Legalization of Marijuana
Marijuana has been effectively prohibited in the U.S. since 1968, and has been a very controversial issue ever since. Marijuana is native to central Asia and was first cultivated some 10,000 years ago. "As early as 2737 B.C.E. in China, written accounts have extolled the use of marijuana as a treatment for malaria, rheumatism, fever, dysentery, depression, or as an appetite stimulant, or to induce sleep" (Brewer 1). Western doctors first discovered marijuana in 1839, when a well recognized doctor published the results of his experiments with humans and marijuana, praising marijuana as an effective medication for reducing or eliminating pain. Doctors then began studying the drug in depth and found numerous practical applications, especially in its ability to control restlessness and anxiety in the terminally ill. Thanks in part to the government-launched anti-marijuana campaign, titled "Marijuana, the Devil's Weed," marijuana was increasingly viewed as a catalyst point for anti-social behavior, especially among minorities. The government then implemented the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 which "undermined scientific examination of cannabis by heavily taxing and regulating all transactions (medicinal, in
As Cannabis News reports, he remained doubtful the findings would have much sway with president Bush's "drug czar" John Walters who was recently quoted as saying marijuana represented the nation's most serious drug problem. Only one epidemical study has been able to produce results - a UCLA study showed that 8 of the 10 cellular abnormalities studied showed up in at least half of the marijuana smokers, who had smoked an average of 10 or more joints a week for 5 years. Also, since the pulmonary risks associated with marijuana are related to smoking, the danger is eliminated with other routes of administration. Physical addiction has many extremely dangerous affects on the body. This county is perhaps going overboard out of frustration with this drug problem. This form of dependence is extremely different from physical dependence, which is when someone physically needs a drug to function properly. Marijuana has yet to be officially proven to be addictive. However, to achieve these results, massive doses of THC, up to 200 times the psychoactive dose in humans, had to be given. " There are NO epidemiological or aggregate clinical data suggesting that marijuana-only smokers develop lung cancer, (Rosenthal 60) although anti-marijuana activists have been trying to link the two for decades. Despite the legal consequences imposed, marijuana is currently the third most popular recreational drug after alcohol and tobacco. As indicated on the Drug Enforcement Agency's website against the medical use of marijuana, "There is not one reliable study that demonstrates marijuana has any medical value. As a living testimony to the harshness of marijuana law, an offender tells his story: Donnie Clark is from Myakka City, Florida, and he grew marijuana from 1979 until 1985, when local police arrested him. Amongst the seemingly endless claims, the claim that "marijuana potency is 20 to 30 times higher today then it was 20-30 years ago" stands out as the most untrue claim among the many.
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Acceptance Essays
