Society has often times refused prosperity when prosperity was knocking on the front door of broken down economies. There have been moments in this nation’s history when government’s interests conflicted with its constituencies’ interests. Such is the case for the United States Federal Government’s policy on cannabis, where some 70 odd years ago they decided that all hemp farming and anything involving cannabis at all is illegal, shutting down a source of farming that has countless beneficial uses. Billions of dollars over the years were never earned due to scare tactics from special interests in the 1930’s, a policy that needs urgent reversal (Krider 1). Hemp farming, with it’s cultivated uses from plastics, to medicine, to fuel, to paper and textile uses, should not only be legal in the United States, but encouraged.…
The argument of legalizing pot has been in question for years now. William Bennett, who served as the Secretary of Education under Ronald Reagan and a Drug Czar under H.W. Bush, wrote an article called “Legal Pot Is a Public Health Menace”, that is full of hard hitting facts. Though all his facts go against the legalization of pot, not all of them are trustworthy enough to decide whether or not to legalize pot. Most of Bennett’s facts are unrepresentative, unclear, or insufficient for the claim he wants to get across to his audience.…
In the article, “An End to the War on Weed”, Nathan Comp talks about how the legalization of marijuana has become a movement that has gained momentum in the past few decades and how, over the years, the number of people in favor of legalization has significantly increased. In this article, Comp seems to effectively use rhetoric to get his point across.…
For many years in the past, marijuana has been made to look like a dangerous drug, linked to crime and addiction. In the early 1920s and ‘30s most people still did not know what marijuana was or had even heard of it yet. Those who had heard of it were largely uninformed. The drug rarely appeared in the media, but when it did it was linked to crime and even thought to be murder-inducing. A 1929 article in the Denver Post reported a Mexican-American man who murdered his stepdaughter was a marijuana addict (Baird 2011). Articles such as this began to form a long-standing link between marijuana and crime in the public’s mind. Soon, laws against marijuana began coming into place. In 1970, Congress classified marijuana as a Schedule I drug, meaning it had no medical utility.…
This paper explores the legalization of cannabis from a medical and economic standpoint. In a pro/con format I will research and analyze different facts and opinions on whether or not legalizing cannabis is in the best interest of the people and the government. As we progress into the future more and more states are hopping on the bandwagon. Not only are the people interested in the advancements from a medical standpoint but is allowing each state themselves to decide how it will be handled and taxed benefiting the local economy. While this is a vital step forward, the work to ensure that all seriously ill patients who can benefit from medical cannabis have reasonable access to it is not done. (blog.mpp.org/medical-marijuana/new-york-becomes-the-23rd-medical-marijuana-state/07072014)…
("About marijuana," 2010). I hope to convince the reader as to why the legalization of marijuana would benefit society instead of criminalizing a natural substance that has been…
Medical cannabis has been a topic for debate since the late 1990’s when California became the first state to legalize cannabis for medicinal purposes (Sankin 2). Proponents of cannabis tout the plant’s healing properties, while detractors claim that the plant remains a highly dangerous drug. Likewise, public opinion is split as to whether dispensaries are a positive or a negative influence to their communities. Even though opponents claim that medical cannabis dispensaries cause crime, in reality dispensaries bring many benefits to a community. They decrease crime, bring revenue to cities and states and their residents, and provide comfort and support to residents of the community.…
In Diane Carlson’s opinion piece “Protect our youth from the marijuana tsunami”, the issue of Colorado legalizing marijuana is raised as catastrophic and that it is giving a false perception of its effect to youth and their development. In a passionate tone Carlson targets parents, grandparents and additionally the government of the wrong movement into legalizing marijuana, and in doing so challenges the audience into questioning if the vision of the law was successful.…
We want what we can’t have. Much like the prohibition in the 1920’s, history is repeating itself as our country becomes divided on the issue of marijuana legalization. In fact, there are many comparisons between marijuana and alcohol use in today’s society making us wonder whether or not marijuana should be legal. In an article written by Noel Merino titled, “Research Shows That Marijuana Use Is Safer Than Alcohol Use”, many comparisons are made pointing towards marijuana as a safer substance than alcohol despite its criminalization. Merino’s argument overflows with statistics on alcohol, but lacks in several areas. Although, there is plenty of evidence, the argument lacks any emotional appeal and includes unaddressed assumptions, false…
I. The first article “Up in Smoke” Ward (2010) describes the legalization of marijuana and the positive attributes it would provide in regard to the government and individuals with health issues.…
Marijuana legalization, is an issue that can be dated back to the late ninetieth century (PBS). This issue continues to be a controversial topic in today’s world. State and federal laws still collide on the issue of marijuana legalization. On November 2, 2010, California voters voted on a ballot called the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis 2010. Prior to this date, Charles Stimson wrote an article, “Legalizing Marijuana: Why Citizens Just Say No,” in order to persuade California voters to not vote in favor of the ballot. He made various claims such as; marijuana is bad for one’s health, that it is linked to crime, and that the legalization of marijuana will not help the economy. He also poses the questions: who would distribute the drug and…
As of January of 2017 eight states, and Washington D.C., have legalized the use of recreational marijuana (Robinson, 2017). Although, the recreational use of marijuana is legal in these states and Washington D.C., legislation often restricts the amount of marijuana someone can possess on their person (Robinson, 2017) Additionally, many of these states permit residents to grow and possess marijuana plants in their homes (Robinson, 2017). Marijuana is growing in popularity with users and politicians, due to amount of tax revenue generated through its sales. Since 2012, Washington state’s non-medical marijuana dispensaries have totaled over one billion dollars in sales (Robinson, 2017). This question we need to examine is how the legalization,…
“Legally Blind: Why I’m Against Legalizing Marijuana” is an internet article on the Huffington Post’s website written by Dr. Howard Samuels. Dr. Howard Samuels is a licensed therapist who is currently the CEO of The Hills Treatment Center, a substance abuse treatment facility in Los Angeles, CA. He holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and is a Marriage and Family Therapist, specializing in addiction (Samuels). His article, “Legally Blind: Why I’m Against Legalizing Marijuana”, is to be presented as an opinionated article that explains why he is against legalizing the use of both recreational and medicinal marijuana. However, he is not against the decriminalization of the two. His irrational belief is that one should be able to possess the…
If there was a vote in every state to either legalize or to not legalize the use of marijuana the outcome would be the legalization of marijuana in every state. The question I have is why do so many Americans enjoy smoking marijuana? This is a huge ongoing issue that is being resolved as fast as possible. Personally, I’m against the legalization of marijuana because I see no reason for it. In this essay, I will be arguing why marijuana should not be legalized in all states. I will give counter-arguments to show why marijuana should be illegal and I will be giving the readers all the information needed to fully understand why my argument is correct. You will see questions with answers as well as facts to advance my argument.…
Marijuana has always been an issue in our country’s history. However, today, it has gained more attention than it has in the recent decades. People were raised and taught since their early years that this plant brings nothing but trouble to your life if you consume it, for any reason. However, marijuana isn’t as bad as we were all taught that it was. Legalizing marijuana can actually bring many benefits to many groups in today’s society. It’s actually not that bad of a plant once you get to know it a little better.…