Legalization Of Marijuana Essay, Research Paper

Marijuana is a works, hemp sativa, that contains a protein THC, or THC. THC which is the most actuating ingredient of the four 100 chemicals in marihuana doing the intoxicating consequence. Marijuana is a drug that is normally smoked as a coffin nail, which is normally called a joint or nail, and can besides be smoked in a pipe or bong. More late the drug is smoked in cigars called blunts. Marijuana has over two 100 street names, most normally called pot, herb, bud, hebdomad, Mary Jane, and chronic ( ONDCP Project Know, teens ) . Marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug in the United States with 80 million Americans seeking it ( Terkel 17 ) . A study in 1995 showed that one out of every three high school seniors use pot, one in every four sophomores and one in every six 8th graders smoke marihuana. It is of import to cognize and understand the history, the Torahs and the effects that this drug is responsible for.

Marijuana has been an illegal drug since 1937 in all 50 provinces ( Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration p. 23 ) . When prohibition began, its intent was to halt Americans signifier utilizing marihuana, but much like the prohibition of intoxicant it has non been successful. Without the success of this prohibition the authorities continues to make anti-drug Torahs and seek to happen other options to command marihuana. The most recent base in marihuana control is to legalise the drug for all intents.

There are several side effects of utilizing marihuana. Short term effects of smoking marihuanas are sleepiness, increased hungriness,

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trouble maintaining path of clip, impaired or decreased short-run memory,

reduced abilities to execute undertakings necessitating concentration and coordination like driving a auto. Marijuana besides increases bosom rates, possible cardiac dangers for people with bosom disease, blood changeable eyes, decreased societal suppressions along with hazards of paranoia, hallucinations and intense anxiousness. There are besides long term effects of utilizing marihuana. Some of these include increased hazard of pneumonic upsets like malignant neoplastic disease, decreased testosterone degrees in work forces, increased testosterone degrees in adult females, lowered sperm count in work forces and increased sterility in adult females. Marijuana besides diminishes some sexual pleasance and may do psychological dependance necessitating more of the drug to acquire the same consequence. If marihuana is smoked during a gestation the babes have been found to be shorter, weigh less, have smaller caputs, and are more likely to develop wellness jobs and jobs with the nervous system. A batch of marijuana use can make a loss of energy and involvement in how you look, societal activities and school work ( ONCP Project Know ) .

Although there are several side effects and harmful agents to smoking marijuana these effects are no more worse than other legal drugs such as intoxicant or baccy. Alcohol causes cirrhoses of the liver while coffin nails cause jobs runing from lung malignant neoplastic disease to coronary bosom disease. Besides both drugs are carcinogens that velocity up all malignant neoplastic diseases. Tobacco will do an early decease of five million people smoking today, four-hundred thousand people will decease because of smoke this twelvemonth and

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many more will endure signifier lung malignant neoplastic disease and other associated diseases. Alcohol is related to one tierce of all deceases and hurts form auto accidents, is associated with 90 per centum of all colzas happening on college campuses and causes foetal intoxicant syndrome during gestation ( Terkel 22 ) . Alcohol is a factor in half of all apprehensions, half of all homicides, and a Forth of all self-destructions ( National 15 ) . Unlike intoxicant and baccy marihuana is non habit-forming ( Hall, Room, Bondy WHO project 1995 ) . All drugs do hold a societal impact and all drugs are capable of interrupting place life, impacting the manner a individual works, and doing a withdraw from society. All drugs every bit portion the power to confound a individual, destroy different facets of their personal and societal life, in other wors all drugs are every bit bad

The first American hemp or marihuana works was grown in 1611 ( Ginspoon 11 ) . Ever since the colonial periods, hemp was used in assorted ways. It was used to do paper, rope, fabric, and treated some medical conditions doing hemp a major harvest to the United States. In 1898, the United States gained a narcotic job that came with the gaining of the Philippine Islands ( Terkel 25 ) . During the period it was a clip of drug tolerance.

The first drug jurisprudence was created in 1906. This jurisprudence was called The Pure and Drug Act. This jurisprudence regulated the usage of drugs in nutrient by doing it compulsory to observe all active ingredients including cocaine, opium and all other linear drugs on the merchandise label ( Terkel 25 ) . In

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1909 United States business communities wanted to merchandise with China. In China where there where 90 million citizens who were opium nuts which caused an International Drug Conference held in Shanghai, China. In 1910, Mexican immigrants introduced marihuana to the United States for recreational intents where they used it to accomplish euphory. The conference was held once more in 1911, and this clip a pact was formed. The pact was the Hague Convention of 1912 which teamed 34 states together that agreed to command narcotics. This pact made opium legal for medical utilizations merely and every state had a quota of imports and exports that limited narcotic trade to medical intents ( Terkel 25-26 ) . This was merely the beginning to anti-drug Torahs.

The following jurisprudence, The Harrison Act was enacted on December 17, 1914. This jurisprudence allowed little measures of opium and cocaine to be sold over the counter and physicians or tooth doctors were allowed to order big sums of these drugs for patients with unwellnesss. They had to enter minutess and anyone fabrication or distributing drugs were regulated. This jurisprudence started the & # 8220 ; pot physicians & # 8221 ; who prescribed the drugs to any individual that wanted them. A black market began and the trouble of procuring the legal supply forced drug monetary values to lift and many nuts to fall back to offenses to acquire the drugs they needed. The Harrison Act originally began modulating drugs, but soon bans narcotics except for medical usage ( Terkel 27 ) .

At the terminal of World War One, the fright of another war caused

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Narcotic Prohibition for two grounds. One is because of the fright that drug usage would harm the ability to support a state. A new popularity besides declared all drug usage, including intoxicant, to be a mark of moral failing and considered as wickedness. The Temperance Movement pushed the 18th amendment and in 1919 caused the prohibition of all gross revenues or ingestion of intoxicant and the amendment was passed ( Terkel 28 ) .

Laws continued to alter as old ages passed and as on 1925 dependence was declared a medical non a condemnable affair by the tribunals. Although it was no longer a offense to be a drug nut it was still illegal for any individual to utilize any illicit drugs. This began Americans sentiments about marihuana. Soon, United States citizens viewed marijuana usage as a condemnable act. This position besides came along with beliefs that users should hold long prison sentences and high mulcts. The new position on marihuana led the authorities to set out a study saying that marihuana leads to & # 8220 ; general instability, mental failing, and eventually insanity & # 8230 ; and is turning Americans into monsters & # 8230 ; A malicious lunatic is being created & # 8221 ; ( Terkel 28 ) . The same twelvemonth the authorities created a film that dramatized or in some people & # 8217 ; s position, over-dramatized the effects to utilizing marihuana. The biggest issue over drugs in 1937 was the Marijuana Tax Act. This placed a one-hundred dollar per one time revenue enhancement on any marihuana non being used for industrialising grounds. With this revenue enhancement, the jurisprudence brought a stiff prison sentence for any individuals hedging the new revenue enhancement. During the following several old ages drug usage declined ( Terkel 28 ) .

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Even with the anti-drug Torahs under manner and traveling reasonably good during the 1960 & # 8217 ; s drug usage had a dramatic rise. During the Vietnam War over half the soldiers functioning used drugs. The most common drugs used were marihuanas and diacetylmorphine. When the soldiers returned, one out of five soldiers were chemically dependent. Even though most of the Vietnam veterans ridded themselves of the dependence, the job concerned all the armed forces. In 1971, the United States military began drug testing ( Terkel 28 ) . In 1971, President Nixon responded to a recent inactive by declaring a war on drugs. The inactive showed that in 1969 24 million Americans tested illegal drugs including marihuana.

President Nixon began the Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse. This committee was to research and happen new ways of commanding drug maltreatment. After two old ages of research the committee suggested to legalize marihuana. If Nixon would hold agreed this would hold ment little sums of marihuana ownership would no longer ensue in a prison sentence but instead a mulct ( US Department of Justice ) .

The following two presidential disposals headed by President Ford and President Carter started more drug policies. President Carter agreed with the committee and suggested legalizing marihuana. Get downing in 1973, states began making merely the and by 1979, eleven states decriminalized the drug. However old ages subsequently in 1990, the province of Alaska, reversed its determination devising marijuana a condemnable act once more ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www.hightimes.com/reference ) .

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During the 1980 & # 8217 ; s, the deceases of celebrated stars, including Len Bias

a hoops star and the comedian William Bennett, due to drugs caused a immense concern throughout the full state about drug maltreatment. Another issue adding to the concern of drug maltreatment was the new drug, cleft cocaine and the new state of affairs of top bananas shacking in Latin America. The spread of HIV infection among drug maltreaters besides added to the public & # 8217 ; s concern ( Terkel 29 ) .

