization of marijuana a time of day or those who are hesitant on giving it a chance, are now starting to believe that the legalization of the substance would ultimately be helpful for the United States. As always, with every subject that rises up in the United States, there are people that are for the subject and also others that are against the subject. The legalization of Marijuana throughout the entire U.S. is one of the largest controversial arguments between both people and federal officers. As wrote in LegalizationOfMarijuana, “Prohibition must be weighed against the loss of personal freedom. Countries
Before we can debate the topic of marijuana we must first know the material. Marijuana also known as weed, cannabis, or reefer is a green plant that will virtually grow anywhere. Commonly developing up to 8ft in length cannabis can be consumed through digestion or inhaling. The only part of the plant that is consumed is the flower or bud. The stem and leaves of the plant can be broken down to make other materials. From this plant we could create consumer textiles, industrial textiles, paper, building materials, food, industrial products, and hygiene product...
Cannabis, more commonly known as marijuana, is a plant that people have been using recreationally for years. In fact, people have consumed marijuana since ancient times. Until 1906, the year the United States Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act. The debate on whether or not marijuana should be legalized in the United States has really blown up within the last decade. And finally, in 2012, Colorado became the first state to officially legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational uses. The prohibition of marijuana has gone on for far too long, and it is time for America to change its views.
The legalization of marijuana has the potential to bring our economy back to life if it were to be legalized. There are a number of ways in which legalization could improve the economy. We could use the revenue from taxes on marijuana to provide for a better quality of life for Americans in need. Legalizing marijuana would also save us money by cutting the cost of putting someone in jail for harmless marijuana related charges that waste tax money. Also it would put more money into circulation by keeping the profits off the black market and into the legal and taxed market. With an estimated twenty-five million active marijuana smokers in America that consume nearly thirty-one million pounds of marijuana each year, we are missing out on extreme revenue that this country cannot afford to go without for much longer (Krulick).
Legalization of marijuana has become an increasingly popular topic for debate in society, with “sentiment in favor of legalization [increasing] by 20 [percentage] points in just over a decade,” bringing support for legalization to 52% (Dionne and Galston). The most common arguments for reforming current legislation are the following: enforcement wastes public resources, taxation can provide a new source of revenue, and enforcement of current laws is discriminatory (Dionne and Galston). It is necessary to look at the impact on the primary stakeholders by analyzing the various harms and benefits through application of the ethical theories of utilitarianism and deontology, in order to determine the solution that will result in the best possible outcome. In determining the ethicality of legalizing marijuana, it is necessary to understand the background of the issue, and to identify the most important stakeholders. In the 1930s, many states began outlawing the substance; ironically California was the first of these states (Rendon).
According to National Institute of Drug Abuse, Marijuana is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of Cannabis sativa—the hemp plant. The marijuana is often called pot, grass, reefer, weed, herb, Mary Jane, or MJ. Most users smoke marijuana in hand-rolled cigarettes called joints, among other names; some use pipes or water pipes called bongs. Marijuana cigars, or blunts, are also popular. ("What is marijuana? | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)", 2012).
Marijuana is an extremely popular drug, not only in America, but in every other country in the world as well. However, there are many people who do not know exactly what it is or where it comes from. Marijuana is a blend of flowers, seeds, leaves, and stems from the Indian hemp planted called Cannabis. This plant contains a chemical called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which causes the “high” feeling that users experience when smoking it (“Marijuana: Effects, Medical Uses & Legalization”). The THC in marijuana is analogous to the nicotine in tobacco, but it is not as harmful. They both have many similarities, but they also have significant differences.
...houses and paraphernalia stores. Establishments like these would create more jobs and increase industry sales thereby creating more revenue. Opponents may argue that marijuana legalization will create large health problems. The fact of the matter is that the amount of revenue brought in from marijuana will more then cover the costs of addiction and any other health problems. Opponents may also argue that regulating the sale and distribution of marijuana would be too difficult. Marijuana regulation would be very similar to that of alcohol and tobacco. These have proved to be very strong and worthwhile economic benefactors to the United States. The numbers provided above prove that legalized marijuana would be a very welcomed addition to our economy.