Should Marijuana be legalized in Texas The controversy over Marijuana has gone back in forth for much time, but the growth of Marijuana use has grown rapidly throughout the years. With multiple states legalizing marijuana many people that live in Texas ask, why has Texas not legalized marijuana? Though this question goes often unanswered to many the difficulty of the answer will continue as well. A number of states have legalized marijuana for medical use only and the results of this have made many lives worth living for many people across the nation. Nigel McCourry is a former U.S Marine, he was deployed to Iraq for seven months in 2004. After coming back to the United States he could not seem to get away from what he experienced. After time went on with everyday being a struggle of motivation to get out of bed, move on, continue to live as before, and sleep without waking up through the night with dreams recalling what he witnessed in Iraq. Seeking a solution to his nightmare of a life he enrolled in the study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. What he did not expect was that the journey back to a normal life would start with illegal drugs. In a short two years he experienced sleeping through the night without wake up calls of the past and shortly after the full healing experience began. Roberto Pickering was another Marine who was deployed in Iraq a year before McCourry. Pickering served nine months in Iraq and lost many friends in his unit while in combat. He says “We
Among college students, the overall use of drugs has significantly declined due to many laws and regulations that are enforced on the UF campus. Tobacco and smoking is prohibited. However, drug use off campus is not eliminated and may still cause problems with student learning capabilities. The most significant and commonly used drug by college students is marijuana. “Daily marijuana use among college-aged young adults is at its highest since 1980, surpassing daily cigarette smoking for the first time in 2014” (College).
Marijuana is a misunderstood drug. Many assume that the usage of marijuana, or cannabis, is dangerous, but it can be the exact opposite. So why is the legalization of marijuana in the United States such a problem for many people today? Considered to be a gateway drug and the reason for the downfall of our youth nowadays, marijuana has developed a negative reputation. Lester Grinspoon, a professor at Harvard University, states, “Few drugs in the United States have produced as much affective heat as marijuana, particularly during the last decade. The controversy essentially revolves around the question of how dangerous or safe the drug is." However, many people are persistent users and believe that this drug is no more harmful than
For decades America has associated marijuana with many things, and none of them ever any good. From the ‘60s with the hippie revolution, to today with criminals of all kinds, there have been numerous associations that are arguably unwarranted in this day and age. Why is it that we have such negative feelings about marijuana? In America today, the government considers it a Schedule I drug, meaning that it has a “high potential for abuse” and “no currently accepted medical use.” The problem with this classification clearly lies in the second half of its classification. Marijuana certainly has medicinal purposes, and humans have been using it for centuries to primarily treat chronic pain and a lack of appetite. It is hard to construct a
In addition, anecdotal evidence exists that marijuana is effective in the treatment of arthritis, migraine headaches, pruritis, menstrual cramps, alcohol and opiate addiction, and depression and other mood disorders. Marijuana could benefit as many as five million patients in the United States. However, except for the eight individuals given special permission by the federal government, marijuana remains illegal-even as medicine! Individuals currently suffering from any of the aforementioned ailments, for whom the standard legal medical alternatives have not been safe or effective, are left with two choices: Continue to suffer from the effects of the disease; or Obtain marijuana illegally and risk the potential consequences, which may include: an insufficient supply because of the prohibition-inflated price or unavailability; impure, contaminated, or chemically adulterated marijuana; arrests, fines, court costs, property forfeiture, incarceration, probation, and criminal records.
