Knowing that his first hour teacher didn’t care if he was tardy, Jason casually walked off campus against the flow of everyone hurrying to their classes. As he walked to the alley where he went every day, he had already begun breaking up the big pieces of dried cannabis in his hand. When his friends ask if his teacher cares, he replies that he’s sure his entire first period knows he walks in stoned, but they don’t care. Jason is just one of the 27% of high school seniors who have used marijuana in the last month. Marijuana, whose use predates modern civilization, has become the most controversial drug of our time and may have greater adverse effects on the mind than once believed. “The first solid evidence of hemp use…comes from the Yang-shao culture of China (about 4500 BC)…” (Hermes and Galperin, 29). Granted it was used primarily for rope and making nets, “THC (as well as nicotine and cocaine) was recently identified in an Egyptian mummy from approximately 950 BC.” (Kuhn et al., 125). Virginia and Massachusetts were the first places to grow the plant in North America in the early 1600’s. But what began as one of the most essential crops for the colonies became the target of public concern near the start of the 2
. . .
Today’s marijuana is approximately five to ten times stronger than the weed our parents smoked. If this main difference could be seen by the heavy smokers, most would quit cold turkey, and the light users too to keep from making that shift. The most potent form of smokeable THC is Hash oil, consisting of the boiled down alcohol with all solids removed and the water evaporated. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 required all “manufacturers, importers, wholesale dealers, pharmacists, and medical practitioners handling the substance to pay a variety of occupational and transactional taxes for with marijuana.
As Jason is breaking up his stash to roll in a cigarette, called a joint, he thinks to himself that “this is some good weed. Even hallucination is possible, but only when very high THC blood levels are reached. He is quickly taken to the hospital where they mend his leg and keep him restrained and sedated until he has calmed down. Although there is little physically manifested damage done to users of marijuana by the drug, there are a number of psychological disorders that have been developed from cannabis abuse. While crossing the street, he is hit by a car, breaking his leg and rendering him unconscious. The other two areas are responsible for coordination or movements, which marijuana is also known to disrupt. He has been so many times over the past four years that he truly has no idea how many times. He prefers smoking out of his pipe, which he states he will “load a bowl” in after they’re through.
Approximate Word count =
2749
Approximate Pages =
11 (250 words per page double spaced)
Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.
| CREDIT CARD |
ONLINE CHECK |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
JOIN BY PHONE
|
|
|