Marijuana Research Paper
The Legalization of Marijuana
Lately it seems that drug policy and the war on drugs has been in the headlines continuously. Policies in United States government takes against illegal drugs are coming into question. Marijuana laws have been enacted since 1937, that’s over 75 years of prohibition. But in 1996, California passed Proposition 215, legalizing the use of prescription medical marijuana. Just like the failed attempt of alcohol prohibition, marijuana is now rising as the most popular drug in America. Marijuana is the most commonly used drug in the United States. However, it is an illegal substance. It could be used for medical purposes but how will it be kept from being distributed illegally?
Marijuana makes people with some mental illnesses more prone to psychosis. How will we protect vulnerable people from this harm? How will we be assured that the doctors prescribing the Medical Marijuana won’t take bribes to prescribe an “ill” person Marijuana. Most people don’t take these questions into consideration. There is not funding to pay police officials to make sure people won’t grow it and sell it illegally for their own profit. Marijuana is a gateway drug, in 2009, 2.3 million people reported trying pot in the U.S.A., and of those 2.3 million 717,000 marijuana users admited to trying Cocaine and 480,000 users tried Herion. 73 percent of addicts that go to rehab for cocaine or other “hard” drugs begin their stories with marijuana being the first illegal drug they have ever tooken.
In perspective of anti-marijuana politicians, marijuana is dangerous, ethically wrong, and generally unnecessary. But compared to tobacco and alcohol deaths and injuries that occur annually, marijuana is one of the least consequential drugs out there. With alcohol killing 400,000 people every year. That’s a little over the population of Tucson. With Tobacco killing over 100,000 people every year. There have been no reported deaths leading directly to the use of marijuana.
Lately it seems that drug policy and the war on drugs has been in the headlines continuously. Policies in United States government takes against illegal drugs are coming into question. Marijuana laws have been enacted since 1937, that’s over 75 years of prohibition. But in 1996, California passed Proposition 215, legalizing the use of prescription medical marijuana. Just like the failed attempt of alcohol prohibition, marijuana is now rising as the most popular drug in America. Marijuana is the most commonly used drug in the United States. However, it is an illegal substance. It could be used for medical purposes but how will it be kept from being distributed illegally?
Marijuana makes people with some mental illnesses more prone to psychosis. How will we protect vulnerable people from this harm? How will we be assured that the doctors prescribing the Medical Marijuana won’t take bribes to prescribe an “ill” person Marijuana. Most people don’t take these questions into consideration. There is not funding to pay police officials to make sure people won’t grow it and sell it illegally for their own profit. Marijuana is a gateway drug, in 2009, 2.3 million people reported trying pot in the U.S.A., and of those 2.3 million 717,000 marijuana users admited to trying Cocaine and 480,000 users tried Herion. 73 percent of addicts that go to rehab for cocaine or other “hard” drugs begin their stories with marijuana being the first illegal drug they have ever tooken.
In perspective of anti-marijuana politicians, marijuana is dangerous, ethically wrong, and generally unnecessary. But compared to tobacco and alcohol deaths and injuries that occur annually, marijuana is one of the least consequential drugs out there. With alcohol killing 400,000 people every year. That’s a little over the population of Tucson. With Tobacco killing over 100,000 people every year. There have been no reported deaths leading directly to the use of marijuana.