In 1989, President George Bush responded to the dismay by a committedness to & # 8220 ; zero-tolerance & # 8221 ; . President Bush besides started the Office of National Drug Control Policy naming William Bennett as the heard declaring another war on drugs. Bennett reported to Congress claiming the United States could win the war against drugs if the authorities stepped up its attempts and disbursement. Bennett besides predicted that within the following decennary, drug utilizations could be cut in half ( FBI, Uniform Crime Reports ) .

When President Bill Clinton took office, he appointed Lee Brown as caput of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Lee Brown coordinated several authorities bureaus, including the Drug Enforcement Agency, the FBI, United States Customs, the Coast Guard and several other bureaus to work together against the war on drugs. Brown took a new position of get the better ofing the war on drugs. Brown says, & # 8220 ; You can non win in this attempt by declaring a war on our citizens & # 8221 ; ( Terkel 31 ) . Although Brown had a new thought to stop drug maltreatment, during President Clinton & # 8217 ; s first term in office marihuana maltreatment among adolescents

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dramatically rose. Along with the rise of marihuana use the usage of diacetylmorphine, LSD and other drugs besides rose. Drug offense force went down but was still a major concern for metropoliss while foreign states were the topographic point that kingpins still resided. Although it seems Clinton may hold ignored the drug issuers due to the statistics shown his disposal pass more money implementing drug Torahs than of all time before. Three times every bit many people were arrested due to drug charges adding up to 1.5 million people. The state & # 8217 ; s prisons had a record figure of nonviolent offense wrongdoer captives. In some cased sentences refering marihuana, cocaine and amphetamine ownership were lengthier sentences than those people disobeying colza, burglar and kid maltreatment Torahs ( U.S. Department of Justice, Prisoners in 1996 ) .

Many people question upwind drug Torahs are excessively rough. For illustration, a individual caught and convinced of turning pot can function more clip than a individual who is convicted of colza. In Michigan, a rigorous drug jurisprudence province, if a individual is caught possessing or selling six-hundred 50 gms of cocaine or diacetylmorphine they can have a life sentence in prison with no word ( Terkel 38 ) . Several provinces besides have the three work stoppages and you & # 8217 ; re out jurisprudence. This jurisprudence is obtained by more than 30 provinces because criminologists have researched and learned that 70 per centum of violent offenses committed in the United States is committed by the same people who have committed old offenses. With this jurisprudence if a individual

is convicted of perpetrating a 3rd felony that individual will be sentenced to life in prison with no opportunity of word. A felony includes

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a violent offense or a serious drug offense. Turning one 1000 marihuana workss is consented a serious drug offense ( Terkel 43 ) .

Compulsory sentencing is another jurisprudence some people consider excessively rigorous. Compulsory condemning agencies giving uniformity to drug offense punishments with no exclusions and no clemency in minimal sentencing. This jurisprudence creates overcrowding in gaols and topics nonviolent felons to the exposure of hard-boiled felons ( Terkel 43 ) .

Another jurisprudence some think is excessively rough is the sentence drop Torahs. This jurisprudence undermines the basic rules in the Constitution and Bill of Rights does non protect citizens from unreasonable penalty. An illustration of this jurisprudence is a individual caught with the ownership of 4.99 gms of cleft gets a sentence of one twelvemonth in gaol. If a individual is caught with the ownership of 5.01 gms, which is merely.02 gms more, the individual is sentenced to five old ages in prison. This jurisprudence is concurred unjust to many because the stringency of the jurisprudence slopes so rapidly ( Terkel 43 ) .

Drug Torahs are determined by how much danger the drug is considered to hold. The authorities classifies drugs into different groups or agendas. There are five of the agendas and they are as follows:

Agenda I is the most restrictive. Drug & # 8217 ; s in this class, such as LSD, diacetylmorphine, and marihuana, are judged extremely habit-forming, unsafe, and without any recognized medical usage. They are allowed merely purely supervised medical experimentation. Schedule II drugs, such as cocaine and morphia, are besides extremely restricted and necessitate a physician & # 8217 ; s

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prescription. Schedule III drugs ( Tylenol with codeine and some barbiturates. Schedule IV drugs ( Valium and other tranquillizers ) , and Schedule V drugs ( over the antagonistic cough medical specialties ) , are all monitored and regulated. Some are sold over the counter ; others require the patient & # 8217 ; s signature and records are kept of the sale ( Terkel 35 ) .

Drugs are capable to alter agendas as new information is proved to do a drug more powerful or less unsafe.

There are four ways to find which agenda a drug belongs in. The first manner the authorities examines drugs is by medical usage. If a drug can be used as a signifier of intervention so the drug will non hold a high agenda if the remainder of the three constituents agree. The 2nd factor associating to scheduling is possible for maltreatment. This factor has to make with how people tend to utilize a peculiar drug. Safety is the 3rd constituent the authorities examines when scheduling drugs. If a drug leads to bizarre or unpredictable behaviour that may endanger the users or others around, them the authorities adds limitations. Another constituent adding to authorities regulative means is dependence liability. If users will endure from backdown symptoms when they quit utilizing drug, the authorities besides puts particular agendas on the drug ( Terkel 33-34 ) .

With many citizens oppugning if drug Torahs are excessively rough and besides inquiring if current anti-drug Torahs are successful, people are looking for options. There are several options people are proposing and

forcing for. Many people believe a alteration in covering with drug jobs is in the demand because the prisons are overcrowding with 1.6 million

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more than any other industrial state in the universe. The United States is besides passing 30 billion dollars implementing drug Torahs. Despite these figure 1000000s of Americans use drugs ( Cornell Smithers Report ) . Almost eight million United States citizens, that is one out of five grownups have violated drug Torahs by smoking marihuana ( Terkel 45 ) .

There are several possibilities to altering the current drug Torahs that have been suggested since drug prohibition began. One of these was reviewed earlier because get downing in 1973 and stoping in 1979 11 provinces used this tactic. It is drug decriminalisation. Out of the 11 provinces 10s of them still have marijuana decriminalized. The jurisprudence changed ownership of little sums of marihuana a misdemeanor alternatively of a felony. The difference between legallization and decriminalisation of marihuana is big. In New Hampshire, a decriminalized province, ownership of marihuana is a one 1000 dollar mulct compared to Michigan, a criminalized province, faces one twelvemonth in prison and a one-thousand dollar mulct ( Tequila 32 ) .

Another option is defacto statute law. This would non let certain Torahs to be enforced. This means without some Torahs people can & # 8217 ; t be arrested for possessing little sums of marihuana. The jurisprudence would hold society dainty dependence and drug abuse by non leting wrongdoers to travel to gaol ( Terkel 32 ) .

The following option that could be used to alter current drug Torahs would be authorities ordinance. This attack to drug Torahs would be a little reform. This reform would affect doing some drugs, such as

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marihuana, lawfully available in some type of authorities tally clinic. In these clinics, drugs would be treated as medicines alternatively of as condemnable substances. This would intend that people addicted to drugs would either acquire a supply of the drug or purchase the drug from the authorities instead than purchasing or stealing from traders who are connected and organized with packs and offense ( Terkel 31 ) .

With legalisation all or most drug Torahs would be repealed or changed. With this type of jurisprudence the United States would travel back to pre-Harrison Act drug policy or near to it. A suggestion for merely revoking some Torahs would be to revoke the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act. If this jurisprudence was repealed, so & # 8220 ; difficult drugs & # 8221 ; would still be illegal, but marihuanas would be legal. Legalization of marihuana is of popular belief and many people believe it should be the new jurisprudence because of the otiose money the authorities spends on implementing anti-drug Torahs unsuccessfully. America spends 30 billion dollars implementing the Torahs even though 1000000s of Americans are utilizing drugs without acquiring caught. Legalizing marihuana would salvage the American authorities and citizens money. Keeping one individual in gaol for life costs the citizens at least 20 thousand dollars a twelvemonth. By the terminal of the 10th twelvemonth that individual is in prison the money could hold paid for five montage pupils education & # 8217 ; s, 1000s of school tiffins, and a infinite sum of inoculations ( Cornell Smithers Report ) . Not merely is legalisation a popular belief it would salvage authorities money.

Another ground marihuana should be legal is because if a society supports personal freedom, as the United States does, so the jurisprudence can be appropriate for implementing certain types of morality and back up the right to be different. We outlawed drugs to assist the society and its what the moral position was. Now that the criminal is unsuccessful and the moral position is altering we should pass morality ( Miller 126 ) .

Self-control is inconsistent with capitalist economy. Self Control is needed to command the enticements of drugs through society: with the American capitalist system self control should non be needed. Drugs tantrum in good with this system as an expensive technological quick hole for psychic problems. & # 8220 ; Anti drug Torahs run against a basic national trait as they try to protect American citizens from enticement & # 8221 ; ( Miller 126 ) .

