Paul Syvret, in his opinion piece (The Courier-Mail, January 11, 2014) believes that Australia's laws prohibiting marijuana are inadequate as it is encouraging an illegal drug trade and makes little economic sense. He exacerbates the concern through various techniques, associating inordinate dangers with the prohibition of the drug, urging the government to legalise the drug; before the situation becomes irrepressible. The tone established by Syvret is reasonable and educational, as he relies on the experiences from the US and Mexico to demonstrate Australia’s need to change.…
Firstly Marijuana should not be legal in Australia for recreational use because it is especially harmful to children and adolescents.…
Marijuana is a drug that seems to defy law enforcement and continues to be publicly supported and used. After many years there have been billions of dollars spent on enforcing marijuana laws without any noticeable effect. Leaving marijuana illegal creates an underground economy funding various criminal activities, thus further supporting crime. No matter how many people are arrested and incarcerated it seems as though there has been no effect on the use of marijuana. Canada’s drug policy has been ineffective for decades simply because it is flimsy, and opposed in great numbers. Furthermore as Canadians we must question why some laws remain in place and challenge their usefulness. It is important…
The legalization of marihuana is a major topic in Denmark today. After the Christianists took down Pusher Street, the debate has only gotten bigger.…
On January 2nd 2014, the Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) party’s president Michael Bladerstone called for a referendum on whether Australia should legalise the sale and consumption of marijuana, also known as cannabis. This came into action following Colorado’s decision to legalise the distribution and use of this particular drug. The HEMP party is pushing for the legalisation of marijuana for personal and medical use. I believe that marijuana should be made legal to the Australian public due to its extensive medical benefits, the fact that it is a lot safer than alcohol and for the economic benefits that it would bring to our Government.Marijuana has been used as a medicine for thousands of years in countries all over the world. Medical cannabis is used to increase the appetite in patients with HIV, AIDS and cancer, to reduce nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy, to reduce the symptoms of chronic pain, to help relieve spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis and Tourette’s and to stop seizures caused by Epilepsy.The Herald Sun undertook and investigation that found that up to 10 Victorian children, some as young as three, are taking daily doses of medical cannabis and in some cases it is being administered by teachers as desperate parents turn their backs on ineffective pharmaceutical drugs.On the 12th of January the Herald Sun also published an article about an eight year old girl called Tara O’Connell who suffered from Epilepsy and was having up to 60 seizures a day. This little girl could no longer walk or talk and was given only months to live. That was until her mother Cheri started giving her doses of liquid cannabis. One year on, she is now a bubbly eight-year old who no longer needs a wheelchair to get around. The only side effects that she experienced were an increase in appetite and fatigue. Imagine all the children whose lives could be saved and change for the better if medical marijuana was made legal and made accessible to everyone. Think of…
When Canadians hear the word cannabis, they don‘t associate it with images of junkies zonked out on the street corners, simply because marijuana‘s impact on society has not been disastrous. “There is very little evidence that smoking marijuana as a means of taking it represents a significant health risk. Although, cannabis has been smoked widely in Western countries for more than four decades, there have been no reported cases of lung cancer or emphysema attributed to marijuana,” states Lester Grinspoon, a medical doctor. Over 70% of Canadian’s approve of the decriminalization of marijuana. Legalizing marijuana, growing hemp, producing it’s products, supporting research and development into it’s many uses, cutting down the pollution and deforestation levels to well below Kyoto’s meager demand, I wouldn’t see why any Canadian would vote against it’s decriminalization.…
In response to the question “should the Canadian government decriminalize the possession of marijuana?” Citizen One thinks that decriminalizing marijuana is a step in the wrong direction. She believes that there should be increasing penalties for marijuana possession and that the government should enforce harsher punishments and laws in relation to drugs. Citizen One thinks that if the government of Canada criminalizes the use and possession of what most youth consider as “weed,” then less lives would be destroyed. Marijuana is a drug which impairs a youth’s ability to recall, suppression of the immune system; and short-term responses including anxiety and panic. Hence, Citizen one believes that the negative aspects of the drug simply outweigh…
Smoking weed is nothing new to most Americans. This is generally speaking, but it is safe to say that most Americans have either experimented or know some that are active weed smokers. Smoking weed seems to be a relatively harmless drug when compared to legal drugs and alcohol. Marijuana and other illicit drugs became mainstream in the 1960's. Marijuana is less addictive and less fatal. Marijuana usage has been popularized across generations and cultures as an "acceptable" drug. The conversations about Mary Jane (slang term for marijuana) can be plenty. There are the issues of whether marijuana should be legal. Is marijuana a "gateway" drug to more dangerous or addictive drugs? Do the government handle marijuana related crimes appropriately? Marijuana is illegal. It is illegal to smoke, sale, and possess marijuana in Indiana. Different states are seeming to lean toward making weed legal. Many states have already adopted to allow marijuana usuage for medicinal purposes. Patients are being prescribed legal medical marijuana in places like Rhode Island for cancerous treatments. These are the trends in leniency towards a controlled substance that seemingly has less harmful physical effects than cigarettes. Marijuana usuage is moving closer towards legalization nationwide for medicinal usage and recreational usage. The only issue is the abuse of this drug by those not of legal age.…
