The topic of legalizing recreational marijuana in the United States has been a very controversial one. States such as Colorado and Washington have gone on the offensive and have legalized recreational marijuana and have enjoyed the high revenues brought in from cannabis sale. On the other hand other states have kept low profiles because they are wary of the possible negative outcomes of legalizing recreational marijuana and are using the states of Colorado and Washington as guinea pigs to see what their next course of action on this controversial topic should be. This is not only a highly debated topic among politicians, but also by the people. According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center 52% of Americans …show more content…
This has led many teenagers to switch over to marijuana and by legalizing it the switch to a safer drug would continue and it would also make it cheaper than other illicit drugs. This correlation can be seen with the statistics provided by the NIDA 2011 study. 25% of teens surveyed said they tried marijuana at least once last year and 6.6% of 12th graders admitted to smoking weed daily. Marijuana use has been the highest since 1981, but at the same time cigarette and alcohol usage have reached historic lows. 11.7% of U.S. teens reported having smoked a cigarette in the last 30 days, compared to 12.8 percent in 2010. Also alcohol usage has reduced, the proportion of 8th graders reporting any use of alcohol in the prior 30 days has fallen by about half (from 25% to 13%), among 10th graders by more than one third (from 43% to 27&, and among 12th graders by about one fourth (from 54% to 40%).
Legalizing marijuana would not just help teenagers choose a safer drug, it would also hurt drug cartels and benefit the U.S. economy. Drug cartels operating out of Mexico have made billions and billions of dollars by distributing illicit drugs all over the United States. According to RAND corporation Mexican drug cartels make 6 billion dollars of illicit drugs every year in the United States. They make most of their profits of marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. The
The legalization of the drug marijuana is a hot topic nowadays. Many people want this substance to be legalized and regularly available like cigarettes. But what some people do not know are the serious health risks involved when using marijuana. There is a lot more to marijuana than just smoking it.
There has been reports of marijuana being less harmful than alcohol or tobacco. According to the British research foundation two deaths worldwide can be directly caused by marijuana, yet 150,000 people die from alcohol and tobacco (“Marijuana Less Harmful"). Moreover, CNN discusses the ongoing debate of marijuana legalization which concluded that alcohol is the most used addictive substance in the USA. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism documented that about 17.6 people suffer from alcohol abuse which causes withdrawal symptoms of anxiety, depression, insomnia, headaches, nausea, and so on. While, marijuana symptoms are not fully understood, but the NSDA states 9% of people who smoke marijuana became addicted to it. The
Reading ‘The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace’ by Jeff Hobbs gave me food for thought about marijuana abuse. In my opinion marijuana should be legal in state of Connecticut but many people argue that it should be illegal because teenagers might use it even more. On the other side, it will cause many more problems for our federal system. There is no magic bullet for preventing teen drug use, but parents have a considerable amount of influence on their teens, even though it doesn't seem that way. Also, the federal system must cooperate with the people and be able to respect our freedom. Many people asked why marijuana should be illegal and responded, “Because it’s bad” which
With all of the complex issues facing the nation today, it seems as if the legalization of marijuana is being set on the back burner of legislation. There are so many opinions, sides, and overall arguments for and against it that many vote seeking politicians and policy makers have put up a strong resistance to this issue. In this paper I will illustrate the reasons why I think marijuana should indeed be legalized and also the arguments from people who disagree and feel that it should stay an illegal drug.
We’ve all been told not to use drugs starting at a very young age. We’re told they very bad for you and can even cause death. As a child, we always believed what we were told; the older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve come to realize that not all of these “drugs” are as bad for you as we were taught. The particular drug I am speaking about comes from the dried leaves and flowers of a hemp plant (Cannabis Sativa), and goes by the name Marijuana.