Legalization is a good thought because the ground illicit drugs are considered immoral is non because they are harmful. They are considered

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immoral because users feel better than usual and they experience pleasance. Many other substances that are harmful are legal such as intoxicant and baccy. Although many people consider marijuana immoral there are plentifulness of citizens that indulge in the activity doing the drug criminalizing it in a free society is questionable or even undemocratic ( Miller 126 ) .

Some advocators for legalising marijuana claim that one major ground why the authorities is non legalising marihuana is because they would hold to acknowledge mistake. This would be hard for major authorities functionaries who have been brutalising drug users for so long. Most people believe the authorities should merely acknowledge to the mistake and impede their pride because we are all evildoers and even though guilty there is no shame unless mistake persists after it has been recognized ( Miller 127 ) .

Another of import facet to see in drug legalisation is the societal convulsion that is caused when a behaviour. like utilizing marihuana, is approved by much of society is a criminalized behaviour. When the authorities gets tougher with Torahs the problem gets worse. The reply, many say, is to allow it travel. They do non intend give into drugs they mean to acknowledge anti-drug Torahs are inappropriate because of the increased jobs they cause ( Miller 127-128 ) .

Another statement to marijuana legalisation is that the widespread misdemeanor of jurisprudence alterations its intent. Due to the 1000000s of jurisprudence misdemeanors in this country the jurisprudence is no more directed against the job

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it is enforced to asseverate the power of the province. The penalty associated with the misdemeanor of jurisprudence is now associated with Rebels alternatively of drug nuts or even drug users. Wide dispersed misdemeanor of Torahs indicate that the jurisprudence indicate that the jurisprudence violates societal contract ( Miller 128 ) .

Some argue marihuanas should non be legal because the drug can non merely harm themselves but besides others. The statement against this that advocates for legalising have is that life in general can be harmful. Everyday actions risk injury on others. Hazard is built-in to life and citizens can non be held accountable for being alive. Hazards are something needed in a free society without them it would non be free. In a free society, people besides have the right to destroy their lives, if they so take to make so they should hold the ability and freedom to make so lawfully. Without these abilities citizens are non free ( Miller 127-128 ) .

There is a long history of utilizing drugs lawfully and besides old ages of watching the freedom to utilize drugs steal into what some of society believes to be immoral hence, drugs became illegal. The authorities has made several anti-drug Torahs, has spent millions of dollars and came up with several ways to seek and halt drug usage. Although the authorities has come up with these thoughts to interrupt society of mistreating drugs but statistics to demo these tactics have been unsuccessful. Marijuana is the most widely and accepted illicit drug with 80 million Americans

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seeking it. With the lifting Numberss in both drug usage and the sum of money spent on implementing drug Torahs the authorities needs a attack. The most popular thought is legalization. If legalisation occurs authorities disbursement would travel down and drug offense would besides diminish with it. & # 8220 ; Any drug can be used successfully, no affair how accepted it is. There are no good or bad drugs: there are merely god and bad relationships with drugs & # 8221 ; ( Inciardi 24 ) . If the authorities Teachs good relationships with drugs through drug instruction, I believe, legalisation is the key to successful drug Torahs.

Bibliography

Bureau of Statistics, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 1996, Washington D.C. : U.S. Government Printing Office ( 1997 ) , pgs. 4, 502

Federal Bureau Of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports 1996. Washington D.C. : U.S. Government Printing Office ( 1997 ) , p. 62 Table 1

Hall, W. , Room, R. & A ; Bondy, S. , WHO project on Health Implications of Cannabis Use: A comparative Appraisal of the Health and Psychological Consequences of Alcohol, Cannabis, Nicotine and

Inciardi, James A. and Arnold S. Trebach. Legalize It? . Washington, D.C. : The American University Press, 1993.

Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 ; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse ( 1997 ) .

Miller, Richard Lawrence. The Case For Legalizing Drugs. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1991.

ONDCP Project Know- Know it all about Marijuana. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.projectknow.com

Scholosser, Eric. & # 8220 ; Reefer Madness. & # 8221 ; Atlantic Monthly Aug. 1994: 40-49.

Terkel, Susan Neiburg. The Drug Laws: A clip for a alteration? . New York: Franklin Watts, 1997.

United States. The National Drug Control Strategy, 1998. Washington, D.C. , 1998.

U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Washington: GPO, 1991.