Jake Foust
Dr.
Mortimore-Smith
ENG
114-117
05
December 2018
The Freedom of Legalization
Marijuana is a plant the produces and chemical called THC
which reacts with the brain making the person more relaxed and helps with
appetite. Marijuana does not date back to a certain era of when it was first
discovered or who the first people to use Marijuana were. The U.S. on the other
hand was first introduced to Marijuana in the late 50’s but it really began to
boom in the 60’s when it was being brought over from Latin and African
countries. Being unaware of what the drug was and its effects on the human
anatomy the government made it illegal in all 50 states. In the last few
decades the U.S. has done a lot of research on Marijuana allowing it to be used
from medical reasons in all 50 states because of its proven medical advantages
with certain disorders. Now the U.S. has allowed states to decide on whether
they would like Marijuana to be allowed for recreational use which 9 states
have signed on to allow. Only 9 states having legalized Marijuana is an
injustice to our nation and people still convicted of weed related charges,
with the National Legalization of Marijuana it would not only help solve
countless legal cases within the United States, also allowing for people to have
the choice between Marijuana or alcohol.
With a nationwide legalization process of marijuana, it
would be a swift movement for the nation and would have a better long-term
impact than states doing this process one at a time. Neil Boister and Martin
Jelsma are two scholarly men who are passionate about getting the United
Nations support on the complete legalization of Marijuana between the joined
countries. They believe that “A coordinated collective response has benefits
compared to a chaotic scenario of multiple unilateral reservations and
questionable re-interpretations” (Boister and Jelsma). This quote is explaining
how one collected movement towards legalization would be a smarter safer move for
the people, than everyone scrambling and trying to legalize and different time
periods. A collective movement would also allow for a collective movement to
help everyone with a marijuana related charge or tarnish on their record could
be removed, and it would allow for equal opportunity for everyone in the legal
system to right wrongs are even small mistakes that they made when they were
young.
Within the United states legal system there are over
millions of court cases every year and 90% of them never go to trial due to plea
deals taken by defendants. 13% of arrests are due to marijuana across the
nation and 88% of those are just for possession of marijuana, with legalization
of marijuana those arrests are never processed, and the people are sent on
their way. These are non-violent crimes but just because they are caught with
something that legal in some states and not in their state, they can be fined
$100 or even thrown in jail depending in the amount of marijuana. In the
country of Canada, the legal limit there is a legal limit of marijuana which is
30 grams. This much marijuana for the average person is comparable to “carrying
around five cases of beer or 10 bottles of wine.” (David R. Richardson) that is
enough alcohol to kill 3 people in one sitting, marijuana on the other hand
cannot lead to death like other substances.
The US is making its best effort to try and support the
American people and their needs and wants in the way of Marijuana and the laws.
The people on the other hand have a more open feeling toward Marijuana and the
way that it is used and how often it is used for recreational use. Surveying
people across the US and applying the statistics to the general population gave
an overall opinion on how everyone feels about marijuana. For example, a
statistic from a national survey shows “About 81% of U.S. adults believe
marijuana has at least 1 benefit, whereas 17% believe it has no benefit” this
just shows how much support marijuana, to the point where 4 out of 5 people
believe Marijuana can support people for medical use.
With the change in people’s beliefs going from marijuana
being considered a dangerous drug to people considering it a helpful chemical
which everyone can use. “The use of marijuana has increased from 15.8% in
2003/2004 to 21.6% in 2013/2014, a 36.7% increase to present day” (Oh) this
statistic is showing how marijuana is increasing and benefitting the common
people around the US, even though it is illegal people will find a way around
the system. While all this is going on the rate of binge drinking and illicit
drug use is dropping it’s not a coincidence that these statistics are going in
opposing directions. Lauren Vogel believes that smoking marijuana can help
prevent health problems and when asking survey questions, she found “Among U.S.
adults, 29.2% agree that smoking marijuana prevents health problems” (Vogel).
People eventually going to conform to new standards of living and practicing in
the recreational use of marijuana
Even with all the evidence to support a full nationwide
legalization movement there is still certain points that can’t be ignored,
common side effects of marijuana are tiredness and slowness of motor skills.
These symptoms cannot be avoided but with responsible use of marijuana there is
no need to worry about problems these symptoms may cause. The other problem
caused by a single nationwide legalization process would be the amount of time
it would take for this bill to pass, also the time it would take to exonerate
the thousands of people who have marijuana related arrests would be years. All
problems can be solved ether with time or being responsible with the THC
chemical and consuming it the proper amounts and not consuming it in mass
amounts.