The legalization of marijuana for recreational usage could may be a new trend in America but the Federal government will likely oppose usage through the end of time. The Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) stance is that marijuana is an illegal drug and that using this drug whether for medicinal or recreational purposes is illegal. I chose this topic to research because of awareness bright to light prior to the recent elections. Until researching this topic, I was unaware that marijuana usage is legal in some states and that other states were pushing legislation to get
With alcohol and tobacco butchering substantial portions out of the general public each year, does it really make sense for something that helps people, has so many positive aspects in the medical field, and is natural without the need for additional things to be done to it like marijuana to be illegal? It can be easily understood by most why heavy man-made drugs, such as methamphetamines and LSD, which are almost guaranteed to cause addiction and contain harsh chemicals would be illegal; though marijuana grows naturally and it has been around so long, the exact date it came about cannot be determined for certain. “The earliest cultural evidence of cannabis comes from the oldest known Neolithic culture in
Marijuana or Cannabis is one of the bused drugs in America and the rest of the world. Interesting accumulating evidence show that the significant negative impact of this drug outweighs the positive effects. However, the medical benefits of the drug seem on the process of chemical compounds as compared to the drug itself. Medical debates show that chemical compound in marijuana are the problem as compared to the plant. The said chemical compound affects the mental and physical health of the persons abusing this drug. There have been traditional efforts to control the use of marijuana through legislation laws, (Crick, Haase, & Bewley-Taylor, 2013). However, in the recent past the efforts and the laws are being lifted to relax the implementation of the same legislations and the population is responding fast in accepting the legalization of the use of marijuana. The aim of this paper is to discuss how lifting on the laws of the said drug indicate adverse tolerance of Cannabis among populations. The paper will also discuss impact of legalization marijuana on the safety, security and overall quality of human life. Also, the paper will analyses the effect of relaxation of the laws controlling this drug to other hard core drugs such as cocaine, heroin and meth-amphetamines among others.
The New York Times article speaks to various studies that were performed relating to the adolescence use of marijuana nationwide and how users are getting younger and younger, from 8-12th graders. Poison control center has seen an increase in calls ad younger users are now experiencing marijuana and mixing herbs to create a new drug. Dr. Christian Thurstone, medical director of adolescent substance abuse treatment program at Denver Health and Hospital states “we’re clearly seeing an increase in teenage
Marijuana has been used over the years for both recreational and medical purposes. In regards to both, the United States economy has spent billion of dollars annually enforcing the laws of the illegal use of marijuana. Legalizing marijuana would give an important
Should medical marijuana be legal across the United States? Imagine a world where individuals who have chronic pain did not have to suffer anymore. Envision a cure for cancer, a disease many Americans are killed by daily. Picture people with severe, violent mood disorders being treated. Most people think the answers to these problems are simple and could be solved by over medicating patients. Today, there are twenty states in America who have legalized medical marijuana for specific health and medical related conditions (Medical Marijuana 1). The United States should legalize medical marijuana so patients who suffer from chronic pain can be treated, cancer could be cured, and mood disorders can be treated.
Legalization of marijuana is one of the most controversial topics in American society today. Surveys done by the US Government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive showed that 95 million Americans have used marijuana. There are two opposing sides that have strong stances on whether it should become legal or should remain illegal. We have one side that is anti-marijuana and the other is pro-marijuana. Each side provides valid and strong arguments supporting their views. The purpose of this paper is to carefully examine each opposing side and try to find some way to come to a compromise.
Marijuana, also known as Cannabis is the third most well-liked recreational drug, which only falls behind alcohol and tobacco, in the United States (The Whitehouse, n.d.). Marijuana is made up of dried leaves, plants, stalks, and pits from the hemp plant Cannabis Sativa, which comprises of the mind-altering compound delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), in addition to other associated compounds. This plant substance can correspondingly be converged in a resin called hashish or an adhesive black fluid called hash oil. Efforts to legalize marijuana for medication treatment and recreational use in the United States have grown in current years. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that marijuana may perhaps
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.
less dangerous than tobacco and people smoke less of it at a time. Or you can