DECRIMINALIZATION OF MARIJUANA
The decriminalization of marijuana refers to removing drug offences concerning marijuana from criminal law rather than completely legalizing and allowing public use of the drug whether regulated or not. The legalization of Marijuana has been a hot political issue for decades due to its potential medical uses and industrial properties. It is a very important and controversial issue in society today. Although many false claims have been made about cannabis in recent history, the truths are slowly starting to resurface. Unfortunately, these truths are under heavy debate due to the stereotypical view of what people view as the typical “pot smoker.”
Before I proceed, however I will like to share basic information about Marijuana. The scientific name for Marijuana is Cannabis, and there are two main types or “strains” known as Indica and Sativa. The psychoactive drug in Cannabis which promotes the “high” is tetrahydracannibol or THC, which reacts with neuro-receptors in the brain. Cannabis is also known as: reefer, weed, grass, ganja, green, maryjane, buddah, bud, the devil’s lettuce, dank, and so on. It can be smoked in many different ways and has been used medically since the beginning of civilization. The oldest evidence of Cannabis use came from an Egyptian tomb dating around 300 BC, in which Cannabis was found in large bundles beside the tomb as well as in braziers around the burial chamber.
Cannabis has many medicinal uses, and is known to
Marijuana, or in contemporary language, Maryjane, Kush, and Weed, comes from a plant called the Cannabis Sativa. Marijuana comes from dried Cannabis leaves. The leaves themselves have a dark-green or grayish color with a light and fine texture. It could be smoked, eaten, or used as extracts like oils. The plant itself is indigenous to Central Asia and India. This plant began spreading to Greece, Rome, and became exceedingly prominent in North and South America. Marijuana contains a chemical known as tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. This molecule is enthralling and pleasurable, because it binds to natural receptors in our brain. The biochemical and physiological mechanisms of marijuana and THC will be discussed in depth in future slides. Nonetheless,
The legalization of recreational marijuana has recently been a widely debated topic, especially since medical marijuana was legalized in several states. Critics say that cannabis is a Class I drug that has both negative health effects and behavior effects. However, there is minimal evidence to support these claims, and none of the benefits of marijuana are taken into consideration when the arguments are made. The possession and use of recreational marijuana should be legalized in the United States because it would provide a steady source of income for the government in the form of taxation, it would reduce the sale of more dangerous drugs since they would not be present in dispensaries.
On January 1st the states of Colorado and Washington officially began the regulation of legal marijuana sales. Thousands of people from all over the country including tourists from Wisconsin, Ohio, Chicago, and even Georgia lined up out front of dispensaries to make a purchase. Recreational marijuana is being regulated and monitored like alcohol; you must be at least 21 years old to make a purchase. The drug, which is controversial in many states’ legislations, is currently legal for medical use in 20 states, but Colorado and Washington were the first to approve of recreational use (Healy). The geographical concepts involved in the legalization of marijuana include migration, movement and flow, and private/public space.
Legalization of marijuana should be legislated for medical use across the country. Marijuana does not have a potential good value that it should have, in the eyes of the government and the public. In reality it is actually natural and a effective medicine. The debate about medical marijuana is spreading like a virus across the country. Marijuana can be that one thing to clear off US 13 trillion debt as well as it can decrease crime rates and create more possibility of jobs for people who do not speak English language. Research shows that medical marijuana is bad for health and the government is in lack of manufacturing and handling the marijuana drug, classified as B class drug in the United States. It is legal in 20 states as medical marijuana use. Both the sides have valid argument but the pros out weigh cons by many reasons. Unlike other most legal tobacco products, medical marijuana is less harmful and has the capability to reduce the pain within diseased people.
Marijuana is illegal in 48 of the 50 states, but the drug will most likely be legal in the near future. The heated debate on whether the “illicit drug” should be legalized in all 50 states keeps resurfacing. The most popular recreational drug in the United States today is marijuana. The formal name for marijuana is Cannabis but it also goes by a number of other street names including bud, grass, weed, reefer, ganja, hemp, and herb. “In 2011, more than 18 million Americans aged 12 and older reported using the drug within the past month” That is a very large amount of people that have used the drug even before it was legalized in two states. The government has thrown unproven facts about the harmful effects of marijuana to the people to scare them. The United States government has stated that Cannabis does cause lung cancer and includes many carcinogens, chemicals that cause cancer. Scientists and researchers have proven the exact opposite considering the drug is now used in many cancer treatments. With this being said, marijuana is not a perfect medicine either. Some of the harmful effects include posing a major irritant to the lungs and increased chance of a heart attack. There are always alternatives to work around these harmful effects. For example, marijuana can be eaten which would cause no irritation to the lungs in any way. As far as the increase chance of heart attack goes, any exercise raises the heart rate just as marijuana does. This means that you
The 2016 elections and the subsequent legalization of recreational marijuana in California, Nevada, and Massachusetts show how constantly evolving attitudes regarding marijuana and regulations pertaining to marijuana practices are. Corresponding with constantly changing attitudes regarding marijuana, users are finding more novel ways to make the most of their plant products. Butane-extracts or butane hash-oil (BHO) products are potent marijuana concentrates (Bell, Slim, Flaten, Wiktor, & Monte, 2015) that require the liquid-gas butane as the catalyst in the process of extracting pure THC from marijuana plant product (Raber & Elzinga, 2015). At-home BHO labs are rising in their popularity (Rosenthal & Downs, 2014) due to the perceived ease
Cannabis, formally known as marijuana is a drug obtained from the tops, stems and leaves of the hemp plant cannabis. The drug is one of the most commonly used drugs in the world. Only substances like caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are used more (“Marijuana” 1). In the U. S. where some use it to feel “high” or get an escape from reality. The drug is referred to in many ways; weed, grass, pot, and or reefer are some common names used to describe the drug (“Marijuana” 1). Like most drugs, marijuana has a very long history. People have been using the plant around the world for thousands of years. The oldest record of the marijuana plant dates back to 2727 B. C. in China where the plant was used as a medical herb for treating conditions like rheumatism, gout, malaria and even absent-mindedness (“Cannabis, Coca, & Poopy: Nature’s Addictive Plants” 1). Slowly, the plant started spreading around the world. By 1545, cannabis was starting to appear throughout the western worlds. Being introduced to South America by the Spanish to be used as fiber. The crop also had many other common uses around the world. In North America, cannabis was often used to make paper, ropes, clothing and other materials (“The Origins of Cannabis” 1).
Since 1920, the dangers and harms of marijuana have been exaggerated. Many of the stories of films like "reefer madness (reefer madness)" were used to support anti-marijuana laws, these stories still remain in use today by the government in its anti-drug campaigns and reports.
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, or Cannabis Sativa, is a plant that originated from central Asia, and has been used for medical purposes for thousands of years. The first reference of marijuana is dated 2737 BC in the writing of the Chinese emperor Shen Nung (Debont, Allen). The focus was on its medical treatment for gout, malaria, and even absent- mindedness.
From 1533 to 1963 farmers in England and Brazil raised hemp for industrial use, England was importing hemp from Russia, it became a major trade in South Asia and Central Asia. Places in America such as Kentucky, Georgia, California, New York and Mississippi started marijuana plantations. Books were being written all over the world, doctors from all different kinds of countries started doing research on the pros, cons and medicinal values and in 1850 Cannabis was added to the U.S Pharmacopoeia. During the Mexican Revolution immigrants began smoking marijuana recreationally instead of medicinally. By the year 1914 the U.S passed the Harrison Act defining marijuana as a crime. In the 1920s and 1930s jazz musicians were recreationally using marijuana,
Mary Jane, Aunt Mary, MJ, Pot, Bud, Purp, Marijuana all nicknames for cannabis has been cultivated since the 1600s. Marijuana accounts for the most commonly used illegal drug. The criminalization of marijuana has resulted in many arrests, drug convictions, and harsh sentences that are truthfully unwarranted. It naturally grows in the ground just like aloe vera and daisies do, but it is not harmful like poison ivy or tobacco. Unlike to cocaine and heroin which are man-made substances that have harmful consequences of their consumption, the severity of the consumption of marijuana is nowhere equal to that. Marijuana’s severity is often over-exaggerated. The federal government should decriminalize the recreational and medicinal use of
It’s not as bad as smoking or drinking alcohol! The government knows what’s good for us! You can’t overdose on marijuana! Public schools told me “Be Healthy, don’t do drugs.” Arguments such as these are always thrown back and forth when going into a controversial conversation dealing with legalization of marijuana. Many people are on both ends of the spectrum when dealing with the legalization some may personally be involved due to run-ins with the law, family related issues, or personal beliefs. In a study, it was concluded that “more than 1.5 million drug-related arrests made by police in 2013, more than 693,000 were marijuana-related arrests.” (Federal Bureau of Investigations) This information shines some light on how much time police spend on arresting individuals who are affiliated with position, consumption, or selling of marijuana. Of course, this can be seen differently from both sides “The Anti-Weed” side one being that the policemen are doing a good job cracking down on the drug addicts. On the other side, it is policemen wasting time arresting/harassing citizens who are smoking a simple herb that helps one mellow out and relax to ease the stress of a long hard working day. It is very clear that both sides viewpoints differ when talking about legalization, but it doesn’t change the fact that the number of people being sent to prison over Weed related crime is still increasing regardless of some states making the substance legal, when it can not only help benefit
The legalization of marijuana exists as a perennial “hot topic,” as it would have serious social implications if any legislation of this type were to occur. It should be obvious that the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana would mean that weed would no longer be illegal. That is to say, with the legalization of marijuana, individuals would no longer be penalized for possession or use, and law enforcement agencies would no longer be burdened with the task of carrying out these laws (Pot Politics 10). The number of people incarcerated for marijuana possession would obviously go down if it was no longer against the law, and police wouldn’t have to spend time or resources to bring these individuals to justice. In the two cases, legalization
Marijuana is derived from the dried flower clusters of a stain of hemp pant called cannabis sativa. So, people ingest to induce euphoria, also to treat the certain medical problems. Use of marijuana is termed is prohibited under federal law, but certain jurisdictions allow regulated use for medical purposes. The legalization of marijuana is considered as a controversial matter prevailing throughout the world. Before, in most ancient cultures did not grow the plant to get high, but as an herbal remedy. The hemp plants of marijuana have low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol, the substance accountable for hallucinatory effect. In addition, there is movement to legalize marijuana by supporters for years and able to create momentum across the country. Therefore, Alaska and Oregon has been legally approved to use for any use, however in many states marijuana is allowed for medical use. As the legalization of marijuana can cause crimes, injury, and increase addicted number. However, I strongly believe that marijuana should be legalized as the majority of the public supports its legalization and it brings billions of dollars in tax revenue and has medicinal values. As, people have been using the marijuana in any manner, and scientifically there is no proven harm to body by it.