Preview

The Decriminalization of Marijuana Essay Example

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1221 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Decriminalization of Marijuana Essay Example
The Decriminalization of Marijuana Today it is not uncommon to be watching television and come across an advertisement promoting the use of alcohol and cigarettes. Both substances are detrimental to your health, and have no medical value yet both are legal to anyone of age.
To a Cancer or AIDS patients seeking relief from marijuana, these commercials must be difficult to bear. Peter McWilliams stated, "Marijuana is the finest anti-nausea medication known to science, and our leaders have lied about this consistently. (Arresting people for) medical marijuana is the most hideous example of government interference in the private lives of individuals. It's an outrage within an outrage within an outrage". Many people do not realize the benefits of Marijuana and hemp because of conservative views and misconceptions. Marijuana, or Hemp has been used since the beginning of recorded history. It has been used recreationally, medically, and for industrial uses. On August 2, 1937 Marijuana was made illegal. The cause was based on discrimination and racism most notably by Harry J. Anslinger director of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics.

Anslinger brought the Marijuana Tax Act to congress in 1937 making many racial slurs and statements such as " There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others". After a series of statements like this Congress passed the bill and Marijuana became officially illegal. This was hard to believe since less than a decade before the government encouraged the growing of hemp because of its many uses. The main reason Marijuana is still illegal is mainly due to misconceptions about the drug, and conservatives who would not stand for it….Until they are diagnosed with Glaucoma, Cancer, or Aids; That might

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Emphasis on law enforcement . This included the Controlled Substances Act, where marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 drug for the most dangerous drugs that have no medical use. It is getting harder for law makers to present plausible reasons as to why marijuana shouldn’t be regulated for medical use. Citizens old and young have been petitioning the anti-pot laws (Controlled Substances Act). They have also been petitioning their right to pursuit of happiness. There are pros and cons to everything in the world but, the government shouldn’t have the final say so on if we can use it or not. Many scientific studies have proven that marijuana can be used for medical reasons. Scientist have proven marijuana can benefit people with medical issues such as Glaucoma , anxiety , epilepsy , and Chrohn’s…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Medicinal Marijuana

    • 1076 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Cannabis, better know as Marijuana, has been around since 2900 B.C. A Chinese Emperor Fu His, referenced the plant as being, “a popular medicine that possessed both yin and yang.”(ProCon.org) In America, the use of Marijuana and the concept of it has been kicked around and jumbled for hundreds of years. It has been generalized and put in a box. Beginning with George Washington, he grew Marijuana on his private plantation for thirty years. In the early 1900’s states began outlawing the herb, starting with Massachusetts in 1911. Ironically, the first arrest ever made for possession of Marijuana was in Colorado. Today, Colorado along with Washington has legalized the recreational use of Cannabis. In 1970, Marijuana was labeled as a schedule one drug that had “no accepted medical use.” In 2013, that myth has been thoroughly shot down as propaganda as we can see by the uprising in Medicinal Marijuana Dispensaries across the country. However, some people still believe the plant is a harmful and a dangerous drug. It is one of the oldest, and most effective natural medicines in human existence. Marijuana does not affect everybody the same way.…

    • 1076 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    As a citizen of the United States I feel that if the drug can medically help people that have illnesses then it should be reclassified and legalized. However, I feel that their need to be rules in place for patients that use the drug so it isn’t abused. Physicians that have patients that would benefit from the drug need to ensure that the proper screenings are performed. These screening should help determine if the drug will be benfitcal and help it’s users with their…

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Marijuana in the United States has been a big issue for decades dating back to when it was first made illegal in 1937. Using scare tactics, propaganda, and false facts, the government decided to classify the plant as a schedule one drug along with substances such as ecstasy, LSD, and heroin. Marijuana has since become a more common and socially acceptable (Not by the government) drug in recent years. This past year Colorado, Washington, and Oregon had decided to vote on the issue of legalizing marijuana for recreational use. Focusing on Colorado, Amendment 64 passed on November 6th, 2012 which would legalize the possession of up to an ounce of the plant.…

    • 1873 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Weed We Trust

    • 1669 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The spanish brought marijuana to America in 1545, and by 1611 it became a major commercial crop. However, marijuana didn’t really catch on till the jazz age in the 1920s. It became such the rage that there were clubs specifically for smoking, and since it was not illegal at the time and the people weren’t causing any problems the authorities let them be. From 1860 to 1942 it was even prescribed for various medical uses, but authorities soon began to see it as a “gateway” drug. By 1970 the Controlled Substance Act labeled marijuana as having a high abuse potential and having no medical use. Due to the illegalization of marijuana it began to be smuggled in from Mexico and Colombia, starting the “war on drugs.”In 1982 the Drug Enforcement Administration began to crack down on finding growers in the U.S., and by the 1990’s marijuana was once again in an upward trend of users.…

    • 1669 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Year Round Schooling

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages

    As children grow up, they are taught that marijuana is illegal and very harmful to you. What they don’t realize is it’s not in any way harmful, however it is illegal. What the government can’t seem to explain is why. The use of marijuana does not lead to addiction, does not kill brain cells, and does not cause cancer or any other health concerns (The Union: Business Behind Getting High). These concerns are all part of what society believes today because of what they are fed through false government research and media. The Union: Business Behind Getting High tells the truths about marijuana’s effects on health, the body, the community, the government: the society as a whole, which is why everyone should watch this documentary.…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Since 1961 marijuana has been illegal in the United States but in the 2012 election Colorado and Washington voters decided they wanted that to change. Marijuana has very valuable medical use to patients suffering from some terminal diseases. It also has a very valuable industrial use with the cultivation of hemp from the cannabis plant. Along with this marijuana is also a fun recreational drug that is used by many to create a fun social environment among friends. The legalization of marijuana would make it so law enforcement could stop wasting there time with non-violent marijuana users and spend it on finding the real criminals in the US.…

