... is just a fact of life in getting this point across to the citizens of America who might use and distribute illegal drugs such as marijuana. People seem to respect the law better when the consequence and repercussions are made known to them. Mark Souder, a Republican member of Congress ... seriously. Objective measures of impairment should be researched and developed instead of relying on chemical testing which holds unfair consequences to cannabis users. A marijuana cigarette smoked up to thirty days ago can still show up in the body system since THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, ...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... drugs. It's time to bring this enervating war to an end. It's time for peace?. Mr. Schmoke also states, that by legalizing marijuana, the crime rate will decrease in the United States. The streets of America will automatically become much safer. The drug dealers would be put ... drug criminals would be alive.? Instead of drug addicts shoplifting, mugging, breaking into homes, and stealing from others to pay outrageous prices for marijuana from dealers they could support their habit by simply holding an honest, decent paying job. (Unanswered) Richard Dennis, the chairperson of the advis...

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• Grade Level: High School

... legalization, no matter how long or what it takes to succeed. (High Times Magazine, 9/1/07 www.alternet.org/story/60959)   Never before, have so many Americans supported decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana. Seventy-two percent of people say that for simple possession, people should be fined, but not incarcerated. The generally accepted definition of decriminalization. Even more Americans support making pot legal ... past two decades have freely admitted to smoking pot in the past.   In the past couple of years, there has been a surge in the sales of something called "Legal Mariju...

• Word Count: 2020
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Neurons are cells that process information in the brain. Neurotransmitters fill the gaps between two neurons and bind to protein receptors, which enable various functions. THC found in marijuana can mimic or block actions of neurotransmitters and interfere with normal functions. Cannabinoid receptors have an effect on several mental and physical activities such as short-term memory, ... to dilation of conjunctive blood vessels. In higher doses there can be hallucinations, delusions, feelings of prosecution, increases of anxiety and panic, and thinking becomes confused and disorganized. M...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... blunts over joints because with a blunt they can smoke more. Next came the idea of using a pipe to smoke marijuana. A pipe is used to smoke tobacco just like it is used to smoke marijuana. There are many kinds of pipes from basic pipes to pipes that have al kind of weird designs. The ideal ... the same material a screen door is made out of. The screen is used so when a person inhales the smoke they don't inhale the marijuana. If a pipe has no screen someone could suck a little tiny fireball write into his or her throat. Nowadays pipes are what people use the most to smoke ... marijuana....

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• Grade Level: High School

... the most widespread and diversified of plants. It grows as weed and cultivated plant all over the world in a variety of climates and soils" (1). Marijuana was first cultivated in China around 4000 B.C. It was mainly used as a sedative and analgesic, but today it is commonly used for the "high ... the Drug Wars in the late 1980s the Department of Health and Human Services began receiving dozens of applications from AIDS patients, for whom marijuana's hunger inducing effects was the only thing that separated them from life and death. As they lost weight and strength, they found it ... . Th...

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• Grade Level: High School

... people disagree with them, their whole motive is to keep the country moving forward instead of stepping back. In his article "We Need to Legalize Marijuana Now,"" Ken MacQueen wrote, "Persons using this narcotic smoke the dried leaves of the plant, which has the effect of driving them completely insane"" ... are just trying to get the things they want and need to survive that they probably would otherwise have if they did not begin using marijuana. Edmund Hartnett, deputy chief and executive officer of the narcotics division in the New York Police Department stated, "Opponents to legali...

• Word Count: 1902
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• Grade Level: High School

... positive economical and social outcome. Before the initiatives and laws are passed the people of Nevada need to know what they are getting in to. Marijuana is a serious issue across the world and governments need to do whatever is best and necessary for their citizens. Nevada is headed down the ... and other felonies. Section 38 of Article 4 of the constitution of Nevada states that "The use or possession of three ounces or less of marijuana by a person who has attained the age of 21 years is not cause for arrest, civil or criminal penalty, or seizure or forfeiture of ... assets". In th...

