Drug Laws
There has never been a death from marijuana overdose. “A person would have to smoke 20,000 to 40,000 times the amount of THC in a joint to overdose” (Wing). Marijuana was classified as an illegal drug in 1970, because it can be abused very easily (“infoplease”). Marijuana was then grown indoors. Marijuana is illegally used by many people daily. Marijuana should be legalized because it is naturally grown and can be used to help cancer patients, relieve stress, and be used daily.
Cannabis or typically referred to as marijuana is a drug that contains many other chemicals some are like a penicillin. Marijuana helps with many illnesses and diseases such as muscle spasms, nausea chemotherapy, weight loss from HIV, seizures, and crohn’s disease. Marijuana causes you to feel great feelings of well-being.
Marijuana helps with muscle spasms and, many people with multiple sclerosis have said that when they smoke marijuana it relieves their pain. They have done many experiments and tests and 70 percent of people said it relieved their pain. Marijuana helps with loss of appetite because the THC in it stimulates your appetite. Marijuana also helps with HIV for the same reason it stimulates your appetite and causes you to eat more. Marijuana can help seizures because patients who have used marijuana say that they have reduced seizures and fewer headaches. Marijuana helps crohn’s disease because it helps to achieve complete remission (“theweedblog”).
During the 1550’s, Spanish settlers brought marijuana to America. In the 1890’s, cotton replaced marijuana as a crop. During the 1920’s, marijuana began to take over because of Prohibition. Marijuana became used recreationally by Jazz musicians to be called “Reefer songs.” Clubs ...
... middle of paper ...
... Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
n.d Web. 27 Jan.2014.
“Marijuana vs. Alcohol.” SAFER-. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2014
“Obama: Marijuana No More Dangerous than Alcohol.” Fox News. FOX News Network, n.d.
“Social Impact of Marihuana Use.” Social Impact of Marihuana Use. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan.
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 03 Sept. 2013. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.
"The Weed Blog | Marijuana News And Information." The Weed Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. .
Wing, Nick. "The Future Of Legal Weed Is Bright. Here's Where It's Headed Next." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 08 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. . Wing, Nick. “Here Are All The People Who Have Died From A Marijuana Overdose.”The Huffington Post “
When marijuana is taken it can have amazing effects on the user, if someone with chronic neck or back pains, severe vomiting and nausea or someone with Neurological conditions uses marijuana it can remarkably relieve them from the pain. Marijuana has potent analgesic properties which can be used to treat a variety of different pains. Medical marijuana as a chronic pain reliever can reduce patients' pain and improve the quality of their life, without the same serious side effects associated with use of some pharmaceutical pain relievers. Marijuana can also be taken as an Anti-emetic which is a drug used to prevent one from vomiting, if a person potentially believes that he or she is going to vomit then smoking marijuan...
The article discussed several potential health benefits to medical cannabis. For example, medical marijuana can be used to test glaucoma by slowing the progression of the disease and preventing blindness. It can help control epileptic seizures and decrease the symptoms of a severe seizure disorder known as Dravet’s Syndrome. The chemical CBD may help prevent cancer from spreading. In addition, it may decrease anxiety, ease the pain from multiple sclerosis, and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Medical marijuana may lessen the side effects from treating some illnesses such as hepatitis C. It has also been used to alleviate pain, reduce inflammation, and promote
Works Cited "The California Marijuana Vote." New Yorker 23 Dec 1996: 62+. Brookhiser, Richard. "Pot Luck." National Review 11 Nov 1996: 27+ Simmons, Michael. "Give Pot a Chance." Rolling Stone 26 Dec 1996: 111+. Rist, Curtis and Harrison, Laird. "Weed the People." People 21 Oct. 1996: 75+. Funk and Wagnall's Volume 23 "Marijuana" 1996 Baum, Dan. "California's Separate Peace." Rolling Stone 30 Oct. 1997: 43+ Brookhiser, Richard. "Lost in the Weed." U.S. News & World Report 3 Jan. 1997: 9 Buckley, William "Legalization of Marijuana Long Overdue" The Albuquerque Journal. Online. 8 June 1993.
