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Decriminalization of Marijuana

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Decriminalization of Marijuana
Darnell Taylor
M. Channing
English 1B
March 5, 2013
Decriminalization of Marijuana As I researched the internet for information about the decriminalization of marijuana, I found so much information concerning this project that it was hard putting together some thoughts. Through my research of the different topics I came to the conclusion that the ones I am writing about seem to be the most important concerning the decriminalization of marijuana. Should a person go to jail for smoking marijuana? A lot of people would say no, a person should not go to jail for smoking it. Marijuana is not a narcotic, such as heroin, or a stimulant like caffeine or tobacco, or a depressant, like alcohol. It would be easy to say marijuana is less of a threat to a person’s health than alcohol or tobacco. Marijuana became illegal on August 2, 1937 with the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act. Discrimination and racism played a big part in this because it was said that Blacks and other minorities were the majority of marijuana users. Politicians and lack of understanding of the drug is why marijuana is still illegal today. The scientific name for marijuana is cannabis. There are two main strains of marijuana and they are called Indica and Sativa. Cannabis is known in the streets, by many other names such as dank, bud, buddha, maryjane, weed, or reefer, and has been used medically since the beginning of civilization. The oldest known evidence of cannabis use comes from a tomb in the African country of Egypt, where cannabis was found in big bundles beside the tomb. In Canada, a high-level public official said the current marijuana prohibition was not working for the benefit of that country .The number of known marijuana users has grown from 55,000 to 350 million, a fact showing that prohibition of marijuana is not working. The big push for the United States to decriminalize marijuana started in the 1970’s, when almost


Cited: “Decriminalization of Marijuana”, Lawrence, B.K., Studymode.com, 6 May 2005, http://www.Studymode.com/Essays/Decriminalization-marijuana-56452.html “Decriminalization of Marijuana”, 123HelpMe.com, 10 Mar 2013 “Decriminalization of Marijuana”, Termpaper.com, 12 Apr 2012 http://Termpaper.com/Essay-on/Decriminalization-Of-Marijuana/79942 “Decriminalization vs. Prohibition”, 123HelpMe.com, 10 Mar 2013 http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=61687 “Illegal Drugs: Legalization of Marijuana”, Marijuana.com, 19 Apr 2010 “Smoke In The Air”, 123HelpMe.com, 10 Mar 2013 http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=86223
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