... 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

... 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

... 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

... 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

... 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

... 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
• Approx Pages: 7
• 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 ...

• Word Count: 1547
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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

... alcohol habit to be $15 billion a year (www.ndsn.com); it has steadily increased since then. When comparing tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana, there is strong evidence that marijuana has the least addictive power (www.peretto.com). However, this does not hide the fact that all three can have a strong impact ... of all inmates are in prison for drug offenses-the result of a 1,100% increase in drug arrests between 1980 and 1992, even though marijuana use dropped from 35% to 13% during the same period. The increase in violent offenders incarcerated during that time was only 50%. Of felons .....

• Word Count: 1532
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... paying for this drug over the counter and therefore boosting the economy tremendously. Cigarette sales account for $2,885,663,000 profit annually, but imagine if marijuana were taxed and sold in stores. The profit that could result from its sale could have a major impact on our economy. This money would be ... going to the government as opposed to private drug dealers working in the black market. Along with boosting our economy the legalization of marijuana would open thousands of jobs for the unemployed across the country. If the plant was legalized, it would have to be harvested, packa...

• Word Count: 1748
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... 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
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... use of cannabis, the United States government has commissioned several studies regarding the properties of cannabis and its effects, and also has considered bills permitting the medicinal use of marijuana. Cannabis was prevalent in America for much of the 18th and 19th centuries. Many apothecaries and doctors proscribed medications containing cannabis. Until 1941, cannabis was part of the ... into the criminal justice system through the prohibition of this drug." The most controversial, and at this point in time plausible, argument for the partial decriminalization of marijuana is the ...

• Word Count: 1639
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... caffeine in almost every soft drink made and the nicotine found in cigarettes, to really hard-core drugs such as cocaine, heroin, LSD, and marijuana. What about sugar, or chocolate, or even salt? Most people would say these are just foods or flavors, but every one of them alters ... form of coca wine, was the most widely prescribed drug to treat illnesses. Cocaine was then accepted as a miracle and cure-all drug. Tincture of marijuana was also a very popular drug. Another factor that plays a role in persuading people to use drugs is simply peer pressure. Teenagers who would not ... joint,...

• Word Count: 1448
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... 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...

• Word Count: 1378
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... the U.S. "drug war" to no avail, gives proponents to legalization a great slice of credibility. They suggest that with the freeing of marijuana, the billions used to combat drugs could instead be redirected into drug education and drug treatment. The existence of drug treatment in place of prison ... and vomiting that are suffered by chemotherapy patients and alleviating the painful pressure on the eyes of glaucoma sufferers. Anorexia can also be helped with marijuana use, citing the appetite stimulation point used with AIDS patients. Not to be outdone, however, those against legalizatio...

• Word Count: 1914
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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...

• Word Count: 2295
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... for subjects to be completely ignorant about what they are using (Bock 137). The assortment of medicinal uses is widespread; such conditions that can be aided through the use of marijuana include: Anorexia, Pain, Glaucoma, Migraine, Hypertension, Anxiety, Asthma, Peptic Ulcer, Alcoholism, Depression, Insomnia, Inflammation, Nausea, and Cancer (Cohen 36). When the benefits are so grand and the risks are ... in the 1850's. Hypodermic syringes allowing soluble drugs to be injected for instant pain relief. Hemp products are insoluble in water and can not be easily administered through injec...

• Word Count: 1279
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate