Zach Cuffman
Professor Wolf
Final Paper
December 14, 2009
Cannabis: The Billion Dollar Crop
When most people are asked about their opinion of marijuana, not very many actually have a problem with the drug itself. The driving force behind their decision to be against marijuana is based mostly on the fact that it is illegal. TIME magazine held a poll on their website in which they asked their readers if marijuana should be legalized. Given that TIME’s website is not likely to be a full representation of ALL their readers, nor the rest of the people in the United States, an astonishing 80% of the poll agreed that the legalization of marijuana should be put into effect (St. Pierre 1). One philosopher who would probably side with this 80%
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In 1937, there were estimated to be 55,000 marijuana users. Now, estimates show possibly more than 55,000,000 users. This is a 100,000% increase (Armentano 1). But why, when at 18 years of age, can a person join the military, buy pornography and lottery tickets, use tobacco, and vote, but not use marijuana if they choose to? If philosopher John Rawls was able to see the effects of marijuana, along with some of the dangers of other legal products many of us use today, he would most likely be for the idea of the legalization of marijuana. Rawls, whose idea says that one should show ignorance when decision making, would be able to see such proven facts such as: marijuana does not cause cancer, in specific lung cancer, and there is not one single case against this. The only danger of marijuana that has actually been proven is that the smoke created from smoking the plant hurts your lungs (St. Pierre 1). This is the same danger that is associated with cigarettes, a legal product. The only difference is that marijuana does not cause cancer, nicotine does. Rawls would have to take this into consideration, seeing that cigarettes kill more people than AIDS, heroin, crack, cocaine, alcohol, car accidents, fire, and murder COMBINED in a year, yet remain legal and even receive government subsidies. What is number two, you might ask? Alcohol, another legal product. Another common fact associated with
While an undereducated, youth fostered movement towards the legalization of marijuana is rapidly spreading across America, Father Gerald Coleman, in Is America Going to Pot, steps back from the frenzy to examine the gross amount of physical evidence that opposes the rash movement. Approaching legalization of marijuana from numerous avenues, Coleman systematically degrades many of the popular pro-marijuana arguments circulating today. In addition his article is able to simultaneously provide a number of well-founded arguments ranging from the various health troubles, the gateway drug potential, and the resounding positive effects on the black market drug trade that legalization of marijuana would and is currently promoting, to support his anti-legalization
In his paper, The Impact of Marijuana Decriminalization, Eric Single deconstructs the purpose behind early marijuana prohibition policies. “Marijuana policy has two goals: to minimize health and safety hazards associated with use, and to minimize the social costs and adverse individual consequences that result from attempts to control use (Single, pg.457).” Fascinatingly enough, regardless of the appearance in plausibility of the policies, the objectives highlighted were in direct conflict with one
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
In the essay “Marijuana Should Not Be Legalized,” there are four supporting arguments stated of opponents on legalizing marijuana. For instance, opponents argue “scientific reports show harmful effects of habitual marijuana use” (2). In addition, prominent politicians in Massachusetts contend “legalization provides a veneer of acceptance that will encourage children and teens to try it” (3). Furthermore, “legalization will give the cannabis industry the same incentive the alcohol industry has to encourage excessive use and lobby against tax and regulation” is argued by opponents (6). Lastly, the essay counters “legalization has already had negative consequences on
Legalizing Marijuana Abraham Lincoln once stated that, "Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man 's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." In today 's society, this statement still applies in reference to the illegal use of marijuana. Marijuana prohibition causes far more harm than marijuana itself. Keeping marijuana illegal is expensive and causes crime. Out of four possible connections between drugs and crime, at least three would not exist if drug prohibition laws were repealed. First, crimes which occur billions of times a year are producing, selling, buying, and
The topic of marijuana has been a big topic for the past few years. The United States considers marijuana as a drug, in some other countries they say it is a natural herb that is grown from the ground. The issue at hand is “should marijuana be legalized?” the congress of the US stay in a constant debate on this subject. Why is the subject of marijuana such in high demand, if the US already considers it a drug? There are many facts that need to be looked at before a final decision can ever be made. In contrast since the past two weeks the state of Colorado became the second state in the US to legalize marijuana. Obviously it is possible for marijuana to be accepted into society, obviously there are as much pros as
