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 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.
Marijuana, the most abused drug in America, has had a lot of publicity recently. Marijuana has caused multiple economic problems within the U.S. A controversial question has arisen from the increased popularity and troubles of this drug. The question is whether or not the U.S. government should legalize marijuana possession and sale in the country. Many Americans believe that the drug should be legalized for various reasons; others, however, are against the legalization of the dangerous drug. While legalization has both pros and cons, the positives of legalizing marijuana for those people over the age of twenty-one far outweigh the negative aspects of legalization.
Marijuana is a public name for an illegal substance (drug) produced from the Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) plant. It is also called weed, ganja, grass, kaya and pot. The drug has many chemical compounds and in particular, it has THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) which is responsible for changing mind functions leading to alternations of cognition, mood, behavior, perception and consciousness. “It is the most widely used illicit substance in the world” (World, 2010, p. 198). Its usage includes religious, medicinal, recreational and spiritual purposes. In the beginning of the 20th century, in most countries marijuana was illegalized.
Marijuana (cannabis sativa) is often referred to as pot, tea, grass, weed, hashish, maryjane, ganja, skunk, and there are many, many more depending on how it is used and/or where it is from. It can be sniffed, chewed, smoked, or added to foods or beverages, but most often is smoked by recreational users. Marijuana contains around sixty compounds called cannabanoids. The most psychoactive being delta-9-tetrahydracannabinol (Dudley 18). When marijuana is used, several things can happen to the user both physically and or mentally. Physical effects include: red eyes, dry mouth or throat, increase in heartbeat, tightness of chest (if smoked), drowsiness, unsteadiness, and muscular in-coordination. THC molecules can also distort part of the brains’ information-processing system, altering perception of time, while amplifying sounds and usual images (Dudley 18). This may not seem like something people would want legalized, but there are far more ways to use marijuana for good than for bad.
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.
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...
...older”(krayewski) Selling marijuana and taxing it will raise issues, fix issues, and probably cause some chaos for a few days, but with careful thinking and planning I think it will benefit our country in many ways. First reason it will help with health issues, but more importantly help with the countries debt. That's why I agree with the Legalization of marijuana
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.
Marijuana can be a benefit to our economic and the way we gain money for our states. Oregon has debated full legalization in 1973 and ending up passing the nation's first law decriminalizing possession of small amounts. Supporters of legalization in Oregon and Alaska said “that money was crucial to overcome”. Since the legalization of marijuana Oregon and Alaska has gained money in fact they both had an eighty-four percent of the $867,000 raised by legalization. It can create an increase of employment for those who need jobs and are struggling to
Marijuana also known as weed is a preparation of leafy material from the Cannabis plant that is smoked. There are different types of Cannabis from the sativa to the indica. A high grade of Marijuana is called sinsemilla. The main psychoactive agent is the delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol also known as THC. When the cannabinoid particles are smoked, THC is absorbed very fast into the blood and distrusted first to the brain and then emptied into the rest of the body. Within thirty minutes of absorption much has left the brain. Within five to ten minutes the peak mood- altering and cardiovascular effects will occur together.
Over the decades, an intriguing and contemptuous debate over whether to legalize marijuana has expanded to beyond the realm of recreational users. Having once seemed a topic solely for hippie driven youth, this topic has broadened to affect people of all ages and social economic groups in our American society. From the playgrounds of middle school students to the offices of business executives, marijuana has become the most widely used illegal drug in the United States. Via Hayoung Terra Yim describes the reasons she feels the legalization of marijuana is important in her article, "Why Young People Should Care About Marijuana Legalization". As with any viewpoint, there is always an opposing side. Natalie Rivera discusses some of the fundamental reasons as to why the legalization of
In this analysis paper I will argue on why Marijuana should become legalized in the United States of America. In the United States Marijuana is federally illegal and cannot be used unless for health reasons. Currently in the USA there are two conflicting parties debating on whether Marijuana should become federally legal or stay prohibited. In the two articles, “Marijuana Legalization is a risk not worth taking” and “Repeal Prohibition, Again” argue on the two different perspectives. One states that marijuana should be legal in America and the other against its repeal. “Marijuana Legalization is a risk not worth taking”, written by Stuart
For a couple of years now Americans' have questioned the authorization of cannabis, otherwise called pot. Recreational cannabis is legitimate in four states: Oregon, Colorado, Alaska, and Washington state. Last November, five states voted to authorize recreational cannabis: California, Massachusetts, Maine, Arizona, and Nevada. We've heard all the exploration and the greater part of grown-ups will confess to having attempted cannabis in any event once in their life. In reality as we know it where substances like liquor and tobacco stay lawful, it's quite recently irrational that cannabis remains illicit. Both the Republican and Democrat parties have perceived the estimation of cannabis, at any rate therapeutically, however there is greater picture. Sanctioning cannabis could be the answer for America's social, financial, and even some remote issues.
Sledge, Matt. "Marijuana Prohibition Now Costs The Government $20 Billion A Year: Economist." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 20 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.
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.