Legalization Of Marijuana Term paper
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When Olympic officials decided to give snowboarder Ross Rebagliati his gold medal back, the cheers drowned out the boos. It was a minor scandal involving a minor sport, but it spoke volumes about the world's shifting relationship with its favorite illicit drug. Marijuana. A decade ago, Rebagliati would have been ostracized regardless of whether cannabis was on the list of his sport's banned substances.
What's changed today is that our attitudes towards illegal drugs are becoming more sophisticated and discriminating. After thirty years of research into the harmful effects of cannabis, there can be no hidden dangers left to discover. We know that it is plain nonsense to regard cannabis as a performance-enhancing drug, just as it is a myth to think the substance rots the brain or leads inexorably to harder substances.
The issue of cannabis legalization has been debated ever since the substance was made illegal on April 14, 1937. Reformers still press legislation today to make the psychoactive plant available to medical patients as well as the general adult population. One of the more prominent groups that lobbies for the legalization of marijuana is NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). NORML has been a voice for nearly thirty years for Americans that oppose marijuana prohibition. Essentially, it is a non-profit interest lobby that represents the interests of millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens who smoke marijuana responsibly.
Ever since that fateful day in 1937 there has also been millions of Americans that supported the government’s choice to criminalize this plant. One major contributor to the spread of anti-legalization information is the Drug Enforcement Agency. The DEA is unequivocally opposed to the legalization of illicit drugs. The DEA and other agencies seeking to promote the status quo claim the legalization argument is a cyclical trend that resurfaces, heats up and then dies down again, only to come back at a later date. It claims legalization would be a devastating defeat to the commitment that so many have made to living free, healthy and unfettered in our nation.
The issue remains as alive and debatable today as it has ever been. The public’s growing fascination and acceptance of this plant adds fuel to the fire of the controversy. The latest piece of legislation reviewed involving Marijuana legalization was September 6, 1999 in the state of Maine. There are many questions that still need to be answered in the realm of cannabis legalization, and pressure to find those answers is another thing that fuels the debate over decriminalization.
The pressure for legislation reform is not specific to any demographic location. It has been argued by all ages, races, and sexes. There are those that argue for the medical legalization, economical legalization, and of course, recreational legalization. Those that lobby for reform carry large amounts statistical evidence and personal testimony to show the beneficial elements of this plant. The push for marijuana reform has come from doctors and lawyers as well as skateboard toting teens.
Those that push for the decriminalization of marijuana base their arguments on a number of proven facts, refuted opposing arguments, and positive personal experiences. There are some groups that support the removal of all penalties for the private possession and responsible use of marijuana by adults, cultivation for personal use, and the casual nonprofit transfers of small amounts. They back their arguments with claims like : Cannabis has proven to be addictive to a very small portion of the overall user population, and when put in contrast with other addictive over-the-counter drugs (such as alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine), the addictive potential of cannabis is far below those accepted levels. Marijuana supporters also argue that it’s been in use (documented) for 5,000 years and during that span there hasn’t been one single documented overdose case.
Still others argue for the medicinal use of marijuana. They wish to change the classification of marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to a Schedule II. A Schedule I substance is one that: a) has no current accepted medical use, b) has a high potential for abuse. Reformers wish to lower cannabis to a Schedule II which is: a) a drug that has excepted medical value, b) has a medium potential for abuse. It is scientifically accepted (IOM Report March 24, 1999) that marijuana proves useful for pain management, suppression of nausea in AIDS and Cancer patients, and can act as an anti-spasmodic, as well as flatly disproves the gateway theory, which stated that users of cannabis would go onto harder drugs. This illustrates Federally Sanctioned medical uses of marijuana (Schedule II).
Those that support the legalization of marijuana have a very strong argument, but there are however, some fallacies in their logic. From the NORML...
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