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So currently i am writing a paper on whether or not Marijuana should be legal, Have a read and let me know what you think:
Should Marijuana be legalized?
According to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), Marijuana or Cannabis Sativa is a “Drug” with no medicinal properties. Cannabis Sativa was criminalized by the Federal Government in the United States of America in 1937 but as of recently legalized for Medical purposes by as many as 18 States. Marijuana has been used for thousands of years without any Deaths and has been confirmed through numerous scientific studies to be an effective pain reliever through the euphoric and relaxing effects caused by the chemical in Marijuana called Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). (Cohen, 2009) In my opinion Marijuana is a plant that should be legal in the United States of America for both Recreational and Medicinal purposes, I feel that if Marijuana was legalized on a federal level it could become a major asset for the economy and an incredible help to the national debt which is currently 16 Trillion. (Ed Hall, 2012)It is estimated that enforced Marijuana Prohibition cost taxpayers up to $10 Billion annually with cost rising increasingly each year. (Norml, 2010) To my knowledge Drug Dealers can make an estimated $9000 in one month from selling one pound of Marijuana by only investing $3000.
Marijuana being the third most popular recreational drug in the America and being used by nearly 100 Million Americans can generate $2000 million dollars in one day if each of those 100 million Americans bought one gram of Marijuana, this is why I believe in the economical resourcefulness of Marijuana but currently with the way laws severely punish the possession of even the smallest amounts of Marijuana, progress cannot be made. In 2010, 97.5 arrests were made per hour for Marijuana related offenses and there continues to be 850, 000+ individuals arrested per year for Marijuana related offenses. (Norml, 2010)
I feel as though those resources used to arrest and lock away Marijuana offenders are going to waste. In the past I have seen many different types of people who use Marijuana, majority of these people are people whom I deem to be non-violent, dedicated individuals who unlike alcoholics, cocaine addicts or heroin addicts are productive law-abiding citizens who have promising futures. The effects that Marijuana produces impacts selective and divided attention, cognitive flexibility, and time estimation similar to alcohol yet alcohol and tobacco, drugs that are legal are to be blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths per year (Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2010)
I cannot see why people are having their life’s ruined for smoking a plant that is in my opinion safer than both cigarettes and alcohol. Proper legalization and regulation would prove to bring about an economic revolution. Besides helping to promote the economy or for recreational usage Marijuana has been shown to have medicinal effects. The chemical in Marijuana, THC produces a “hunger effect” where the user has an increased appetite and the urge eat, this side effect can be greatly useful for those whom are suffering from eating disorders or those going through chemotherapy who need to have an healthy appetite so as to provide their bodies with the proper nutrients it needs to help combat illnesses.(Ford, Ludlum, 2011)
In the past and still today the Federal Government has provided Marijuana to a select group of patients but due to prohibition and pressure from political figures, the Government seized the program and only provides federally grown Marijuana to four patients whom receive monthly supplies from the only Marijuana plantation at the University of Mississippi. Still, in order to provide the medicinal help that the chemical in Marijuana provides the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the drug Marinol, a pill with the active ingredient THC, consequently this pill is less effective and more costly than the plant itself. (Ford, Ludlum, 2011)
I believe that Medical Marijuana could provide a more inexpensive and effective medicinal help to patients than many pharmaceutical drugs. A friend of mine whom suffers from nausea, loss of appetite and depression regular exclaims to me that without Marijuana he would be “head-over heels in pills and debt.” In order to better help their patient’s physicians must provide the best treatment and promote the best interest of their patients but with Federal prohibition to access and use of Marijuana, the Government is infringing upon citizen rights to live and avoid suffering. ( Pfeifer, 2011) So while the patient and physician try to work towards the health of the patient they must be looking over their shoulders hoping the Government doesn’t find out about their actions and lock them away, I believe this is wrong, unless one’s actions cause harm to another or to one’s self then I do not believe the Government needs to be involved, it is our natural born right to exercise our free-will.
The Government itself also supports my position because while they are penalizing the use of Marijuana they themselves are growing it and giving it to patients and also extracting the active ingredient in Marijuana to create pills. I believe that the Federal Government should legalize Marijuana and properly regulate it so that it can be used as an economic resource as well as Medicine, this must be done in-order to better use taxpayer money and shift the flow of billions of dollars made from the sale of Marijuana from drug dealers and into the economy.
P.S This is not a thread to state your own opinions on Marijuana, just on my essay, Thank you.
Should Marijuana be legalized?
According to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), Marijuana or Cannabis Sativa is a “Drug” with no medicinal properties. Cannabis Sativa was criminalized by the Federal Government in the United States of America in 1937 but as of recently legalized for Medical purposes by as many as 18 States. Marijuana has been used for thousands of years without any Deaths and has been confirmed through numerous scientific studies to be an effective pain reliever through the euphoric and relaxing effects caused by the chemical in Marijuana called Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). (Cohen, 2009) In my opinion Marijuana is a plant that should be legal in the United States of America for both Recreational and Medicinal purposes, I feel that if Marijuana was legalized on a federal level it could become a major asset for the economy and an incredible help to the national debt which is currently 16 Trillion. (Ed Hall, 2012)It is estimated that enforced Marijuana Prohibition cost taxpayers up to $10 Billion annually with cost rising increasingly each year. (Norml, 2010) To my knowledge Drug Dealers can make an estimated $9000 in one month from selling one pound of Marijuana by only investing $3000.
Marijuana being the third most popular recreational drug in the America and being used by nearly 100 Million Americans can generate $2000 million dollars in one day if each of those 100 million Americans bought one gram of Marijuana, this is why I believe in the economical resourcefulness of Marijuana but currently with the way laws severely punish the possession of even the smallest amounts of Marijuana, progress cannot be made. In 2010, 97.5 arrests were made per hour for Marijuana related offenses and there continues to be 850, 000+ individuals arrested per year for Marijuana related offenses. (Norml, 2010)
I feel as though those resources used to arrest and lock away Marijuana offenders are going to waste. In the past I have seen many different types of people who use Marijuana, majority of these people are people whom I deem to be non-violent, dedicated individuals who unlike alcoholics, cocaine addicts or heroin addicts are productive law-abiding citizens who have promising futures. The effects that Marijuana produces impacts selective and divided attention, cognitive flexibility, and time estimation similar to alcohol yet alcohol and tobacco, drugs that are legal are to be blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths per year (Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2010)
I cannot see why people are having their life’s ruined for smoking a plant that is in my opinion safer than both cigarettes and alcohol. Proper legalization and regulation would prove to bring about an economic revolution. Besides helping to promote the economy or for recreational usage Marijuana has been shown to have medicinal effects. The chemical in Marijuana, THC produces a “hunger effect” where the user has an increased appetite and the urge eat, this side effect can be greatly useful for those whom are suffering from eating disorders or those going through chemotherapy who need to have an healthy appetite so as to provide their bodies with the proper nutrients it needs to help combat illnesses.(Ford, Ludlum, 2011)
In the past and still today the Federal Government has provided Marijuana to a select group of patients but due to prohibition and pressure from political figures, the Government seized the program and only provides federally grown Marijuana to four patients whom receive monthly supplies from the only Marijuana plantation at the University of Mississippi. Still, in order to provide the medicinal help that the chemical in Marijuana provides the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the drug Marinol, a pill with the active ingredient THC, consequently this pill is less effective and more costly than the plant itself. (Ford, Ludlum, 2011)
I believe that Medical Marijuana could provide a more inexpensive and effective medicinal help to patients than many pharmaceutical drugs. A friend of mine whom suffers from nausea, loss of appetite and depression regular exclaims to me that without Marijuana he would be “head-over heels in pills and debt.” In order to better help their patient’s physicians must provide the best treatment and promote the best interest of their patients but with Federal prohibition to access and use of Marijuana, the Government is infringing upon citizen rights to live and avoid suffering. ( Pfeifer, 2011) So while the patient and physician try to work towards the health of the patient they must be looking over their shoulders hoping the Government doesn’t find out about their actions and lock them away, I believe this is wrong, unless one’s actions cause harm to another or to one’s self then I do not believe the Government needs to be involved, it is our natural born right to exercise our free-will.
The Government itself also supports my position because while they are penalizing the use of Marijuana they themselves are growing it and giving it to patients and also extracting the active ingredient in Marijuana to create pills. I believe that the Federal Government should legalize Marijuana and properly regulate it so that it can be used as an economic resource as well as Medicine, this must be done in-order to better use taxpayer money and shift the flow of billions of dollars made from the sale of Marijuana from drug dealers and into the economy.
P.S This is not a thread to state your own opinions on Marijuana, just on my essay, Thank you.
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