The Desire for Intoxication Leads to Destruction

2171 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: benefits of medical marijuana thesis

The Desire for Intoxication Leads to Destruction

Through time, people all over the world have looked for ways to feel intoxicated and alter their consciousness for different reasons. One of the most ancient ways people have reached this state of intoxication has been through the popular marijuana plant. Today this plant has become so widely accepted that it has been legalized in a few states and will most likely be legalized in other states, such as California and Maine, even though it is prohibited by federal law. Advocates claim it has medicinal properties, and that the drug may actually be beneficial to people’s health. But even though many people argue that feeling intoxicated relaxes them and alleviates their pain, research and past incidents have proven that the desire to be intoxicated has more damaging effects than positive ones.

In his book The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan looks at four different desires: beauty, control, intoxication, and sweetness, each represented by a plant . Each plant has either evolved or has been modified to fulfill a desire craved by human beings. Pollan shows us how the desire for sweetness is represented by the apple, beauty by the tulip, control by the potato, and the desire for intoxication by marijuana. In this book, Pollan explains how marijuana became modified through time to fit the different needs and expectations of consumers worldwide.

Putting it in Pollan’s own words, “cannabis had to do two things: it had to prove it could gratify a human desire so brilliantly that people would take extraordinary risks to cultivate it, and it had to find the right combination of genes to adapt to a most peculiar and thoroughly artificial new environment”( 130). Marijuana was here to stay...

... middle of paper ...

... A. Kallen. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. At Issue. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 26 Nov. 2010.

Pollan, Michael. The Botany of Desire. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2002.

Print.

Works Cited

Hadly, Scott. “CHP Officer remains in critical condition. Ventura County Star. 21 Dec. 2007.

Web. 29 Oct. 2010

Huff, Charlotte. "A risky decision: with marijuana, your good judgment may go up in smoke."

Current Health 2, a Weekly Reader publication Feb. 2010: 20+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 29 Oct. 2010.

Marijuana Policy Project. "Medical Marijuana Should Be Legalized." Legalizing Drugs. Ed.

Stuart A. Kallen. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. At Issue. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 26 Nov. 2010.

Pollan, Michael. The Botany of Desire. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2002.

Print.

Show More
Related

  • The Effects of Ocean Pollution on the Environment

    1635 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...lls. Ed. Tamara Thompson. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Current Controversies. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 May 2014.

    Read More

  • Sociological Imagination On Marijuana

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Federal Government Must Decriminalize Marijuana

    2430 Words  | 5 Pages

    The history of marijuana in North America is integral in understanding the reasons it is now illegal and how to...

    Read More

  • The Botany of Desire, by Michael Pollan

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    The modern prohibition against marijuana led directly to a revolution in both and the culture of the plant. It stands as one of the riches ironies of the drug war that the creation of a powerful new taboo against marijuana led directly to the creation of powerful new plant (105). Every plant develops certain mechanical defenses, in this case chemical, to protect themselves from potential harm. The chemical that marijuana made humans, perhaps even certain animals, go crazy that they even willing to take risks just to plant them to fulfill their desire of intoxication to help them forget faster. Despite the fact that it is illegal to grow marijuana, people have created a way, or maybe the plant created the way, to continue growing them. When Pollan talked about what he heard from a friend of his friend he said,

    Read More

  • Sex Education in Schools: Abstinence-Only Programs

    2001 Words  | 5 Pages

    Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Baltimore County Public Library. Web. 11 Nov 2009

    Read More

  • Medicinal Marijuana in Texas

    1717 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Legalization of Marijuana

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Pros and Cons of Marijuana

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    The legalization of marijuana has been a highly debated topic for many of years. Since the first president to the most recent, our nation’s leaders have consumed the plant known as weed. With such influential figures openly using this drug why is it so frowned upon? Marijuana is considered a gateway drug, a menace to society, and mentally harmful to its consumers. For some people weed brings a sense of anxiety, dizziness, or unsettling feeling. Like alcohol, tobacco or any other drug, those chemicals may not respond well with their body. For other people marijuana brings joy, a sense of relief, and takes the edge off of every day stress. For those who are associated with cannabis, purposes usually range from a relaxant, or cash crop, to more permissible uses such as medicine, and ingredient to make so many other materials. We now need to look at what would change if marijuana were legal. Benefits to the economy and agriculture, health issues, and crime rates are three areas worth looking at. Deliberating on the pros and cons of this plant we can get a better understanding for marijuana. From there it will be easier to make a clear consensus on what is best for the nation.

    Read More

  • Hugh Laurie, Acting the Blues Genre

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    Green, Shane Age, The 22 Mar. 2014: 10. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Pros & Cons of Legalization of Marijuana

    1651 Words  | 4 Pages

    The legalization of marijuana is considered a controversial issue, something that can benefit people for medical purposes, but what about recreationally? Marijuana has been illegal since 1937, but there’s never been a bigger push for legalization. There are several reasons why it is illegal, because of government propaganda and big industry not wanting to lose money, but this will be discussed later. The purpose of this paper is to educate, theorize, and discuss various aspects of marijuana, such as its history, development, and the advantages and disadvantages of marijuana legalization. Finally, my personal reflection on legalization and marijuana in general will be discussed.

    Read More

  • Marijuana Should Not Be Legalized

    2079 Words  | 5 Pages

    Earlywine, Mitchell. Understanding Marijuana: A new look at the scientific evidence. New York Oxford University Press. 2002.

    Read More

  • A Working Woman Struggling

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2010. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. 1. W

    Read More

  • A Perfect Day for Bananafish

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    David A. Galens. Vol. 17. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • school uniforms

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gale (Firm). “Gale opposing viewpoints in context.” [Farmington Hills, Mich.] : Gale Cengage Learning, [2012]. Web. April 18, 2014

    Read More

  • Some Disadvantages of Marijuana

    1807 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

More about The Desire for Intoxication Leads to Destruction

Open Document