... life imprisonment and even the death penalty. To clarify the situation, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 abolished, replaced, or updated all previous federal laws concerned with narcotics and all other dangerous drugs. While possession was made illegal, the severest penalties were reserved for illicit distribution and manufacture of drugs. The act dealt with prevention and treatment of ... drug abuse as well as control of drug traffic. The Anti-Drug Abuse Acts of 1986 and 1988 increased funding for treatment and rehabilitation; the 1988 act created the Off...

• Word Count: 5106
• Approx Pages: 20
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... more than 70 millions Americans have smoked Marijuana at some point in their lives. Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug of choice for Americans, exceeded only by alcohol and tobacco in popularity.3 Types of Drugs Used by Past Month Illicit Drug Users Aged 12 or Older: 2002 Marijuana penalties vary nation wide. In 42 states, possession of any amount of marijuana ... , and less than one user of heroin.3 For those minority of marijuana smokers who do graduate to harder substances, it is marijuana prohibition -- which forces users to associate with the illicit drug black ma...

• Word Count: 2773
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... similar result transpire? Regardless, organized crime will continue to exist as ("Marijuana resource center," 2013) addresses this question with regards to the Mexican drug cartel: "No, violent Mexican criminal organizations derive revenue from more than just marijuana sales. They also produce and traffic methamphetamine and heroin, ... activities including kidnapping, extortion, and human trafficking.  Because of the variety and scope of the cartels' business and its illicit and purposefully obscured nature, determining the precise percentage of revenues from marijuana is problematic ...

• Word Count: 4020
• Approx Pages: 16
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... . Dr. William C. Woodward of the American Medical Association opposed the Act, testifying that prohibition would ultimately prevent the medicinal uses of marijuana. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 placed all illicit and prescription drugs into five "schedules" (categories). Marijuana was placed in Schedule I, defining it as having a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medicinal use in treatment in the United ... more teen-agers are using marijuana because fewer of them see it as a dangerous drug. That perception led to an increase in Brown 6 overall drug use by young pe...

• Word Count: 1689
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Since the passage of the Harrison Act in 1914, the federal approach to drug abuse control has included a variety of ways for reducing both the supply of, and demand for, illicit drugs. At first the supply and demand reduction strategies were grounded in the traditional ... as Coast Guard, Customs, and Drug Enforcement Administration operatives charged with intercepting drug shipments into the United States from foreign ports. On the surface, none of these strategies seemed to have an effect on illicit drug use. In 1988 The White House anti-drug policy was "zero-tolerance". Zero ... toleranc...

• Word Count: 2648
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... to the controversy over the legalization of marijuana is the issue of whether or not it is a gateway drug. Long-term studies show that use of other illicit drugs among youth almost never occurs unless they have first used marijuana (Kane, Yacoubian). The argument of marijuana as a ... gateway drug became a big issue during the Carter and Reagan administrations. It was argued and many people became ... cause of car accidents among youth, the first being alcohol. A concern with legalizing marijuana would be a possible increase in car accidents. If the drug was legalized and made more avai...

• Word Count: 2117
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... marijuana poses health risks. It contains many toxic chemicals including some of the cancer causing agents found in tobacco. According to the National Drug Information Center of Families in Action they point out various health risks that marijuana poses. The harmful effects of marijuana on the Endocrine ... new support for medical research, not use drugs such as marijuana. Secondly, marijuana is a gateway drug. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States and tends to be the first illegal drug teens use. Police Chief Lawrence K. Mahuna said, "In the early 80's, th...

• Word Count: 1430
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... there are some issues that have been established saying that this "illicit drug" has improved the treatment for suffering patients. Marijuana has lots of beneficial effects when used in medicinal settings for the treatment of pain; but it should be an administered drug for patients who can benefit from the use of this drug. Marijuana has had analysis for its use as a medicine and ... marijuana, but they do not have hard evidence to prove it. Ira Glasser, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, (at a congressional forum) expressed: "the government has demonized all drug ...

• Word Count: 808
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of its classification as an illicit drug, but controversial issues have been established that this "illicit drug" has improved the course of treatment for suffering patients. Marijuana has beneficial effects when used in medicinal scenarios for the treatment of pain; thus it should be an administered drug for patients who can benefit from the use of this drug. Marijuana has undergone analysis for ... they do not have hard evidence to prove it. Ira Glasser, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, (at a congressional forum) expressed: "the government has demonized all dru...

• Word Count: 793
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of its classification as an illicit drug, but controversial issues have been established that this "illicit drug" has improved the course of treatment for suffering patients. Marijuana has beneficial effects when used in medicinal scenarios for the treatment of pain; thus it should be an administered drug for patients who can benefit from the use of this drug. Marijuana has undergone analysis for ... have hard evidence to prove it (Grinspoon 46). Ira Glasser, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, (at a congressional forum) expressed: "the government has demonized all...

