Legalization Of Marijuana Term paper
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Legalization of Marijuana
Marijuana is a misunderstood drug that is thought of as dangerous, when in fact it is in anything but. Because of people’s ignorance and gullibility marijuana has become illegal for all the wrong reasons and should highly be reconsidered for legalization. People today don’t understand that for centuries, marijuana has been used by different nationalities of people for religious, recreational, and medical use. Marijuana has been legalized in such European countries as Holland and Belgium. Civil Liberties on the Internet has quoted Great Britain’s Guardian saying, “Italy, Spain and Portugal are reported to be considering similar moves for cannabis" (Europe Goes To Pot) So why is the legalization of marijuana in the United States such a problem for many people today? Considered to be a gateway drug and the reason for the downfall of our youth today, marijuana has developed a negative reputation. Lester Grinspoon, a professor at Harvard University, states, “Few drugs in the United States have produced as much affective heat as marijuana, particularly during the last decade. The controversy essentially revolves around the question of how dangerous or safe the drug is” (Grinspoon, 1). However, many people are chronic users and believe that this drug is no more harmful than smoking cigarettes. Despite its useful medical effects for relieving pain and nausea, marijuana is a psychedelic drug that will be looked down upon because of false claims about it.
Marijuana is a dried leaf from the top of the hemp plant. This plant is able to reach a height of 16 to 20 feet high, depending on climate conditions. Producing both male and female plants, the male plant is thought to have little effect when used for intoxication. With a hollow stem, the female marijuana plant can have seven to eleven leaves and a very strong odor. The part of the marijuana plant that is responsible for intoxication is the sticky, golden resin, which contains the highest amounts of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Expomed dot COM has done further study of marijuana and states, “Tetrahydrocannabinol is generally accepted to be the principle active component- in marijuana, although other cannabinoids are likely to contribute to the physiological activity of marijuana” (Tetrahydrocannabinol, THC) Other parts of the female marijuana plant may contain THC, but more investigation will be needed to determine its potency. Greater intoxication is determined by the amount of resin in the plant. Climate plays a big role in the production of resin. A hot, muggy climate is needed for growing marijuana; however marijuana has been found in climates as far north as Virginia.
When using marijuana one may experience many feelings; these psychological and physical reactions are known as a “high”. The World Book Encyclopedia describes a high as, “a dream like, relaxed state in which people seem more aware of their senses and feel that time is moving slowly.” (Marijuana) However, these effects vary from how much THC is consumed from the plant. Marijuana can either be smoked or eaten to receive a high. The more popular method is to inhale the smoke that is created from burning marijuana. Marijuana cigarettes are usually created by the user for inhalation; however, water bongs, pipes, and conventional glass pipes are also used. The other method is to eat the marijuana plant. Whether in baked goods or raw, eating marijuana will also give the user a high effect.
The use of marijuana dates back 10,000 years to the Stone Age. One of the earliest records of man’s use of marijuana comes from Taiwan. Used by Chinese doctors, marijuana was employed to ward off evil spirits which had infected people. Marijuana leaves, and the hemp plant were also a useful resource in Europe for many centuries. However, the United States’ first founders used the hemp plant, but its use for intoxication wasn’t noticed in the U.S. until the 1900’s. When the Jazz Era was in full swing in the 1920’s, marijuana was very common. New Orleans was a large port for marijuana traffic, and the city’s population had a high percentage of marijuana users. After the Marijuana Tax Act was passed in 1937, marijuana was legal only to those who paid a tax for its medical use or industrial use. Finally in 1956, The Boggs Act was passed, setting mandatory sentences for possession or distribution of marijuana. This made marijuana an illegal narcotic in the United States (BUSTED America’s War On Marijuana).
Even though marijuana was illegal, its use continued in the United States. Ernest L. Abel, author of the book Marihuana states, “In 1972, the National Commission on Marihuana estimated that about twenty-four million Americans over the age of eleven had tried marijuana, at least eight million were still using it, and about half a million were using it every day” (Abel, 259). Thought to have just been a fad, the use of marijuana still is strong. On November 27, 2001 a National Household Survey stated, “34 percent of all Americans 12 and older have tried Marijuana today” (Marijuana Remains European Illicit Drug of Choice).
Since marijuana was made an illegal narcotic, there have been many arguments over its illegal status. Why is such a commonly used drug such a problem to most people? Well, the answer may be that not everyone fully understands what happens to a person when he or she is intoxicated from marijuana. Ignorance about marijuana is a problem for most people today, and it was a bigger problem for those who were against marijuana in the early 1930’s. In 1930, the lack of scientific knowledge concerning marijuana led the National Bureau of Narcotics to produce claims stating, “The weed itself looks and smells not unlike cat-nip. Have you ever seen the family cat under the influence of catnip? Well, that is something what the effects of the cigarettes are supposed to have on people” (Grinspoon., 17). The FBI even released statements which accused marijuana of causing insanity and cave man like tendencies. In Lester Grinspoon’s book Marihuana Reconsidered, Grinspoon quotes the FBI saying, “He really becomes a fiend with savage or ‘caveman’ tendencies. His sex desires are aroused and some of the most horrible crimes result. He hears light and sees sound. To get away from it, he suddenly become violent and may kill” (17). With lack of information, scientists and officials could not diminish these false rumors. Therefore, many believed that where there was crime, the cause was marijuana. Ironically it was the U.S. Army that first published supportive and factual information about marijuana in 1933 concluding, “the drug was harmless and did not cause maladjustment in the user” (Grinspoon, 19). In 1942 A.S. deRopp wrote an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association containing many false reports about marijuana according to Lester Grinspoon, author of the book Marihuana. DeRopp was a strong believer that marijuana is a dangerous drug which causes mental and physical misconduct, and it should remain illegal. However, in response to A.S. deRopp’s article a man named La Guardia produced a study published a month later. “Conclusions, previously recognized but now better supported with these studies, are to the effect that marijuana smoking, at least as ordinarily practiced in this country, does not lead directly to mental or physical deterioration, does not develop addiction or tolerance as is characteristic of opiates, and is not a direct causal factor in sexual or criminal misconduct” (Grinspoon, 29).
In the 1950’s, marijuana’s popularity died down because of many false claims regarding the illegal drug. Two serious problems came into effect in the 50’s for the pro-marijuana population. Leon Felkins states the 1952 Boggs Act which was looked upon as unfair. “In 1952 the Boggs Act was passed which, for the first time, made penalties for violation of the marijuana laws the same as those for narcotic drugs. The act also introduced, at the federal level, the concept of minimum mandatory jail sentences for drug law offenders and in general increased the penalties” (Leon Felkins). Harry J. Anslinger, who was Commissioner of Narcotics in the US at the time, enforced the Boggs Act. Anslinger spread the same lies about marijuana heard in the 1930’s. He claimed that marijuana would cause people to become psychotic, sex-crazed lunatics. However, with these lies Ansliger was able to get the Boggs Act passed and upset the population of marijuana users. Also, in 1956 the Narcotics Control Act put harsh penalties on...
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