Marijuana Argumentative Essay

Improved Essays
Marijuana’s serves as an anecdote for many ailments that may not otherwise be able to be treated. Specifically, cases wherein the patient is diagnosed with cancer, HIV/AIDS, or and even stomach problems, leave patients with limited options in terms of immediate help in alleviating their excruciating pain. While the traditional treatment of taking pills is effective, some patients experience a difficult time holding the pill in their stomach so that it may begin to take effect (due to vomiting). Fortunately, marijuana offers an alternative: cannabis may be inhaled, as the patient is able to absorb the thc in his or her lungs; as an added benefit, the thc is able to flow through the blood brain barrier much quicker than pills (Clark43); this …show more content…
For instance,The National Commision on Marijuana and Drug Abuse’s 1972 report on marijuana clearly emphasized that enforcement of marijuana policy was not only difficult, but ineffective as a whole (Shafer). Within their study of nine states, the organization conducted surveys and collected statistics on the states’ arrests and their prosecutions. In general, “federal authorities make little to no effort to seek out violators of laws proscribing possession of marijuana… [these cases] are generally dropped or turned over to the state for prosecution” (Shafer110). Statements such as this made by Shafer intimate that the efficacy towards enforcing marijuana policy is quite low. In fact, studies indicate that out of all individuals who are apprehended with marijuana, almost 70% have less than an ounce on them (Shafer111). These statistics serve to show that offenders are typically not convicted criminals; nor are they holding large amounts of cannabis - they are simply users, not drug lords. Lastly, of all the cases taken to the state, 50% are dropped for the general population while 70% are dropped for youth cases (Shafer111). Furthermore, this statistic is indicative that marijuana policy is inconsistent, and poses a valid

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    I. Thesis: Marijuana should be legal for both medical and recreational use in the United States because its benefits outweigh the drawbacks, it is natural and non-addictive, and it isn’t as harmful as products we commonly use. II. The benefits of using marijuana outweigh the drawbacks greatly. A. Used for pain relief, eating disorders, insomnia, and anxiety.…

    • 909 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For hundreds of years, marijuana has been used for medical and therapeutic purposes ... Their health benefits have been consistently demonstrated, however, the negative connotation that is still making this a great debate. Resorting to the use of marijuana to combat certain medical conditions is an issue that divides…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    states that have legalized marijuana while a U.S. federal ban on its possession, growth or sale still exists. He explains how the U.S. current president, Barack Obama, calls not to litigate people in states where marijuana is legal, how this has put the decision to prosecute in the hands of federal prosecutors. He also explains the case of a 70-year old man, Larry Harvey, who grew marijuana with his family on the property of their rural Washington home, for what they say was their own medical use, likely faces jail for use of marijuana despite Washington having legalized medical and recreational marijuana. This is a very controversial issue, which explains the notion that states with legalized use of marijuana still face some challenges with citizens in terms of their personal usage of cannibis, be it for medical purposes or otherwise. From this research, the article is of great help because it provides the government 's perspective on how they tend to manage the use of marijuana even in states where it has been declared…

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Should Medical Marijuana be Federally Legalized: An Annotated Bibliography David C. Peters II. “Patients and Caregivers Report Using Medical Marijuana to Decrease Prescription Narcotics Use.” Humboldt Journal of Social Relations, vol. 35, 2013, pp. 24–40. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/humjsocrel.35.24.…

    • 1635 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There has always been a strong debate when it comes to the drug cannabis weather it should be illegal or legal. Continuing to be a controversial and very prominent issue for our government to figure out. Although many make slanderous claims about cannabis throughout most of its history, the truths are slowly starting to resurface. As these truths receive tons of criticism due to the stereotypical view of what is the typical “pot smoker.” This perception of an unmotivated and lazy America is the direct impact of propaganda and misinformation that is spread by private interest who need cannabis to be illegal for personal gains.…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The federal government spends over sixteen billion dollars to enforce drug laws every year, not including the costs to house and care for those convicted drug offenders. Putting this in perspective, that is about ten billion estimated taxpayers’ dollars a year because taxpayers pay for each individual sent to prison just for possession of marijuana (Boaz, 2000). A very striking example of these laws would be Louisiana, where being caught with a joint could result in six months in the country parish, while a second offense can result in up to five years, and a third up to twenty years of jail time (Barcott 2014). Not to mention that the prohibition of marijuana is commonly a waste of police officer’s time, especially in the eyes of police officers themselves, some of which have joined a group called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Jack Cole, retired New Jersey State Police Lieutenant, has made some valuable points such as when an officer could have been investigating something serious, such as domestic abuse, current prohibition laws require officers to instead invest their time chasing a couple of harmless teenagers smoking marijuana.…