• Word Count: 811
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... National Nurses Society on Addictions; New Mexico Nurses Association; New York State Nurses Association; New England Journal of Medicine; and Virginia Nurses Association.(Drug war facts) I don't know, but that's an awful lot of national and international organizations that support the medical values of marijuana in one ... By 1999, a record 704,812 were nabbed, 88 percent of them for possession rather than trafficking. Since cannabis arrests constitute 44 percent of all drug apprehensions, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) estimates that the government's war on pot smokers costs taxpaye...

• Word Count: 2154
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Marijuana, in its natural form, has been thought to be one of the safest and oldest therapeutically active substances known to man. However, in today's society it's categorized as an illicit, illegal substance. When people hear the phrase, "legalization of marijuana," they only think of the ones smoking it for recreational purposes, rather than for medical value. Although, some states in ... U.S. have made the criminal distinction between people who smoke marijuana as a doctor's recommended remedy and recreational users, who just smoke to enjoy the effects. However, the federal government and...

• Word Count: 1098
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... 000. These numbers are only escalating, while we could be spending the resources on beneficial improvements for our country. Marijuana is undoubtedly the most popular illicit drug used in America. While some use it for its medical benefits, it is largely for its recreational purposes. And while there is a continuous ... in California, with annual revenues approaching $14 billion." Along with the profit of this illegal cash crop, there is an ongoing of drug lords and violence that coincides with the illegal trading of drugs. The war on drugs is an expensive battle, as a great deal of .....

• Word Count: 1206
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... untrue. I am going to prove that the decriminalization of cannabis will have a positive impact on Canada's health care and economy. Decriminalizing the drug will allow suffering Canadians to use marijuana as substance possibly enhancing their lifestyle. Many provinces in Canada feel that their courts are overflowing with cases ... history when the Ontario Court of Appeal struck down the federal criminal law banning marijuana announcing that it fails to permit medical use of the drug. Judgement gave Ottawa one year to revise the law, or growing and possessing marijuana will remain to be ...

• Word Count: 1468
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... illegal throughout most of the United States. In fact, a 2010 study shows marijuana sent the least amount of people to the hospital for drug related reasons with only 27,000 visits, with alcohol coming in second with 35,000 "(The federal government's own statistics show that ... marijuana is safer than alcohol.)". Small quantities of the drug have been allowed in regions such as Europe, North America and South America. Moreover, Medical marijuana is currently legal in 23 states, with ... Dr. Drew Pinsky, a doctor whose been working with addicts for decades, "Of the 7.3 million persons ...

• Word Count: 1122
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of marijuana are unproven accusations. Medical research has confirmed many positive uses other than mere recreational enjoyment. Critics state that marijuana is a "gateway" drug and that it leads to harder drugs like cocaine and heroin. However, a lot of marijuana smokers have smoked pot for a long time and ... anything harder. According to a national survey by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, 57 percent of all illicit drug users report that marijuana is the only drug they have ever used. This figure rises to 77 percent if hashish (a more concentrated form of ma...

• Word Count: 842
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Psychologists study mental processes and behavior. Anthropologists would look into the cultural background of marijuana and find that Marijuana is the most widely used drug in North America after a alcohol and cigarettes, which are both legal. Both of which are considerable worse for you health wise. Anthropologists would ... (www.drug-statistics.com) if the Canadian government was to legalize marijuana they would stand to make an enormous amount of profit from the taxes looking at the amount of money coming from marijuana in BC. This money could be used to help with more illicit drug t...

• Word Count: 813
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... as the Physicians Association for AIDS Care, National Lymphoma Foundation arguing that marijuana should be legalized in order to treat terminally ill patients. Many anti marijuana agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Agency and police department argue that marijuana shouldn't be legalized because there is no hard core evidence that proves that marijuana has medical value. This is what brings me ... is derived from the dried and cut leaves of the hemp plant known as "cannabis sativa". The main active chemical is THC(delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). It is the most common used illicit drug ...

• Word Count: 624
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Does Marijuana Cause Brain Damage? Though marijuana is illegal, it is the most widely used illicit drug in most developed societies today; over fifty percent of people will use it at some point in their lifetime (Hubbard, Franco, Onaivi 1999). Its peak usage occurred in the 1960's, ... but is still at a high today. To many peoples dislike, cannabis actually has legitimate medical purposes. Many anti-drug messages provide people with exaggerated claims concerning the undesirable affects of the drug. Moreover, its recent legalization in ten states, for medicinal purposes, has emphasized the nee...

• Word Count: 584
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... ; is used to refer to dependence in its chronic. Therefore if marijuana becomes legal this can lead to less access to teenagers or individuals who consume excessively. For instance, most drug dealers usually sell drugs no matter whom, their goal is to sell it and get the profits. So if the marijuana becomes legal then it would only be acquired in ... authorized places where it would be regularized and also there would be a consumer control that can help to reduce the black market or illicit business. On the other hand the government allows people to consume alcohol, smoke cigars and join...

• Word Count: 512
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate