Why Is Marijuana Taboo In Our Society
Why is marijuana so taboo in our society?
They’re numerous slang terms for marijuana that vary from town to town and from community to community. Some often used names are: “cannabis,” “pot,” “grass,” “herb,” “weed,” “Mary Jane,” “reefer,” “green,” “chronic,” ”ganga,” and all these would be adverse to use in a regular daily conversation, but why? Why is marijuana still a huge taboo in our society?
After all many famous intellectuals are in favor of the legalization of marijuana. For instance Al Gore is an environmental activist, founded the alliance for climate protection and was the 45th vice president of the United States. Although I bet you didn’t know that he is a strong supporter of legalizing marijuana. The founding father of our …show more content…
nation George Washington said himself "Make the most you can of the Indian hemp seed and sow it everywhere." 11 United States presidents have either grew, smoked, or supported to legalization of marijuana including our current president Barack Obama. Some other well-known open supporters are Snoop Dogg, John Mayer, Jack Black, Seth Rogen, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Zach Galifianakis. Actor Jennifer Aniston says “I enjoy smoking cannabis and see no harm in it.” Along with Actor Johnny Depp saying “I’m not a big pothead or anything like that but weed is much less dangerous than alcohol.”
That brings me to my next point, why is marijuana illegal?
The prohibition of marijuana is a bad idea all together. There was a prohibition on alcohol from 1919 to 1933 and that was a huge fail that came out very unbeneficial. Believe it or not having marijuana legal is the worst thing we can do to handle it. Keeping marijuana illegal ultimately creates a “black market” which is an illegal traffic or trade in officially controlled or scarce commodities. The black market creates a huge amount of violence and crime and it is very unsafe. For example the black market in Mexico today is ran by the Mexican drug cartels which are one of the biggest crime problems in the world. The government spends about 10-14 billion yearly to enforce marijuana and to stop the usage and trafficking of …show more content…
it. Because of its properties and effects, marijuana has been used as medicine for centuries.
Marijuana has been majorly known to treat cancer patients as the American association for cancer research has found that marijuana actually works to slow down tumor growth in the lungs, breasts, and brain. Marijuana is also known mainly to relieve chronic disease symptoms and to treat migraines. Generally the anti-legalization advocates tend to think that Marijuana’s potential health benefits are insignificant compared to the damage caused by smoking the drug. Marijuana can be taken in smoke, food, tea, or through a smokeless vaporizer. A study by a leading pulmonologist, Dr. Donald Tashkin, found that even heavy smoking of marijuana does not lead to lung cancer. They also believe that allowing the medical use of marijuana will lead to more youths using the drug but in the 13 medical marijuana studies show that state medical marijuana laws do not cause an increase in youths' use of
marijuana.
My proposition is that we, the citizens of the United States, necessitate that marijuana be de-criminalized and legalized for responsible adult users over the age of 21. The financial reasons, as well as health, counter-balance the means of criminalization. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws or NORML, is a US-based non-profit corporation whose plan is to, "move public opinion sufficiently to achieve the repeal of marijuana prohibition so that the responsible use of cannabis by adults is no longer subject to penalty." According to their website, NORML "supports the removal of all criminal penalties for the private possession and responsible use of marijuana by adults, including the cultivation for personal use," and "supports the development of a legally controlled market for marijuana." I encourage you to visit drugpolicy.com for information and facts that can educate you more on the legalization of marijuana and so you can do your part in reforming marijuana laws across the U.S.
They’re numerous slang terms for marijuana that vary from town to town and from community to community. Some often used names are: “cannabis,” “pot,” “grass,” “herb,” “weed,” “Mary Jane,” “reefer,” “green,” “chronic,” ”ganga,” and all these would be adverse to use in a regular daily conversation, but why? Why is marijuana still a huge taboo in our society?
After all many famous intellectuals are in favor of the legalization of marijuana. For instance Al Gore is an environmental activist, founded the alliance for climate protection and was the 45th vice president of the United States. Although I bet you didn’t know that he is a strong supporter of legalizing marijuana. The founding father of our …show more content…
nation George Washington said himself "Make the most you can of the Indian hemp seed and sow it everywhere." 11 United States presidents have either grew, smoked, or supported to legalization of marijuana including our current president Barack Obama. Some other well-known open supporters are Snoop Dogg, John Mayer, Jack Black, Seth Rogen, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Zach Galifianakis. Actor Jennifer Aniston says “I enjoy smoking cannabis and see no harm in it.” Along with Actor Johnny Depp saying “I’m not a big pothead or anything like that but weed is much less dangerous than alcohol.”
That brings me to my next point, why is marijuana illegal?
The prohibition of marijuana is a bad idea all together. There was a prohibition on alcohol from 1919 to 1933 and that was a huge fail that came out very unbeneficial. Believe it or not having marijuana legal is the worst thing we can do to handle it. Keeping marijuana illegal ultimately creates a “black market” which is an illegal traffic or trade in officially controlled or scarce commodities. The black market creates a huge amount of violence and crime and it is very unsafe. For example the black market in Mexico today is ran by the Mexican drug cartels which are one of the biggest crime problems in the world. The government spends about 10-14 billion yearly to enforce marijuana and to stop the usage and trafficking of …show more content…
it. Because of its properties and effects, marijuana has been used as medicine for centuries.
Marijuana has been majorly known to treat cancer patients as the American association for cancer research has found that marijuana actually works to slow down tumor growth in the lungs, breasts, and brain. Marijuana is also known mainly to relieve chronic disease symptoms and to treat migraines. Generally the anti-legalization advocates tend to think that Marijuana’s potential health benefits are insignificant compared to the damage caused by smoking the drug. Marijuana can be taken in smoke, food, tea, or through a smokeless vaporizer. A study by a leading pulmonologist, Dr. Donald Tashkin, found that even heavy smoking of marijuana does not lead to lung cancer. They also believe that allowing the medical use of marijuana will lead to more youths using the drug but in the 13 medical marijuana studies show that state medical marijuana laws do not cause an increase in youths' use of
marijuana.
My proposition is that we, the citizens of the United States, necessitate that marijuana be de-criminalized and legalized for responsible adult users over the age of 21. The financial reasons, as well as health, counter-balance the means of criminalization. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws or NORML, is a US-based non-profit corporation whose plan is to, "move public opinion sufficiently to achieve the repeal of marijuana prohibition so that the responsible use of cannabis by adults is no longer subject to penalty." According to their website, NORML "supports the removal of all criminal penalties for the private possession and responsible use of marijuana by adults, including the cultivation for personal use," and "supports the development of a legally controlled market for marijuana." I encourage you to visit drugpolicy.com for information and facts that can educate you more on the legalization of marijuana and so you can do your part in reforming marijuana laws across the U.S.