Marijuana in America became a popular ingredient in many medicinal products and was openly sold in pharmacies in the late nineteenth century (“Busted-America’s War on Marijuana Timeline”). The National Institute of Drug Abuse defines marijuana as, “The dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, which contains the psychoactive (mind-altering) chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as well as other related compounds” (“DrugFacts: Marijuana”). It was not until the Food and Drug act of 19...
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 pressing 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.
Jazz musicians, labor workers, and river boatmen were quickly taking to its euphoric effects (Gettman, 1995). Smoking marijuana also became more popular during Prohibition when more people began cultivation of the plant and importing it into the U.S. to replace alcohol (Doweiko, 2002). In 1942, marijuana was removed from the United States Pharacopoeia and the Federal Government began to criminalize non-medicinal marijuana possession and use (Carter et al., 2003). Marijuana became extremely popular in the 1960's and, today, is considered the most widely used illicit drug in the world, Canada, and the United States (Gettman, 1995). Pharmacology and Chemistry of Marijuana Cannabis is known to contain over 400 chemicals in which about 70 are classified as plant cannabinoids.
Attention getter: Do you suffer from pain, migraines, eating disorders or other sicknesses? If so, you may want to consider marijuana as a treatment.
Welch William M. "Marijuana classes are on a roll." USA Today n.d.: MAS Ultra - School
The cannabis plant has been the topic of much debate throughout the history of this country. Many people don't know that it was not the effect of cannabis that originally spurred its banning. It was actually originally the work of the cotton industry who put big money behind illegalization for the plant's mind altering effects. The cotton industry was afraid that hemp, a product of the cannabis plant, would soon overpower the strong hold of cotton since it was a more durable textile that required less work, less ground depletion, and could be grown almost anywhere. Since the time when cannabis first became illegal it has been grouped with other narcotics as a counterpart. The truth is cannabis has many benefits to society and other than the effects of smoke inhalation has very few negatives. Those against legalization try to put cannabis in the same light as other more potent drugs like cocaine and heroin. There are many misconceptions about the substance and it is clear it should be looked at separately.
Stack, Patrick, and Claire Suddath. “A Brief History of Medical Marijuana.” Time Health and Family. Time, Inc., 21 Oct. 2009. Web. Dec. 2013.
Marijuana has been illegal for less than 1% of the time that it’s been in use (Guither, 2014). Going back to 1619, the Virginia Assembly passed legislation requiring every farmer to grow hemp. Hemp was allowed to be exchanged as legal tender in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland (Block, 2014). It was actually a crime in some states to refuse to grow hemp in the 1700's. In the late 19th century, marijuana was a popular ingredient in many medicinal products and was sold openly in public pharmacies (PBS, 2014). However, in the early 1900’s things changed, a prejudice and fear began to develop around marijuana because it was being used and associated with Mexican immigrants. In the 1930’s, the massive unemployment rates increased public resentment and disgust of Mexican immigrants, which escalated public and governmental concern (PBS, 2014). In 1930 a new federal law enforcement agency, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) was created. Harry J. Anslinger was appointed the first commissioner of the FBN in 1930 (...
Medically, marijuana has proven to be a productive drug. Studies show marijuana has helped dealing with “pain, muscle spasms, seizure disorders and nausea from cancer chemotherapy.” (Weir) Scientist believes these benefits come from a chemical compound in marijuana called cannabidiol. This chemical is not the active chemical that gives marijuana users the mind-altering effects. With the unce...
As of today the nation stands behind three basic ideas of what to do with marijuana; legalize marijuana, make it legal only as a prescription drug, or keep it as it is, illegal. People, who are pro-marijuana like me, argue that marijuana is considerably less harmful than tobacco and alcohol, the most frequently used legal drugs. Furthermore marijuana has never directly caused anyone's death. People who side with the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes believe that the ends justify the means. But the people who want to keep it illegal think that the medical uses do not outweigh the harmful side effects.
The first law that regarded marijuana in America required farmers to grow hemp in the year 1619 for clothing, rope, and other materials, but “as early as 1840, doctors recognized the medical applications of marijuana, and the drug was freely sold in pharmacies for over a century.” (Rich and Stingl). In 1937, the use and possession of marijuana was made illegal, but “before 1937 marijuana was freely bought, sold, grown, and used. ”(Rich and Stingl). In 1970 the Congress decided to classify marijuana as a schedule one drug, which has made the legalization more difficult.