... graph (Figure 1) provides a detailed representation: Figure 1. Drug possession offenders by percentage Most non-violent drug users never even see the inside of a prison, according to ("Speaking out against," 2010) "There is a popular myth that America's prisons are filling up with drug users arrested for simple ... statement, "It is the Federal government's position that marijuana be subjected to the same rigorous clinical trials and scientific scrutiny that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) applies to all other new medications, a comprehensive process designed to ensure the highe...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... payer (Gieringer, 1994). One person is arrested for cannabis violation every 30 seconds, resulting in an estimated 685,000 people incarcerated in prison for cannabis violation, 89% of which was for minor possession of the drug (FBI Uniformed Crime Report, 2013). The rate and speed ... of incarceration over cannabis compounds the issues of an already overcrowded and crippled prison system. Between the war on drugs and incarcerating cannabis violators the federal and state government spends over 32 billion dollars a year (Drug Sense ... extraction of the hemp oil the remaining seed cake ...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... payer (Gieringer, 1994). One person is arrested for cannabis violation every 30 seconds, resulting in an estimated 685,000 people incarcerated in prison for cannabis violation, 89% of which was for minor possession of the drug (FBI Uniformed Crime Report, 2013). The rate and speed ... of incarceration over cannabis compounds the issues of an already overcrowded and crippled prison system. Between the war on drugs and incarcerating cannabis violators the federal and state government spends over 32 billion dollars a year (Drug Sense ... extraction of the hemp oil the remaining seed cake ...

• Word Count: 2966
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... and cocaine. Cultivation of 100 marijuana plants or more carries a mandatory prison term of five years. Large scale marijuana cultivators and traffickers may be sentenced to death.3 Federal laws also deny entitlements to marijuana smokers. Under legislation signed into law in 1996 states may deny cash aid (e.g., welfare, etc) and food stamps to anyone convicted of felony drug charges. More recently, Congress ... Nucleus of the solitary tract Visceral sensation, nausea and vomiting Marijuana's effects begin immediately after the drug enters the brain and last from 1 to 3 hours. If mariju...

• Word Count: 2773
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of the dangers of specific substances changed. The surgeon general's warning label on tobacco packaging gradually made people aware of the addictive nature of nicotine. By 1995, the Food and Drug Administration was considering its regulation. The recognition of fetal alcohol syndrome brought warning labels to alcohol products. The addictive nature of prescription drugs such as diazepam ( ... largely unregulated herbal medicines have grown in popularity; many of these are psychoactive to some degree, raising questions of quality and safety. Prescription drugs are regulated by the Food and ...

• Word Count: 5106
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... all adults serving time in State prisons - 236,800 out of 1,141,700 State inmates. Nonviolent offenders accounted for Eighty-four percent (84%) of the increase in state and federal prison admissions since 1980. Department of corrections data show that about a fourth of those initially imprisoned for nonviolent crimes are sentenced for a second time for committing a violent offense. Whatever else it ... reflects, this pattern highlights the possibility that prison serves to transmit violent habits and values rather than to reduce them. It seems that no matter how hard the government trie...

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... all adults serving time in State prisons - 236,800 out of 1,141,700 State inmates. Nonviolent offenders accounted for Eighty-four percent (84%) of the increase in state and federal prison admissions since 1980. Department of corrections data show that about a fourth of those initially imprisoned for nonviolent crimes are sentenced for a second time for committing a violent offense. Whatever else it ... reflects, this pattern highlights the possibility that prison serves to transmit violent habits and values rather than to reduce them. It seems that no matter how hard the government trie...

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... all adults serving time in State prisons - 236,800 out of 1,141,700 State inmates. Nonviolent offenders accounted for Eighty-four percent (84%) of the increase in state and federal prison admissions since 1980. Department of corrections data show that about a fourth of those initially imprisoned for nonviolent crimes are sentenced for a second time for committing a violent offense. Whatever else it ... reflects, this pattern highlights the possibility that prison serves to transmit violent habits and values rather than to reduce them. It seems that no matter how hard the government trie...

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... plan in many ways. The most substantial benefit of legalizing marijuana will be the money we can save by stopping the massive influx of non-violent drug offenders in our prison system and creating new forms of income for our country. Once made legal the first step in my plan would be to release all the prisoners currently incarcerated for marijuana ... , "the number of defendants charged with a drug offense in U.S. district courts increased about 3% annually, on average"(Scalia) and another study evidence showed, "Over 80% of the increase in the federal prison population from 1985 to 199...

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... population) are behind bars, at a total cost to taxpayers of some $1.2 billion per year. They represent almost 12% of the total federal prison population and about 2.7% of the state prison population. Of the people incarcerated in federal and state prison and in local jails, 37,500 were charged with marijuana offenses only and an additional 21,800 with both marijuana offenses and other ... African Americans and Latinos do not reflect a higher abuse rate in these communities but rather a law enforcement emphasis on inner city areas where drug use and sales Once released from prison, felo...

• Word Count: 2648
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... artists, actors, and film producers believed their works have been helped due to the psychedelic experiences while using LSD. In the 1960's many music entertainers would not perform unless under the influence of LSD. In a study of four artists that were given LSD, they concluded that the ... wears off. Cannabis has been one of the most controversial drugs in our society. Used for a number of things including clothing, paper, fuel, food, and medicine, marijuana seems to be a potential cash crop. However in 1937 due to some of its medical and chemical properties, U.S. president Franklin .....

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... in all States and the Federal legislature was one of Anslinger's biggest concerns as head of the FBNDD. Anslinger also had a personal dislike of jazz music and the "black musicians" who made it. He hated them so much that he spent years tracking each of them and often dreamed of arresting them ... . The relief given by marijuana can be beneficial to sufferers of many diseases. Without nausea, patients who get their nutrition intravenously can now get their food naturally. This enables patients to rebuild their strength, and it helps the body precipitate the healing process. Sufferers of d...

• Word Count: 5285
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• Grade Level: High School

... IV users are infected in Liverpool. Liverpool has adopted the policy of decriminalization, and treats the drug problem through counseling and medical treatment. Because of the newly created dilemma of prison overcrowding, intertwined with the increasing harsh punishments for drug offenses, such as the "three strikes" law and mandatory minimum sentencing, another ramification of the war on drugs emerges. Prisons must ... , the real dangers to society, are being put back on the streets before serving their sentences, meanwhile Joe the stoner is doing five. This backwards policy being imple...

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... jail time, Foster was willing to plead guilty but his offered was denied. In January of 1997, Foster was sentence to ninety-three years in prison and fined sixty-five thousands dollars (Lawler 39). Take a look at this situation and ask yourself whether or not this was justified? In the ... can benefit in different ways as well as solve many issues that we have in our country and world. Legalizing marijuana can help with our overcrowding prison problem. It can also help provide us a cleaner environment because of what hemp can replace. Hemp can be used to make paper rather that ... by un...

• Word Count: 2734
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... thousands of years, the plant cannabis sativa, otherwise known as hemp or marijuana, has been harvested by people and utilized in many different ways. It has been grown to provide food for villages and towns, and used for clothes, rope, and sails on early ships. The Bible was written on hemp paper, as well as the first draft of the US ... acute effects of marijuana are also referred to as a high, or altered state of consciousness. Emotional change and increased sensory experiences such as; increased perception of listening to music, sexual intercourse, or eating food characterize the fe...

• Word Count: 3100
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... is useful in the medical field and should be legalized for that purpose. Cultivated for at least 5,000 years and serving as one of the oldest crops not grown for food, the marijuana plant began its life in China where the tissues of the hemp stalk were used to weave clothing, rope, and paper; seeds were pressed to make oil for ... paints and varnish; and dried seeds were used as food for canaries and other songbirds. Cultivation of the crop began thousands of years ago in China where the people had little regard for the psycho-active side effects of the ... chance of "danger being arou...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the lives of, with the exception of their marijuana usage, law abiding and responsible citizens of the United States of America. The average prison sentence served in the United States of America for a murder charge is 6.3 years. The average prison sentence served in the United States of America for a marijuana charge is 10 years. I can not understand how this is feasible in ... any society. I have never seen any news coverage on the fact that a person can rape another person and do less prison time than a person caught growing one marijuana plant. There seems to be no common sense in t...

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• Grade Level: High School

... dealers they would be less likely to need extra money through crime to try another buy to get what they want. Our legal system would be freed up and our prison population dramatically reduced saving billions and leaving law enforcement to catch and prosecute violent criminals. Legalization will send the message that drug use is normal and that it's a social issue ... dealers they would be less likely to need extra money through crime to try another buy to get what they want. Our legal system would be freed up and our prison population dramatically reduced saving billions and leaving law...

• Word Count: 5296
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• Grade Level: High School

... ). Another way we used to obtain free stuff from the restaurant was to write up an order for food, then when the cook put the food under the heat lamp to be taken out to a "customer," we would rip up the order that we wrote the ... being cooked. Thus, my performance structure was a legitimate opportunity when I made the customers pay for alcohol and food, but changed to an illegitimate opportunity because I was able to get free alcohol and food because I knew the loopholes to the "security" of the restaurant. While knowing your rights and how to work around ... stories about an ecstasy r...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... began in the 1960's. Marijuana's usage declined in the mid 1970's, although its usage has been rising since the mid 1990's. Marinol, a capsule containing THC, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1985. Marinol helps people with serious medical conditions, such as AIDS and cancer. Some states have passed laws allowing the usage of marijuana for medical purposes ... 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...

• Word Count: 3056
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... began in the 1960's. Marijuana's usage declined in the mid 1970's, although its usage has been rising since the mid 1990's. Marinol, a capsule containing THC, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1985. Marinol helps people with serious medical conditions, such as AIDS and cancer. Some states have passed laws allowing the usage of marijuana for medical purposes ... 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...

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• Grade Level: High School

... for the simple act of getting high. For example, if one were to be caught in Nevada with only 1 gr. of marijuana, a jail sentence of up to five years in prison can be the end result. That is longer than the penalty for aggravated assault, or even, in some cases, manslaughter. These harsh charges for such a ruthless crime are ridiculous. Marijuana ... ...

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... as criminal, including that which involves adults smoking in the privacy of their own homes, we are wasting police and prosecutorial resources, clogging courts, filling costly and scarce jail and prison space, and needlessly wrecking the lives and careers of genuinely good citizens. Marijuana legalization offers an important advantage over decriminalization in that it allows for legal distribution and taxation of ... ...

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... , the expansion of medicinal purposes and the industrial use of marijuana would give the economy a much needed boost. Marijuana which is also known as hemp can be a perfect source of food, paper, medicine, oil, fuel, building materials, and fiber for rope and fabric (Sullum 1993). It is important to point out the benefits the legalization of marijuana would have in terms ... ...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , and sleepiness. Most users learn to avoid overdosage by taking only as many inhalations as required to produce the desired "high." Steroids may have some therapeutic value. The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of selected steroids for treating specific types of anemia, some breast cancers, osteoporosis, endometriosis, and hereditary angioedema, a rare disease involving the swelling of ... ...

• Word Count: 3784
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• Grade Level: High School