The Legalization of Marijuana

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Arugementive Research Papermarijuana

Thesis: Should marijuana be legalized and can it be used in positive ways? In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Stamp Act prohibited the use, sale, and cultivation of hemp/marijuana in the United States. Marijuana is a drug that is highly used through out the world. It comes from the cannabis plant. THC which stands for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol is the major psychoactive ingredient. Over sixty five million Americans today use marijuana. Today it is a lot stronger than how it used to be in the 1970’s because of careful cultivation. It can be smoked threw a pipe, joint, or it can even be used as an ingredient in food. Although the effect it has as an ingredient isn’t as strong as it would be if you smoked it. It all depends on how long the person smoking it holds in it their lungs. The more you hold it in the more the drug gets into your bloodstream. Marijuana is not just a drug to be used as to get “high” with. It is a drug that needs to become legal so it can help heal people with certain diseases and it can be useful for industrial reasons as well.

There are different feelings a person can have when you use marijuana. In low to moderate doses, marijuana typically creates a mild sense of euphoria, a sense of slowed time, a dreamy sort of self-absorption, and some impairment in thinking and communicating (Hales 491). Usually the sense of being “high” happens within thirty minutes and usually lasts about three hours. Sometimes when someone is new at smoking marijuana they can experience an anxiety attack. The immediate physical effects of marijuana include increased pulse rate, bloodshot eyes, dry mouth and throat, slowed reaction times, impaired motor skills, increase appetite, and dim...

... middle of paper ...

...ns frozen on the issue of marijuana, perpetuating the same lies in a feeble effort to cover up the lies of the past. It is time for change. If society wants to have some control over marijuana, then it must be legalized and placed under a civil regulatory format (Rosenthal 104).

Bibliography:

Bender, David L. The War On Drugs: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego:Greenhaven,1998.

Hales, Dianne. Invitation to Health. 9th ed. Belmont: Thomson,2001.

Kuhn, Cynthia, Scott Swartzwelder, and Wilkie Wilson. Buzzed. New York: Norton and Company,1998.

Potter, Beverly Dr. and Dan Joy. The Healing Magic of Cannabis. California:Ronin,1998.

Randall, Robert C., and Alice M. O’Leary. Marijuana Rx The Patients’ Fight for Medicinal Pot. New York: Thunder’s Mouth,1998.

Rosenthal, Ed, and Steve Kubby. Why Marijuana Should Be Legal. New York:Thunder’s Mouth,1996.

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