There are currently two committees researching the possibility of legalizing marijuana in Canada. One committee is the Special Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs, and the other is The House of Commons Special Committee on the Non-Medical Use of Drugs. The Senate committee reported in September of 2002, and stated that marijuana is not a gateway drug. They also reported that marijuana should be treated more like tobacco or alcohol. The House of Commons committee's report stated that although marijuana is unhealthy, the punishments for having even a small amount of marijuana are disproportionably harsh. The House is promoting the decriminalization of marijuana to make it legal to possess an amount of marijuana not exceeding 30 grams, which is about one ounce. These two committees seem to come to the same conclusion that marijuana is placed in the same class as more "hard-core" drugs such as heroin and cocaine, when it should not be, as they view marijuana as a safer drug. As stated previously, the Senate states that marijuana is not a gateway drug. A gateway drug is the term used to identify drugs that are not narcotics, but their use will lead the user down the path to harder drugs like heroin.…
drug, while bringing in revenue for the government. If Canada wishes to legalize marijuana, they should follow the guidelines of the United States using policy diffusion. “Canada should follow the developments of changes in marijuana-related regulations in the United States, where some of its states viz, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska have already legalized recreational use of marijuana” (Hajizadeh 455). Policy diffusion is a very intriguing tool for the Canadian government to use in the situation involving legalizing marijuana. “Although experience of legalization in these states is different from the national legalization in Canada, these examples still can provide valuable information during the drafting of the new law in Canada.”…
The topic of legalizing marijuana has been a topic of controversy for quite some time now not only throughout our local streets, but throughout the local and into the state government. The legalization of marijuana is such a controversial topic because some are for it and some are against it. People are for the legalization because of the great uses it has towards medicine, the money that could come from the taxation of legalized marijuana, and the emptying of prisons because of the releases of marijuana offenses. The list could go on and on. Other people are against the legalization because it is considered a “gateway drug”, or because the legalization of marijuana would eventually lead to the legalization of harder drugs such as heroine or cocaine. Despite the negative comments about the drug, marijuana should be legalized because it would give the U.S. a huge amount of money from the taxation and regulation of the drug, its uses would greatly impact our health throughout the medical field and throughout our own well being, and would help our fight with the war on drugs and our overcrowded prisons.…
Several topics in modern day society cause controversy, but one topic that out ranks them all is the legalization of marijuana. The main argument is whether not marijuana should be treated the same as already legalized drugs, such as tobacco and alcohol. Many Americans use marijuana illegally; the people using the drug range from the age of teens to even adults in their eighties. Marijuana is considered by most, especially in legal terms, as a dangerous drug. Although the drug is seen as such, many still continue to use it and argue it should be legalized for several reasons. Both citizens and government officials alike debate this topic. To successfully develop and argument for the legalization of marijuana the topic must be defined, the history of the topic must be unveiled, an argument must be made, and a good solution should be proposed. Yes, both sides of the argument both have well supported positions, but marijuana should be legalized by the United States government because the facts supporting legalization far outweigh the arguments keeping the drug as it is.…
How many people here have smoked cannabis, commonly known as marijuana? Most people probably wouldn’t say if they have because of the fact that it is a criminal activity. But why is smoking marijuana frowned upon in our society? If you think about it, it is less lethal than tobacco and alcohol, and would probably bring in more revenue than both. The government could benefit by taxing its sales. Marijuana has been proven to be safe and it is supported by many celebrities and famous people throughout time. I believe that medical marijuana should be legalized in order to help those who are ill, to revive the economy, and to help minimize crime.…
Marijuana has a history dating back many years, and has been used in various cultures in different ways. In recent years, marijuana has become a forefront topic in the world of American politics whether or not it should be legalized. Marijuana has been adapted to fit our lifestyles and our social environment. A vast amount of the world’s population smoke marijuana for various purposes. Thus, the drug should be legalized because it has many medical beneficial uses, the ability to generate billions of dollars in tax revenue, and would lower the cost to imprison individuals arrested for crimes related to marijuana.…
“Marijuana Legalization Organization.” http://www.mjlegal.org/. This internet source supports the marijuana legalization, and all the web pages show people why marijuana should be legalized.…