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• Grade Level: High School

... put into pipes or formed into cigarettes for smoking"(Encyclopedia Britannica). The intoxicating chemical in pot is THC or Tetrahydrocannabinal. The use of marijuana has been practiced for thousands of years. Numerous different cultures have had their own different uses for the drug. Snyder explains, "Marihuana ... in smoke to your body it is causing your lungs to deteriorate. In the article "Facts Parents Need to Know About Marijuana" the author explains, "Marijuana users may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers have, such as chronic bronchitis and inflamed ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... have to take from a legal standpoint. The condition that I am talking about is glaucoma; it is the leading cause of blindness in the U.S. The herb that I am talking about is marijuana, which is very effective in treating this and many other serious conditions that I will discuss later. Through extensive, very thorough research I have learned why people view it as a gateway drug ... drugs. 2) So basically what prohibition did was created a mixed drug market, putting consumers in contact with hard drug dealers. 3) Drug use is lesser in Holland where marijuana has been decriminalized; regu...

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• Grade Level: High School

... then people have been fighting to try to legalize it. So far we seem to be doing all right they have legalized marijuana for medical use in some states. Marijuana is effective in treating different medical orders such as AIDS , cancer, epilepsy and chronic pain. Some other benifits are relief from ... eating disorders. Many people believe legalization will lead to an increase in crime rate. This how ever cannot be true if they were to legalize marijuana then I believe the crime rate would drop. Think about it think about the costs to keep convicts in jail for a crime as small as ... who s...

• Word Count: 1231
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... , the medical use of the cannabis plant goes back at least 5,000 years to ancient China. It was used by most of the world's cultures for its healing properties (Medical Marijuana Cases 1). Today such conditions as Migraine headaches, Glaucoma, Cancer, Epilepsy, Asthma AIDS/HIV, Spinal injury, Muscle spasms, Insomnia etc., could be treated for symptomatic relief with cannabis or cannabis ... ever being caught. According to a report from the Center of Juvenile and Criminal Justice, Californians" much heralded "three strikes you"re out", twice as many people have been imprisoned for marijua...

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... them. There is also literally hundreds of social, medical, and economic benefits of legalizing the sale, possession and use of marijuana and marijuana related products. I believe that Marijuana should be legalized because there is no evidence that it has caused a single death, it is useful in treating medical ... time clearly proves it is safe and beneficial. There have been eight states so far that have taken a step toward permitting the medical use of marijuana. These states include: California, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, and Colorado. However, "the Supreme Court...

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... a doctor recommends it. Cannabis boosts patients" spirits, helps them to eat and combat the excessive weight loss of wasting syndrome, and is also a potent antiemetic. Just a few puffs of marijuana cigarette can drastically reduce or even completely eliminate the gut-wrenching nausea triggered by chemotherapy and radiation treatments. "Whatever the mechanism it follows, studies on cancer patients in New Mexico ... cannabis. People with AIDS who use cannabis regularly allows them to continue to live a more normal life with relatively few side effects. One last illness that is helped from ...

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... , breaking away from the restraints of the normal society and a way to rebel against the government. This was the start of the social beginnings of marijuana. Also a new form of religion was beginning; Rastafarianism used pot as a religious sacrament. Smoking the holy herb was "to help one understand God's ... the upper airways (sinuses and larynx) than tobacco." (TIME.) Yet compared to alcohol and tobacco there has never been a recording of an overdose in marijuana users. Alcohol and tobacco kill thousands of people a year but it is still legal to purchase and consume. I feel that more t...

• Word Count: 1918
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... gold medal back, the cheers drowned out the boos. It was a minor scandal involving a minor sport, but it spoke volumes about the world's shifting relationship with its favorite illicit drug. Marijuana. A decade ago, Rebagliati would have been ostracized regardless of whether cannabis was on the list of his sport's banned substances. II. What's changed today is that our attitudes towards illegal ... a number of proven facts, refuted opposing arguments, and positive personal experiences. c. There are some groups that support the removal of all penalties for the private possession and respo...

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... pot, the US Constitution would no longer be around because instead of writing it on regular paper, it was written on long lasting hemp paper. Marijuana is such an important item not just in the nations history but also in its culture. Pot became popular in the 1960's after it was ... study in 1993 found that pot was able to help in reducing nausea for chemo patients, reducing weight loss in AIDS, and many spastic disorders. Marijuana has proven effective in treating osteoarthritis with no side effects. Aspirin causes more than 1,000 deaths per year and many other anti-inflammatory are t...