Given stark figures like numbers of cannabis smokers and amount of money spent to keep stoners in jail, it seems ludicrous to argue that prohibition of cannabis be maintained. Yet despite of all the credible scientific, medical and sociological reports indicating that cannabis prohibition is damaging, or, at least, not helping the nation, public opinion of U.S. residents is counter. This can be attributed to the multi-million-dollar propaganda campaign waged by the government and the anti-drug industrial complex. It may not surprise you to learn that major sponsors of D.A.R.E. and similar (mis)education and advertising (propaganda) campaigns are often alcohol and tobacco companies! The opposing opinion that cannabis should not be legalized is often based on erroneous and outrageously wrong evidence. Statements that cannabis is a "gateway" drug, that it "causes" schizophrenia and
Debates over the legalization of marijuana have been around for a long time now. The process to pass a law is long. Marijuana has been legalized in some parts around the country, and in different states in the United States. Several articles have been written, some approving of marijuana and some opposing it. The questions of the approval of marijuana come from a long run of opinions. Written articles have been made to express an individual’s own hypothesis over it. The articles “Why It’s Always Been Time To Legalize Marijuana” by Katrina Vanden Heuvel and “The Real Reason Why Pot Is Still illegal” by Lee Fang go further into detail on the pros and cons for the legalization and also differ into shaping up this argument. The authors of the articles
"In any civilized society, it is every citizen 's responsibility to obey just laws. But at the same time, it is every citizen 's responsibility to disobey unjust laws." Martin Luther King Jr. Many people ask “why should marijuana be legalized”? when the real question that we should be asking is “why shouldn’t marijuana be legalized”?. Marijuana also known as hemp is a naturally grown plant that has been around for decades dating back to around 2697 B.C., when the Egyptians would use it to cure many common ailments, and the Chinese would use it for therapeutics. Using marijuana not only to cure common illnesses but for your pleasure as well should be up to you the free citizens of California and not to the government. The first major reason
Have you ever wondered why marijuana was illegal? Keeping marijuana illegal costs tax payers a bunch of money, and is not even an effective way to solve the problem of marijuana use. People have the right to choose for themselves if they want to use marijuana or not. The use of marijuana does not affect anyone but the person using it, so why not let them use marijuana if they choose to. According to the Marijuana Legalization Organization, the criminalization of marijuana does not keep young kids from using it and it also does not stop the abuse of marijuana, if anything it makes it worse. If the government would legalize marijuana and let those of a reasonable
The legalization of marijuana has been a heated topic of debate for many years. In 1937, the United Sates of America passed the Marijuana Tax Act, which made transfer or possession of cannabis (marijuana plant) illegal throughout the US under federal law. Studies conducted throughout the years have proven that cannabis can be utilized as a medical supplement. In fact 20, states and the District of Columbia have passed laws to legalize marijuana under certain medical conditions. According to the White House, it is the most commonly used recreational drug in the United States. It has been proven to be less harmful than alcohol, which is currently
Recreational use or medical use? Either way, should marijuana be legal? At this time, marijuana is banned under the federal law, but efforts to remove the ban have been mixed. Some states have already legalized marijuana for both uses and some have legalized it for medical use. Although, a lot of states have no legalization at all. Supporters of marijuana legalization argue that possessing marijuana should not be a crime punishable with jail time or heavy fines. Opponents argue it is simply not true that marijuana is a harmless and non-addictive drug (Infobase Learning).
Legalize, control, and discourage is a way to fix the problem. Evident by Colorado and Washington, “the legalization of marijuana can stop most of these possession arrests” (Levine). After the first opening of the first retail marijuana stores on January 1, 2014, Colorado had decreased crime rates, decreased traffic fatalities and increase in economic output (DPA). Since 2010, the marijuana possession arrest have went down 84% since its legalization. The tactic of legalizing, controlling, and discouraging has been proposed by the Economist, a weekly news magazine, in the late 80’s.
There currently exists a great debate concerning Legalization of marijuana. Many people are against the idea, but there are a number of people who fight for the idea to legalize Marijuana. The people that try to Legalize Marijuana use two major arguments in their effort to have marijuana legalized. First, which is by far the biggest argument is that marijuana has a significant medical use. The second is that marijuana does not cause harm to those that smoke it. Both of these arguments can be easily discounted by the numerous studies that have been done on the effects of marijuana both medicinal and recreational. Many well-intentioned leaders and members of the public have been misled by the well financed and organized pro-drug
The legalization of marijuana is a very controversial issue that is being debated across the United States. In the article "Going to Pot?," by Damon Linker, Linker attempts to persuade readers that legalizing of marijuana can cause more harm than help. This publication was released in November of 2001. Although two other writers, Richard Lowry and Andrew Sullivan, try to change readers beliefs Linker maintains his stance against marijuana. Without discrediting their facts he explains and defends why he feels they are wrong. The article is formal and although religion is not talked about, morals and society standards are questioned. Throughout the argument, Linker proves that effects of marijuana are detrimental to our society and