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the 1800’s, cannabis, more commonly known as marijuana, was legal in most states in the United States, and was mostly used for medicinal purposes. The first notable instance of regulation in the U.S. was in 1906, with the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. After the Mexican Revolution in 1910, Mexican immigrants introduced the American public to marijuana use recreationally. Following the widespread use of marijuana in the ensuing years, more and more states created laws regulating marijuana use, cultivation, and distribution. Through the Uniform State Narcotics Act, use of Cannabis in every state was regulated by the mid 1930’s. Marijuana regulation at the federal level was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt with the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.…

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Marijuana in the US

    • 4609 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is a flower that is indigenous, meaning it is produced naturally, with the compound chemical of tetrahydocannabinol, known as THC; which gives psychoactive and physiological effects. The plant was well known from the early 1600 's and known uses go back to 7000 B.C, but the plant didn’t reach public awareness as a recreational drug until the early 1900 's. Over centuries the plant was used for food, incense, cloth, rope, etc. George Washington stated “It is hemp season in Mount Vernon and I wouldn 't miss that for all the tea in China.” He and Thomas Jefferson were two founders of marijuana, they farmed and dealt the plant in the early 1850 's for economical reasons. They had three primary farms in Virginia. Washington used some of what he produced to create hemp clothing to be worn by his slaves, Jefferson cultivated hemp for recreational consumption, according to Washington 's diary. Marijuana has never been legalized in all the fifty states, even though marijuana can be used for medical and economical reasons, and also create tax revenue for all of the United States. (Wikipedia 2)(The Diaries of George Washington)…

    • 4609 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I don't understand why cannabis is still illegal in this country. To this day, I have not heard an intelligent argument against the legalization and regulation of cannabis. There is so much negative controversy that we get from supports. The fact is, many people would outlaw fast food, cigarettes, and tanning beds because of the harm that they cause America. But this is America and there is about their freedom and this is about their choice. Give the people in our states the choice to enjoy…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alcohol and marijuana are both substances that are despised by many individuals- especially the older generations. Many believed and still think that alcohol and marijuana, among various drugs and substances, cause people to lose their sound judgment and behave irresponsibly- occasionally reaching a point of violence if a high amount of the substance is consumed. In fact, they are thought to be a key factor in a person’s downfall occasionally. Several individuals support the ban of these substances at any cost.…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We the people in the US try to use reason and logic to determine our laws. as a consequence of this intellectual process, we develop graded scales for punishment and degrees of illegality. The more dangerous an activity the more illegal and higher punishment, lesser activities are either not illegal or endorsed. Marijuana illegality defies this rational thinking in that it is less detrimental than alcohol and cigarettes and yet is treated far worse. Most pharmaceutical drugs can kill if used improperly, like alcohol and tobacco. In the following essay, I will explain how medically prescribed marijuana has a beneficial effect on patients who suffer from certain diseases, both by treating disease symptoms and…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marijuana has actually been legal for most of human history. It was only in the 1930s that wide-spread prohibition took place. Marijuana was outlawed on the basis of several claims: It was believed to make people violent, it encouraged white women to engage in sexual relations with black men, and was used by paedophiles to draw children in. No scientific evidence or testing was provided to back up these claims.…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marijuana has been used recreationally as well as medicinally for thousands of years. The earliest evidence of inhalation of marijuana, a small pile of charred cannabis/seeds, was found in Romania and believed to be dated prior to the 3rd millennia BCE. Marijuana use is considered to be beneficial to some, however has been controversially classified as a schedule 1 controlled substance, making it as illegal as heroin, politicians claim it to be more dangerous than cocaine, with little to no factual basis. Based upon my personal use of medical marijuana, I have seen more positive than negative effects, and believe it should be decriminalized so as to ease the pain, suffering, anxiety,…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cannabis was legal to consume in the United States up until 1937, when the “marihuana tax act of 1937” made possession or transfer of cannabis illegal throughout the United States under federal law, excluding medical and industrial uses. The American Medical Association was not in favor of this legislation. Before this law was passed, marijuana was legal and quite popular in the United States. Martin Booth explains in his book Cannabis: A History, that In the 1880’s “hashish” parlors were very popular in America and it was estimated that their were around five hundred of these parlors in New York at the time. From 1850-1942 cannabis was listed in the U.S Pharmacopoeia as a useful medicine for nausea, rheumatism, and labor pains; it was also easily obtained at the local general store or pharmacy. More than 20 prescription medicines containing marijuana were sold in U.S. pharmacies at the turn of the 20th century, and marijuana-based medications were commonly available until cannabis was taken out of the U.S. Pharmacopeia in 1942. Then in 1970, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, classified marijuana as a Schedule I drug. According to this act a schedule I drug means three things: the drug has high potential for abuse, the drug has no currently accepted medical use in the U.S, and there is a lack of…

    • 1029 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays