Support Marijuana Legalization Now!

1682 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Sample researches on the mental effect of smoking marijuana

Alex, who lives in Oregon, is an 11-year-old boy with severe autism. Jeremy Echols, his father, said that his son Alex was diagnosed when he was 5 years old. When seizures are coming, he becomes a self-destructive boy by banging his head and body against the wall causing bruising. However, since after treatment with marijuana (also called cannabis), Alex's illness was significantly improved. His parents curb his seizures by giving him a liquid form of marijuana by mouth 3 times a week. For Alex's family, the benefits of marijuana are greater than the risks. "For us, the long-term side effects that are unknown for something that can't kill him are a lot better than the long-term side effects of him beating himself bloody," his dad said (Mosbergen, 2013).

Alex’s case is a good example to prove the important role of marijuana in medical use. Therefore, California passed a law for legalizing the medical marijuana use in 1996. This also increases revenue for the state since that time. In Oakland, California, Harborside Health Center, which is a nation's largest pharmacy for medical marijuana, distributed the packaged marijuana and marijuana plants in pots for consumers. Each person should have a doctor’s prescription for marijuana use with regulated amounts, which are not dangerous to health of users. In 2013, Pew Research Center found that 52% of people in the United States said that the use of marijuana should be made legal while 45% of the others said it should not (Pew Research Center, 2013). It is debated whether or not marijuana is legalized in the United States. Opponents of medical marijuana legalization address that marijuana is an addictive substance, causes harm to mental cognition and behavior of the users, and has many ...

... middle of paper ...

...ohol.” SAFERchoice.org. Web. 22 March 2014.

< http://archive.saferchoice.org/content/view/24/53/>

Mosbergen, Dominique. “Alex Echols, Boy With Autism, Gets Medical Marijuana To Manage

Self-Destructive Rages.” Huff Post. Huff Post, 31 January 2013. Web. 22 March

2014. rages_n_2552004.html> “6 Surprising Facts About THC”, Leaf Science, 16 March 2014. Web. 22 March 2014.

Szalavitz, Maia. “New Research Questions Marijuana’s Impact in Lowering IQ.” Time. Time,

15 January 2013. Web. 22 March 2014.

impact-in-lowering-iq-time>

Show More
Related

  • Marijuana Should Be Legal

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marijuana is a relatively harmless drug that governments around the world have made illegal. If legalized, marijuana can be beneficial to society in a number of ways: whether it be for medical, economic, or public safety reasons. Marijuana has been proven to treat several life debilitating, and even life threatening diseases. Although it is not a cure, marijuana can ease the pain and suffering of a dying person. Another benefit of legalization is the financial gains that governments will accomplish through the taxation of marijuana. This is a realistic claim if marijuana sales are compared to that of cigarettes; governments make billions each year from cigarette taxes (Caputo and Ostrom 484). Every year law enforcement spends countless man-hours trying to apprehend marijuana dealers and growers. This time would be better utilized in dealing with more serious crimes. This essay will display some main reasons why marijuana is a substance with beneficial uses and applications. First, marijuana can be used as a treatment for the effects of diseases such as AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, and other terminal diseases. A study carried out in California clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of marijuana as a treatment for cancer: “Over 74 percent of the cancer patients treated in the program have reported that marijuana is more effective in relieving their nausea and vomiting than any other drug they have tried.”(Zeese 1990). Chemotherapy for cancer patients often produces nausea and vomiting. Marijuana has been proven to relieve these symptoms and there have been no known side effects recorded (Ad Hoc Group of Experts part 4).

    Read More

  • Marijuana Should Be Illegal

    606 Words  | 2 Pages

    Legalization of Marijuana has quickly become a controversial issue in America. In the United States, legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes is spreading to the state level. For example, in November 1996, the people of California and Arizona voted to legalize marijuana for medicinal reasons. As a result of Proposition 215 in California, patients now smoke marijuana provided their physician recommends its usage. A prescription is not required, and marijuana continues to be illegal to prescribe. The Clinton administration responded that it “would not recognize these decisions, and would prosecute physicians who recommend or provide marijuana to their patients.” Although California and Arizona are the only two states to have already passed laws regulating marijuana usage, twenty-six states and the District of Columbia have laws and resolutions regarding marijuana usage. These laws and resolutions range from establishing therapeutic research programs, to allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana, to asking the federal government to lift the ban. Despite the states’ desires to have marijuana legalized for medicinal purposes, the US National Institutes of Health examined all existing clinical evidence about smoked marijuana and concluded that, “There is no scientifically sound evidence that smoked marijuana is medically superior to currently available therapies.”

    Read More

  • Medical Marijuana Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    With marijuana is becoming legal in some states for medical reasons, other states are still questioning how marijuana can be beneficial and even a problem. In “The Truth about Medical Marijuana” by Carrie Shortsleeve, published in 2013 on the website Men’s Health, Shortsleeve describes how tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, found in marijuana, can be used for medical benefits. In the passage, she explains how the immune system and brain are affected by THC especially if the substance is high in dosage. When Dr. Mahmoud ElSohly, Ph.D., “the director of the University of Mississippi’s Marijuana Project,” injured his back, he begins to research what benefits marijuana has when using the drug as medicine, and Shortsleeve shares this with people who maybe considering medical marijuana. Shortsleeve uses statistics, in depth research, and real- life situations to show how some people trust marijuana as medicine; even though, some of these people were once against medical marijuana.

    Read More

  • The Controversy of Legalizing Marijuana

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Medicinal Marijuana in Texas

    1717 Words  | 4 Pages

    Legalization of marijuana in the United States has received much attention and controversy in recent months. The federal government outlaws the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes despite proven research studies that have discovered the plant’s potential to treat the lives of many Americans affected by disease and chronic pain. Medicinal use of the marijuana plant dates back to 2700 B.C. in China. Emperor Shen Nung discovered its’ healing properties and recommended marijuana for a variety of ailments (Mack and Joy 14). Today bias views and law plague the advancement of marijuana in present day medicine. Strict approval processes are limiting the research necessary for such advancements (Medical Marijuana Research News). Despite federal and state illegalization, twenty-one states over the past decade have made advances to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes (“State Medical Marijuana Laws”) . It is time for Texas to acknowledge the benefits and eliminate the stigma surrounding medicinal marijuana. Medical marijuana should be legalized in Texas because of its’ medicinal benefits associated with many chronic diseases and the potential revenue the state could benefit from during this time of recession.

    Read More

  • Legalization of Marijuana

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    Schwartz, Richard H. "Marijuana: A Decade And A Half Later, Still A Crude Drug With Underappreciated Toxicity." Pediatrics 109.2 (2002): 284. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Marijuana Should be Legalized

    1600 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Martin Luther King Jr., “There are two types of laws: there are just and there are unjust laws” (King 293). During his time as civil rights leader, he advocated civil disobedience to fight the unjust laws against African-Americans in America. For instance, there was no punishment for the beatings imposed upon African-Americans or for the burning of their houses despite their blatant violent, criminal, and immoral demeanor. Yet, an African-American could be sentenced to jail for a passive disagreement with a white person such as not wanting to give up their seat to a white passenger on a public bus. Although these unjust laws have been righted, Americans still face other unjust laws in the twenty-first century.

    Read More

  • Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey through His Son's Addiction

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    David Sheff starts the story of his family with Nic’s birth and goes all the way long to the present days when his son had survived several years of drug abuse, rehabilitations and relapses. Sheff confesses that his son started to use different kinds of drugs when he was very young. At the age of 11 he would try alcohol and some pot. “In early May, I pick Nic up after school one day …When he climbs into a car I smell cigarette smoke. I lecture him and he promises not to do it again. Next Friday after school…I am packing an overnight bag for him and look for a sweater in his backpack. I do not find a sweater, but instead discover a small bag of marijuana.” (Sheff, 200...

    Read More

  • Legalizing Marijuana Is our Solution

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    Millions of people are suffering needlessly because of the prohibition against using medical marijuana, Rosenthal and Kubby assert. They conclude that marijuana should be decriminalized. ”(Rosenthal, Kubby) Today, I am going to help you understand the real benefits of marijuana. By the time that we are through, you will be agreeing with me and will want to be a part of the effort needed by citizens to legalize such a beneficial drug.

    Read More

  • Marijuana Should Not Be Legalized

    2079 Words  | 5 Pages

    They come to find out that because of him smoking so much marijuana, it had led to brain problems, memory problems and affected his thinking skills. He was unable to stay focused on something and constantly was out of breath when any physical activity took place. My friend finally quit smoking marijuana because he saw what it was doing to his life. Many teens try marijuana, not knowing all the side effects that come with this drug. This drug has many misconceptions, from when it is really legal to what marijuana will actually do to your body.

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Medical Marijuana

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Marijuana

    2271 Words  | 5 Pages

    Marijuana is the third most common leisure drug in the United States after alcohol and tobacco. Millions of Americans smoke marijuana despite the strict laws against its use. Marijuana is less dangerous compared to tobacco or alcohol. Smoking marijuana can cause breathing problems and coughing just like cigarettes and some people get addicted after using for a while. Regulating and legalizing marijuana will bring Americas greatest cash crop under law, create economic opportunities and jobs in the formal economy as opposed to the underground market. Adopting a legally controlled market for marijuana will ensure that consumers buy the products from a safe and legal source. Marijuana has been approved in some states for medical uses to ease the effects of different health challenges. Colorado and Washington legalized m...

    Read More

  • The Effects of Marijuana on Today’s Youth

    2813 Words  | 6 Pages

    The use of drugs and mind-alternating substances has been a part of society for decades. The ‘high’ that people attain from the use of such substances is very attractive and exciting however, the effects of this use are minimized. Particularly for youth, a group of individuals who are seeking independence and experimentation, drug use represents the balance between taking risks and taking responsibility for one’s actions. However, the developmental processes of adolescents are known to not encompass the maturity required to fully think through such decisions. As such, the use of a ‘smaller-scale’ drug like marijuana is even more minimized. The purpose of this paper is to discuss what the risks of using marijuana are for youths, why they are the most affected, how this problem has progressed over the last three decades, and what preventative measures and treatment options are in place. It will also discuss what schools, parents, and government agencies could be doing to help improve the issue, and the impact that this issue is having on society.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Medical Marijuana

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marijuana is a very hot topic and also brings a lot of controversy among the topics in the U.S today. Many believe it has medicinal benefits and should be made legal when necessary. Many believe it has a really high risk for abuse. Amongst those arguments, some of the ingredience in medical marijuana have presented a greater argument for possible legalization through their use of research and evidence of beneficial use

    Read More

  • Should We Legalize Marijuana?

    1275 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the perspective of America's war on drugs, marijuana is one of the biggest enemies. And since alcohol and tobacco, two life threatening substances, are legal it is a relevant question to ask why marijuana is illegal. The taxpayers of America can partly answer this question when they fill out their tax forms and when they hear the hash rhetoric used against marijuana by the government. The fact that marijuana is illegal is sufficiently caused by the amount of money, jobs, and pride invested in the drug war. In other words, the government cannot turn back now.

    Read More

More about Support Marijuana Legalization Now!

Open Document