... 's claim rests upon the questionable assumption that drug dealers will stop dealing because they are afraid of getting caught. From the information given, I would have to conclude that legalizing marijuana would have little to no effect in reducing crime. Another claim that legalization supporters make is that prison overcrowding would decrease. The statement has been made for several years, by ... , the overcrowding issue will improve. According to Ingold (2012), Rosemary Harris Lytle, president of the NAACP agrees when she says: "In ending the prohibition against adult use of marijuana ...

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

... and wheezing. They tend to have more chest colds than nonusers. They are also at greater risk of getting lung infections like pneumonia. Marijuana affects the immune system. Animal studies have found that THC can damage the cells and tissues in the body that help protect against disease. ... -making, memory, and the ability to remain attentive. Researchers are not certain whether health problems that may be caused by early exposure to marijuana will remain as the child grows into adulthood. However, since some parts of the brain continue to develop throughout adolescence, it is also ......

• Word Count: 2695
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... , corn and soybeans (Cowan 5). Grown as fiber, hemp's uses vary from clothing, bags, carpeting, upholstery and rope to paper, teabags, construction materials, fiberglass and plastic. Seeds from hemp marijuana create food products such as bagels, salad dressing and dietary supplements. Skin-lotion and shampoo also created from hemp seeds make environmentally safe products. As the nation is experiencing a shortage ... the brain for harder drugs- (Lowry 2). Another study done at the Research Institute in La Jolla claimes, "Their study therefore support for the gateway' theory, which says sm...

• Word Count: 3056
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... This is not to say, we should deregulate it completely, but lawmakers should decriminalize the possession and consumption of it by responsible adults. There are several advantages to legalizing marijuana. Besides the recreational values, it's been proven to have certain positive medicinal values. It can also create a whole new source or revenue in taxes to the federal and ... state governments. What's more, current funding for the persecution and prosecution of marijuana smuggling, growing, selling, and using could be used, perhaps more effectively, in other areas. Those who favor prohi...

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

... 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, ...

• Word Count: 5937
• Approx Pages: 24
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Tabloid newspapers and the newly founded Federal Bureau of Narcotics popularized exaggerated accounts of violent crimes committed by immigrants (intoxicated by marijuana). Since then, marijuana has achieved widespread use by Americans and has become the source of an apparent controversy in our society. The cause for ... now than it has ever been. "The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse" reports that 31.6% of Americans have used marijuana. Of the people that have smoked marijuana, 10.8% of them have used it at least 300 times in the past year. This means that in the year of ... of it...

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

... a result of numerous drug awareness campaigns and the publication of other biased information on the subject. It could also be that hippies are getting older and more responsible. What is Marijuana? Marijuana refers to a mixture of leaves, stems and flowering tops of cannabis sativa8. It has hallucinogenic and pleasure-giving effects on the user when smoked or eaten. Tetrahydrocannabinal (THC) is the ... non-narcotic psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.9 Marijuana use has been documented as far back as 3000 BC in Central Asia and China, where it was used as a folk medicine.10 By the 20...

• Word Count: 2828
• Approx Pages: 11
• 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...

• Word Count: 1796
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... , corn and soybeans (Cowan 5). Grown as fiber, hemp's uses vary from clothing, bags, carpeting, upholstery and rope to paper, teabags, construction materials, fiberglass and plastic. Seeds from hemp marijuana create food products such as bagels, salad dressing and dietary supplements. Skin-lotion and shampoo also created from hemp seeds make environmentally safe products. As the nation is experiencing a shortage ... the brain for harder drugs- (Lowry 2). Another study done at the Research Institute in La Jolla claimes, "Their study therefore support for the gateway' theory, which says sm...

• Word Count: 3390
• Approx Pages: 14
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... to five times more potent than THC and greatly increases the likelihood of a patient experiencing an adverse psychological reaction. In contrast, inhaled marijuana doesn't cause significant levels of the 11-hydroxy metabolite to appear in the blood.3 Marinol's oral administration also delays the drug from taking ... reward system in the same way that nearly all drugs of abuse do, by stimulating brain cells to release the chemical dopamine. A marijuana user may experience pleasant sensations, colors and sounds may seem more intense, and time appears to pass very slowly. The user's mouth ....

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

... Our findings were 12 strongly agreed, 20 agreed, 2 were not sure, 6 disagreed, and 0 strongly disagreed. The next three questions were about the person's childhood. The second question stated, " Marijuana was readily available and widely used by students in the high school you graduated from." In response to this question 16 strongly agreed, 10 agreed, 4 were not sure, 8 disagreed, and ... 4 strongly disagreed. The third question was about parental influence in relation to drug use. It stated " Your parents have always strongly discouraged you from experimenting from all illegal drugs i...

• Word Count: 2290
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... the effects of other substances, is a double standard. It is often argued that alcoholics will stick to alcohol, tobacco addicts will stick to alcohol, but marijuana is a gateway drug that can lead to the use of other, "harder" drugs. The gateway theory is "any mood-altering drug, ... to the use of addictive drugs, as heroin" (Dictionary.com). There have been some studies done that have come to the conclusion that marijuana is a gateway drug, but a majority of those studies only focus on adolescents whose brains and bodies are still developing which can alter the ... to help with all k...

• Word Count: 1514
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... monkey brain structure as "damaged" A far superior experiment by the National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) involving 64 rhesus monkeys that were exposed to daily or weekly doses of marijuana smoke for a year found no evidence of structural or neurochemical changes in the brains of rhesus monkeys. In fact, following the publication of two 1977 JAMA studies, the American Medical ... of Justice Statistics (BJS) cast doubt on that assertion. Calculations based on recent BJS reports suggest that, at any one time, 59,300 prisoners charged with or convicted of violating marijuana l...

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

... to calm the nerves and possibly provide added ferocity. Native Americans weren't concerned with the natural aspect at all and quickly found that marijuana could alleviate pain, stimulate the appetite and provide some small comfort in a harsh environment. They used it in their religious ceremonies to ... Nadelman, this strategy would increase public treasuries of at least ten billion a year and maybe much more. These strategies propose that legalizing marijuana would have many economical benefits on the United States. Former Mayor of Baltimore Kurt Schmoke was a strong believer in legaliz...

• Word Count: 1545
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... friend look like a good reporter (Brief 2). This would give him a good public perception early in his career as well. On April 14, 1937 marijuana became a schedule one narcotic substance, meaning it was a drug with no medical value and it was so dangerous that it "must be suppressed" ( ... competitive. They will use violence if necessary to avoid getting caught or to avoid loosing money. Also, everyone who tries to buy or use marijuana is also committing a crime. Unfortunately the users are normally the people who get arrested. Non-violent drug users make up about half the ... alcohol pro...

• Word Count: 1535
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the recreational use of drugs in this country, on the contrary it is causing great harm. It's time to try something new. When most people imagine the legalization of marijuana, they fear a marijuana free-for-all with everybody constantly getting high. Legalization would be a burdensome task for the U.S. Government. In fact, the legal process would include a law passed by Congress ... allowing the government to control the content, quality, and distribution of marijuana. The laws would be similar to the current laws regulating alcohol, including laws governing age, limits for driving, an...

• Word Count: 2252
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... accelerates heart rate, some heart problems could arise for people with already present cardiovascular problems. However for people with sound health, there is no cardiovascular risk. Hormonal changes due to marijuana are completely unfounded. Reproductive system damage was recorded by only one scientist, a Dr. Gabriel Nahas. He was criticized to the point where he renounced his results. While the ... alcohol and cigarettes have. When you consider that one-hundred and eighteen million Americans drink alcohol and sixty million smoke cigarettes, compared to the eighteen million Americans ...

• Word Count: 2063
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... available on the effects of long-term use" (Hochman 44). According to a recent study by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ten chronic marijuana users were evaluated as test subjects to see if marijuana had any effect on the cognitive functioning of the human body. The results concluded that none of the ten subjects suffered any impairment of their mental ... has increased from the 1960's to the present day. If you look at this issue a little more closely, you will see that there isn't any hard evidence to support that marijuana will lead to harder drugs. According...

• Word Count: 1152
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... be the only ones not doing it. However this casual use among teens often turns into a heavy use of the drug and addiction. The use of marijuana has been directly linked to crime among teens. Between 1990 and 1995, the number of juveniles charged with narcotic related crimes in the United States has more ... the heavy use and abuse by the teen. Many times the teen will get the false notion that it is okay or not a big deal to smoke marijuana. Marijuana abuse by teens has also been linked to specific family stresses such as divorce, separation, and deaths.(Schleichert 73) "Family members d...

• Word Count: 1735
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... for many, many years and has been proven to be safe for medical uses. Despite its useful medical effects for relieving pain and nausea, marijuana is a psychedelic drug that will be looked down upon because of false claims about it. The value of helping the medical world would far ... out weight its potential to be abused. Even though marijuana was illegal, its use continued in the United States. Ernest L. Abel, author of the book Marihuana states, "In 1972, the National Commission ... be the plant that could save the world but we would never know it because the first thing people think ...

• Word Count: 1704
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... value and addictive (Whitebread 15). In 1996, Californians for Medical Rights introduced Proposition 215, which would permit seriously and terminally ill patients, with a prescription from their doctor, to use marijuana in their medical treatment and protect them from criminal punishment. The proposition passed and other states, such as Arizona, Vermont, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Virginia, began passing similar bills. ... The federal government took the case against medicinal marijuana to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that the state laws were unconstitutional since they violated the ...

• Word Count: 1460
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the Science Base," was conducted by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute if medicine, which in August 1997 assembled an eleven-person panel to conduct an eighteen-month investigation of marijuana's benefits and risks through a series of public hearings and exhaustive study of current research. Cancer chemotherapy can often prolong the patient's life by several years. In some instances ... . [Infotrac]. Available http://web5.searchban k.com/itw/session/822/131/28856999w3/3!xrn_6_0_A19482646. Was not a very informative article. Hager, Mary, Adam Rogers, Claudia Kalb, and Patricia Kin...

• Word Count: 1626
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... currently illegal, has many positive effects in the treatment of certain illnesses, such as: cancer, AIDS, glaucoma and arthritis. Many newspapers that were misinformed about marijuana began running stories accusing marijuana as being an "Assassin of Youth." Marijuana was also associated with horrible car crashes in which teens had perished. As history has taught us, the 1930's were not a racially tolerant time. Sadly ... at the time, despite him being a heart doctor. Here is what I found. The most generalized question had to be asked, which is what do you think the negative effects of ...

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... sexual pleasure and Psychological dependence requiring more of the drug to get the same effect. (4) Sandra Lacar, executive director of the Coalition for a Drug Free Hawaii says, "The legalization of marijuana as a medicine and the abandonment of our science-based FDA testing and approval process are irresponsible as long as proven, positive alternative treatments are in place." (5) We are supposed to ... find 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 t...

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

... safest and most effective medicine that can be used for terminally ill patients. They consider the U.S. to be heartless to refuse to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. Those people argue that the legalization of the drug would not make matters worse because it will be restricted to be ... used for medicinal purposes only. First of all, there are medicines better than marijuana. For example, there are safer and more effective medicines for people who need it as a treatment for chemotherapy-induced nausea. According to oncologist Daniel ... for the treatment of chemotherapy-induce...

• Word Count: 1305
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate