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positive effect of legalizing marijuana
positive effect of legalizing marijuana
reducing crime with the legalization of marijuana
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Drugs have been a taboo for many centuries in the United States due to its exotic nature. Most other countries have already legalized drug use or never banned it all. The United States could legalize drugs and bring in many benefits. During the last couple of years legalization has become a major topic throughout the country. Colorado and Washington have become the first to legalize marijuana and both have benefitted greatly from it. If the United States legalized the use of the drugs then the economy would grow, crime rate would fall, and people would be smarter about drug use. History of Marijuana The United States did not always have strict laws on the use of marijuana. In 1906 the Pure Food and Drug Act which prevented the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated or misbranded or poisonous or deleterious foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors, and for regulating traffic therein, and for other purposes (government library. Web). This act enforced labeling marijuana as a “poison” (Cardinale). Many rumors started to swirl around the nation about marijuana could cause people to do. The depression soon hit after and with The assumptions that marijuana would incite violent behavior, lead to insanity, addiction and drug abuse, and even spur someone to commit sex crimes, were fueled by the 25% unemployment rate, increasing animosity toward anyone perceived to be the cause of a floundering economy. (Cardinale) In 1931 the government connected heinous crimes by the non-white communities with the use of marijuana. By 1932 twenty nine states outlawed the use of marijuana and congress passed the Uniform State Narcotic Act which gave the government control over, prevention of distribution and usage of narcotic drugs. In 1936 the... ... middle of paper ... ...to CHP data, and law enforcement puts much of the blame on the rapid growth of medical marijuana use in the last decade. Fatalities in crashes where drugs were the primary cause and alcohol was not involved jumped 55% over the 10 years ending in 2009. (Vartebjan) This is a serious situation due to the fact that marijuana could harm more than just the user. Drunk driving kills more people every year but still remains legal. If the United States does legalize marijuana does have to crack down on drugged driving. Conclusion The legalization of marijuana will be ongoing battle for many years to come. The battle will start with medical marijuana then go on to full legalization. The United States could gain money, lower the crime rate, and support the sick. Europe has already made the change and have greatly benefitted from it. Will the United States be soon to follow?
Throughout history people have used marijuana for its dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds to relieve pain, stress, and other medical issues from one’s life. Within the recent years it has become one of the most debated issues in the United States. In the 1930s, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics (now the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs) claimed that marijuana was a “gateway” drug and was a powerful, addicting substance. During the sixties marijuana became a symbol for rebellion against authority so it became very popular by college students and “hippies”. So in 1982, Drug Enforcement Administration increased pressure on drug farms and houses which decreased the use of marijuana. In the past twenty years marijuana has become a
Before any federal law regarding marijuana was ever proposed, some of the States took it upon themselves to regulate the possession, distribution and consumption of marijuana based on racial prejudice against Chinese immigrants. Referencing law passed by the state of California in 1913 one physician observes that, “The 1913 law received no attention from the press or the public. Instead, it was promulgated as an obscure amendment to the state Poison Law by the California Board of Pharmacy, which was then pioneering one of the nation's earliest, most aggressive anti-narcotics campaigns. Inspired by anti-Chinese sentiment, California was a nationally recognized leader in ...
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 “Marihuana Tax Act” was passed in August 1937, and took effect on October 1, an incident which would forever change the country. The main reason behind the ban placed upon Marijuana was the same as most other drug prohibitions – the oppression of minorities. Case in point, the first anti-drug law on record in the United States was passed in San Francisco in 1875. Opium was outlawed at that time due to concerns that Chinese immigrants who used the drug were “ruining” white women by associating with them in Opium dens. (Schaffer sec. 1)
The story of marijuana's prohibition goes back as far as the early 1900's. The Mexican revolution was bringing a large population of Mexicans into the southwestern United States. The Mexicans brought with them the habit of smoking "motas", marijuana cigarettes. (Gerber) The locals claimed that the marijuana "incited Mexican immigrants to violent crimes, aroused a lust for blood' and generated superhuman strength." (Gerber) These statements stemmed more from the racist ideas of the time than from actual fact. There were similar claims made all over the states; by the 1930's, the New York Times was printing such headlines as "MARIJUANA MAKES FIENDS OF BOYS IN 30 DAYS; HASHISH GOADS USERS TO BLOOD LUST." (New York Times) This racism became, over time, a notion in the minds of Americans that marijuana was a dangerous narcotic. Marijuana...
Once an assumption by society, especially over time has been established, it becomes a great effort to alter. Marijuana was first acknowledged as a narcotic in the 1920s and 1930s. Based almost completely on information designed to mislead or persuade against the evils of marijuana, embellished reports of violent crimes committed by immigrants intoxicated by marijuana were publicized by tabloid newspapers. With the vast emotion and widespread paranoia the upsurge of the women’s temperance movement incited one could consider that the temperance movement had a large part in forming the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.
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.
Across the United States, men and women are serving multiple years in prison for marijuana related crimes. According to King and Mauer’s research about war on drug, “New York experienced an 882% growth in marijuana arrest including an increase of 2,461% for possession offenses” (King & Mauer). The essential issue about an increase in marijuana related arrests diverts law enforcer’s attention away from greater criminal activities. It has such an immense effect on citizens today because they are forced to break the law in order to relieve their chronic pain, similarly; arresting citizens for marijuana possession creates a criminal record that they will forever carry along their life. Over the past years, the arguments about marijuana have concerned many citizens whether if it should be used for medical purposes or as a recreational drug. It is important to realize marijuana is considered to be less dangerous than tobacco and alcohol combined. So how did marijuana become illegal in the first place? It began back in the early 1900’s century; when hemp turned into a huge industrial usage because it could turn into, fuel, paper, food, textile, and oil. Soon enough hemp was going to be the next billion-dollar product; it became a threat to several multi-billion dollar markets across the nation. William Randolph Hearst owned a chain of newspaper companies, and used everything in his power to have marijuana outlawed. The real threat against Hearts was because hemp could produce paper much more efficient and could easily turn his company down, so he then began printing stories in the newspaper about a new drug called “marijuana,” and said people were smoking it, and made black people rape white women’s. Within the next few years, congress ...
The amount of impaired driving has risen in the two states that have legalized Marijuana for recreational use. Though that is self explanatory. The first year of legalizing or lowering the age for anything is always rough and not as safe as the following years to come. America has seen that with alcohol. If you look at the percentage of driving while under the influence, driving while intoxicated is still a few percentages higher than driving while high. I do agree driving while under the influence of drugs like Marijuana can cause horrifying accidents. People think they are good drivers claiming they are more alert and drive much slower. which isn't the case. It is also much, much harder to spot someone who is under the influence of drugs Marijuana in this case. All of these problems can be solved or be lowered to an acceptable level. “Marijuana and other illegal drugs are easier for teens to get and consume alcohol.”(David Boaz) There solves a huge problem itself. Many studies show people a...
For years the United States of America has been waging a war against drugs. The U.S federal government has spent well over fifteen billion dollars annually on combating illegal drugs. Marijuana in this day and age seems to be one of the most controversial drugs, and is at the forefront of the discussion boards on whether or not one should legalize the drug. Marijuana should be legalized not only because the government could tax it while reducing the national deficit, but also because some patients need it for medicinal purposes, and this will lead to a reduction in the crime rate by removing the taboo from the drug itself.
Cannabis has been known to man since as early as 7000 B.C. (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). In 1619, the colony of Jamestown in Virginia passed the first cannabis-related law, stating that it is required for all farmers to grow cannabis sativa or hemp plant because of its strong fiber that they used to make rope, sails and clothing (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). During the 1800s, cannabis extract medicines were produced by American pharmaceutical companies such as Eli Lilly, Parke-Davis and Squibb (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). In 1910, in the Southwestern United States, Mexican immigrants introduced recreational use of cannabis, in which the immigrants referred to as “marihuana” (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). In 1915, Utah was the first state to pass an anti-marijuana law, then twenty-nine other states followed (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). In 1922, the Narcotic Drug Import and Export Act was enforced to control any cannabis going in or out of the U.S. (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). In 1930, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics was created (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). In the 1960s, “hippies” smoke marijuana, which symbolized rebellion (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). In 1968, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and the Bureau of Dangerous Drugs merged into the Bureau...
... “devil weed” causing violence sold newspapers, making him a very wealthy man. The combination of these two men thus started the war on marijuana. Only days before the 1937 marijuana hearings in which Congress intended to outlaw Marijuana on the federal level. The American Medical Association (AMA) realized that the natural plant Congress intended to outlaw was known medically as cannabis. Cannabis had been noted as the best medicine for more than 100 different medical illnesses and diseases from 1850 to 1937 in the US pharmacopoeia (The manual for treating illnesses with prescriptions). “Dr James Woodward, who was physician as well as an attorney, testified that there “wasn’t any real evidence being used to justify the new law”, and that the reason the AMA hadn’t come out against the law sooner was that marijuana was always described as a “killer weed from Mexico.”
Since the 1930's marijuana has been illegal in the United States. Marijuana can relieve pain; it can prevent formations of cancer growths, mental health and chronic illnesses. Marijuana is one of the least known drugs to be known as the cause of a human beings death. According to the article by Morgan fox, Alcohol’s dangers undersold to youth, states that” There has never been a single death attributable solely to marijuana” (Alcohol's dangers). Millions of people in the United States suffer from chronic pain. A lot of that suffering cannot be relieved by existing treatments, for example subscribed pain killers. In the article by Bill McCarberg Marijuana Can Help in the Treatment of Pain it stated that “Patients are in desperate need of new pain management approaches” (McCarberg).
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 (...
Marijuana has been a problem since the early 1900s and continues to create problems. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics created a law which prohibited marijuana use in 1937 (Reinarman 128). Twenty years later, THC was discovered to be the main psychoactive component in marijuana causing its negative side effects (Reinarman 129). Almost seventy-five years later, the United States is still battling the problem with illegal marijuana use. Although scientists discovered the negative effects fifty years ago, the information has gone practically unnoticed and the amount of users continues to increase. Approximately half of the United States population has used marijuana at one point (Reinarman 129). Instead of outlawing marijuan...