Each year the United States government documents drug related deaths in our country, breaking the deaths down into categories of cause. These categories include tobacco, alcohol, prescription medications, illegal drug, and of course marijuana related deaths. Every year the number of deaths coming from marijuana is equivalent to zero. So why is there even controversy over the issue of legalization? Obviously, there are still some people out there who believe the drug is a topic for concern in our nation. In recent years, there has been tremendous progress being made in the field of medicine. University hospitals around the country have been proving again and again that the drug poses no threat to human health and well being, even
Joycelyn Elders, former Surgeon General, once spoke about the legalization of marijuana for medical use in a press conference. "It's criminal to keep this medicine from patients," she said (Silverman, 1995, pg. 2). She received criticism not only from many citizens of the United States, but also strong criticism from the President who appointed her. The legalization of marijuana for medical use has always been a sharply debated subject, and many of the debaters are uneducated about the effects of using this illegal drug for therapeutic use. Many studies have been done and the results are clear. As a medical drug, marijuana should be available to patients who do not adequately respond to currently available
Wether you call it Hemp, Mary Jane, Pot, Weed; it doesn't matter. It is still Cannabis Sativa, or cannabis for short. And it is still illegal. The use of marijuana as an intoxicant in the United States became a problem of public concern in the 1930s.
Cannabis sativa or Marijuana as is commonly known worldwide is a hard drug with adverse side effects to the users. With this reason it is an illegal drug in a majority of parts in the world. However according to research statistics, with this illegality there is still a high rise of both users as well as those initiated into the practice annually with the United Nations placing it first among the illicit substances widely used in the world (UNODC 198). Having worked previously in a number of facilities for juvenile delinquency and correction in California I observed and participated in the numerous ways, methods and tactics employed by the government to reduce the use of cannabis sativa with little success. Instead, the number of crimes
Marijuana isn't as bad as people say it is. These are reasons why marijuana isn't as harmful for your body for you as you think. There are actually many benefits from marijuana that can help you.
All races and backgrounds use marijuana. Why are black Americans incarcerated at a much higher rate than white Americans, for using marijuana? The issue with racism within the American law enforcement is not as clear-cut as it may seem. Police training and tactics will be examined to try and understand what the real issue is with this statistic. There are many hypotheses and theories of why back Americans are treated so differently in the criminal justice system. Treating every American equally will help secure unity within the United States.
Available scientific evidence indicate that marijuana contain a useful chemical that treats several mental disorder illnesses. The useful purpose of this drug has prompted a long standing debate as
A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly fifteen hundred pounds of marijuana within about 15 minutes to induce a lethal response... In strict medical terms, marijuana is far safer than many of the foods we commonly consume. For example, eating ten raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death." DEA Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young. Between 9 and 17 million Americans are occasional users of marijuana and about 3 million are daily users. As many as 40 million have tried the drug for many different reasons such as experimentation and peer pressure (Schleichert 40). Much of America's youth is experimenting with the drug and
In honor of today’s “Holiday”, I found inspiration in one of the most controversial issues to date in our country. Marijuana has long been the topic of many heated debates ranging from local cafes and classrooms to political offices and the senate floor. Both sides of the “fence” have rock solid cornerstones for their argument and have results to back them. The debates are full of legitimate and valuable stand points that can keep both parties on the edge, never able to declare an exact winner. In essence, no matter what the outcome is on the legalization of marijuana in the States, it will forever be a controversial subject for the years to come.
Marijuana is a drug, people around the world who use marijuana soon become addicted. If you try marijuana before you are 18 there is a chance you’ll have some degree of marijuana use disorder. When you have a marijuana disorder you depend on it and if you don’t have it you feel like you’re going through a withdraw I know this by experience of one of my family members. When you go through a withdraw you feel angry for no apparent reason. My sibling who went through withdraws was always angry when he didn’t have the marijuana. Marijuana is a drug, you become addicted and feel like you need it.
A number of movements to legalize marijuana have been gaining attention lately. Currently there are 14 states where marijuana is legal for medical use (medicalmarijuana). 41% of U.S. citizens believe marijuana should be legalized (drugpolicy) but others are still concerned about health damage. American society has lost the war against marijuana, and that's okay. We should stop wasting time and money trying to reverse history and instead legalize both medical and recreational use of this mild narcotic widely seen as no more harmful than alcohol.