To resolve the problems that not legalizing marijuana
across the country will cause such as, open cases that will hold up the legal
system and the eventual increase in binge drinking and illicit drug use. With
one nationwide legalization of Marijuana the eventual problems would cease to
exist and allow people to use Marijuana and not be profiled and feel
endangered. The over 8.2 million marijuana related cases that happen each year
would be completely out and about with friends and family rather than dealing
with a completely no violent charge that would result in a fine and a mark on a
permanent record. But instead people are home with their families living a
healthy life with children and high paying jobs all because they didn’t have a
marijuana charge. With this privilege and evolution into today’s society
legalization of marijuana is the next step for our country.
Annotated Bibleography
Vogel, Lauren. “What
Really Happened after Colorado Legalized Marijuana?” CMAJ:
Canadian Medical Association Journal, vol. 190, no. 41, Oct. 2018,
pp. E1237–E1238. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.1503/cmaj.109-5665.
The message that this source is
showing is that even though it has an economic boost in the area it does not
have a moral compass on the substance when used. Most of the source is going
over how the people in Colorado are now more dangerous sense the legalization
of marijuana because people smoke and drive, also the source states that with
the economic boost it is able to fix more roads and help keep drivers safe with
tax money. This source was written by Lauren Vogel and it is a peer reviewed
journal published on October 19 of this year. I plan on using this source to
compare it to alcohol so I can show that we have a less dangerous substance
that the government can also tax.
Oh, Sehun, et al. “Substance Use and Use Disorders and Treatment
Receipt among Adults in Families Receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF), 2003-2014.” Addictive Behaviors,
vol. 85, Oct. 2018, pp. 173–179. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.06.014.
This source portrays
weed in a more positive manor explaining its medical values in society and how
much it can help people with mental disorders. This source is more relevant in
explaining why marijuana is a good thing for people when used, and that people
use them for mental stimulation and eating problems. This was written by an
expert in the field of disorders and a complete supporter of marijuana and its
positive impact on people in America. I plan on exploiting this sources amount
of statistics on children that use oils too help them eat and calm down in very
stressful situations.
D. R. R. “Bud Light with Your Bud Light?” British Columbia Medical Journal, vol. 60, no. 8, Oct.
2018, pp. 385–387. EBSCOhost,
proxy-ship.klnpa.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=132336668&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Written by a group of
doctors who are experts in the field of health and the effects that drugs have
on the body and mind. They go into detail about how drinking and smoking and
make the body less prone to violence and counter the aggressive tendencies of
alcohol, while on the other hand increasing the amount of alcohol the average
person consumes. I plan on using this information in this article to show that
with the aggressive tendencies of people under the influence of alcohol it can
still be counter acted by the effect of marijuana on the brain. The source is
bias towards legalization of marijuana nationwide and its obvious due to the
comparison of the legal substance alcohol and how dangerous that is for people.
Keyhani, Salomeh, et al. “Risks and Benefits of Marijuana Use: A
National Survey of U.S. Adults.” Annals of Internal Medicine,
vol. 169, no. 5, Sept. 2018, pp. 282–290. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.7326/M18-0810
Written by Keyhani
Salomeh, their peer reviewed article is about the risks and benefits of smoking
marijuana and how the public views the substance. The source uses a survey that
was sent out to over 100 adults of various ages to see how every age group
responded. I’m going to pull out the information from the younger generations
to show that the amount of younger people that smoke marijuana is a lot higher
than in previous generations. While older people are more opposed to the drug
based on personal preference rather than knowledge on the topic. The article
was not very biased because it was only reactions to surveys and how others
responded but the younger a person was the less biased they were against
consuming marijuana.
Boister, Neil, and Martin Jelsma. “Inter Se Modification of the
UN Drug Control Conventions: An Exploration of Its Applicability to Legitimise
the Legal Regulation of Cannabis Markets.” International Community Law
Review, vol. 20, no. 5, Sept. 2018, pp. 456–492. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1163/18719732-12341385.
The source is written by Neil
Boister and Martin Jelsma who wrote the peer reviewed article on the
legalization of weed in the US economic markets. It explains in detail that the
US even though not with the support of the minority of people the US should
legalize weed due to its economic boosts toward the government as well as its
economic boost towards small communities. The Article is very bias towards
support for legalization of Marijuana and that it would have a very positive
impact on the people not only because of its medical value but because of its
moral value. I will use this information show how even though we are this close
to evolving into a new society where marijuana is helpful and not harmful, we
are still ways away because of all the legal action that would need to take
place before hand.
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