• Word Count: 1091
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... Around 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning. Similarly, more than 400,000 deaths each year are attributed to tobacco smoking." By comparison, marijuana is less dangerous, non-toxic, and cannot cause death by overdose or miss use. The smoking of cannabis even long-term, has yet been proven ... judge cannabis as less of a drug threat then alcohol or tobacco. Our public policies should reflect this reality, not deny it. All around the world marijuana has its numerous nicknames. To many it's known as Mary Jane, reefer, pot, cush, sticky icky, bud, chronic, and the sweet cheeba....

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... medicinally for nausea and glaucoma patients but the government can not tax it so it is illegal. There have been a large number of marijuana-law-reform advocates preaching for decades that pot is relatively harmless and has no negative impact on public safety. Studies done by the Canadian ... Senate's Special Committee on Illegal Drugs show marijuana is not a gateway to the use of hard drugs. "Data from population surveys shows that out of 100 cannabis users in adolescents, about ... 10 will become regular users and five will move to using other drugs". (p.3). The studies also show tha...

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... a new material that could be used for countless industrial uses would be made available, and thousands, if not millions of criminals would be released. II. Medical Marijuana The marijuana plant has almost endless medical applications. Cannabis has been proven to be an effective treatment for several debilitating as well as life threatening diseases. A. Can treat Cancer 1. ... Chemotherapy patients B. Treats Aids C. Provides natural pain relief D. Effective in treatment of multiple sclerosis 1. Calms nerves 2. Prevents spasm III. Other applications Along with the numerous medical applica...

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... may lead to some psychological dependence, although this theory has not been proven (Goldberg 247). However, according to a November 2002, issue of Time, three recent studies have suggested that marijuana is addictive. Interestingly enough, the end results of three separate studies were as follows: only 9% of users develop dependence, compared to 75% of caffeine users developing dependence to caffeine, 15 ... (hemp) from which clothing, rope, ship sails, and even bibles were made. The united states constitution was even written on hemp. During the 1920's and 1930's, the utilization of ma...

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... while legal immigrants may even be deported back to their original country (Nadelmann). Under the federal Higher Education Act, young students are forbidden from obtaining student loans if convicted for marijuana possession, while many other irrational criminal offenses remain undetected by the Organization (Nadelmann). Without student loans, the majority of college students could not afford a Universities tuition cost, so for ... student loans to be revoked for such a insignificant offense is rather illogical. The prohibition of marijuana, to contrary belief, leads to an increase in cr...

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... little care to grow. Its primary active ingredient is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinio, and it contains more than 400 other chemicals, most of which are considered unsafe. ("Basic Facts about Drugs: Marijuana"). Most often, marijuana is prepared using the dried flowers and leaves of the hemp plant, and it is usually smoked as a cigarette, better known as a "joint". It can also be used ... dangerous ("Use" 1-3). The Major Cities Chiefs, another law enforcement organization made up of police executives from the fifty-two largest policing jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada, likewise oppose ...

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... Much of the new debate and interest was sparked by a recent vote; in November 1996, California voters decided to allow patients to use marijuana for medical purposes. However, the doctors who prescribe it risk having the national government revoke their license. In today's society, many people look ... It's believed that up to ninety percent of the world's fuel supply could be produced in this manner." Compared to other mind-altering substances, marijuana is very safe. In a 1986 article in the pharmacological review, Leo Hollister of the Stanford University School of Medicine said that:...

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... and public health issue, rather than a criminal one." At the Center of Addictions and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia, the addictive effects of marijuana have been extensively researched (www.casacolumbia.org). Dr. Jack Henningfield, a scientist there, worked with Dr. Neil Benowits from the University of California on ... DEA Judge Francis Young, pg. 2) Furthermore, a lot of money that is spent on drug enforcement and building prisons for offenders. Also, if marijuana was legal, a tax similar to the one placed upon alcohol after its prohibition ended would bring in millions. As of May ...

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