    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    mandatory minimum sentencing causes someone who may use marijuana for personal purposes to be imprisoned for the same amount of time as someone who sells marijuana on a large scale or other violent crimes. The surprising fact that mandatory minimums are mostly applied in the federal court for drug cases shows the percentage of persons that are likely to be sent to prison for a long period of time thus increasing the prison population. Subsequently reducing, removing mandatory minimum or decriminalizing marijuana reduces the amount of people being issued a sentence of blind justice by the judge who has no discretion will have a domino effect upon the amount of people in prison for non-violent drug offenses such as marijuana possession. Among people who receive mandatory minimum sentences in 2011, 38 % were Latinos and 31 % were black, this shows a correlation between racial disparities and mandatory…

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Decriminalization On Drugs

    • 2067 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The decriminalization of marijuana has already begun across several 20 of the 50 states, allowing personal consumption with many states treating violations as minor offenses similar to traffic infractions. The U.S. Sentencing Commission pinpoints marijuana as the most popular drug of choice for convicted offenders. In a 2014 survey, the Pew Research Center found that 54% of Americans feel that marijuana should be legalized, an overwhelming 76% Americans felt that, if not legalized, small amounts of marijuana for personal use should not draw jail time (Pew Research Center, 2014). We are undoubtedly beginning to see a cultural shift in support of the decriminalization of nonviolent offenses, particularly involving the possession and recreational use of drugs. However, most agree that the production and trafficking of illicit drugs should remain a punishable offense.…

    • 2067 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Cannabis Paradox

    • 1462 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Legalization of Cannabis Paradox For four and a half decades, the United States has fought and spent billions on the “War on Drugs.” Most recently, cannabis (marijuana, weed, THC) has been the focal point of this costly war. Since 1990s, twenty-three states, with California being the first, have legalized cannabis for personal, medicinal, and recreational usage. However, controversy over this not-so-new public enemy remains because it is still illegal under federal law.…

    • 1462 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Marijuana has been proven to be beneficial in treating a myriad of physical and psychological conditions, such as glaucoma, anxiety, and the painful symptomology of chronic illnesses. Thus it is no surprise that research into the medicinal properties of marijuana has spurred its legalization for medicinal use in 25 states as of 2016. However federally, marijuana is still classified as a schedule 1 drug and thus not designated for use in any form in many states. As a result of this contentious debate, many disparities arise in its distribution, patient qualifications, and healthcare provider responsibilities. Ultimately the main point of contention is the definition of recreational versus medicinal use of marijuana and who is qualified to distinguish between the two.…

    • 1190 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to the National Institute of Mental Health,” About 40 million adults between the ages of 18 to 54 suffer from anxiety in the United States.” In fact, anxiety is one of the most common psychiatric disorders today with a wide range of treatment options. Currently, many people that suffer from anxiety aren’t being treated for it and often choose to use a substance such as marijuana in lieu of other medication. Substances like marijuana provide an alternative way to cope with mental disorders that are often incurable without professional attention and prescription medication. With the increased popularity of recreational marijuana instead of physician-prescribed marijuana, people now have more feasible access to it than ever before.…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Argumentative Essay On Medical Marijuana

    • 1065 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 8 Works Cited

    Writings from ancient India confirm that its psychoactive properties were recognized, and doctors used it for a variety of illnesses and ailments. Marijuana can reduce the nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting from the condition itself and the medications as well. Marijuana relieves the internal eye pressure of glaucoma, with relieving the pain and slowing or even stopping the condition. Many side effects of the medication to stop cancer can be relieved with medical cannabis, some studies suggest that Marijuana tends to slow down the progress of some types of cancer. Muscle pain, spasticity, tremors and unsteadiness are some of the effects caused by the disease that can be relieved by Marijuana in some patients, epileptic seizures can be prevented with Marijuana use.…

    • 1065 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 8 Works Cited
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Those in proposition have expressed fears that through ease of access, numbers in pot consumption would increase drastically causing a spark in crime, possible health risks, and a lazier society which would potentially increase unemployment and welfare. While studying Colorado, who had been the first state in the U.S. to legalize recreational use of marijuana in January 2014, we can now see that these fears held no depth. In fact, the criminalization of marijuana has had a great strain on the American people through paying billions in taxes for the enforcement of marijuana related crimes and the overcrowding marijuana cases causes in prisons and jails (DPA, Drug Policy Alliance). We have since seen, through Colorado’s full recreational legalization in beginning 2014, that the fears of legalized recreational marijuana held no depth or truth. In fact, Colorado has shown us the endless pros of such: boost in revenue, de-crowding in correctional facilities, boost…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The illegality of marijuana has helped form violent organized crime families in the form of drug cartels, known for the exploitation of children as drug mules, with no concern for their health or well-being. “Authors reported overall “no statistically significant differences in marijuana use before and after policy change for any state pairing,” and acknowledged that some states that…

    • 2478 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Legalization of Marijuana as a Cure An argumentative essay Submitted to: Ms .Monica Tugade Faculty, CEAS, De La Salle Lipa Partially fulfilment in the requirement of the subject in Comski1 Submitted by: Clyde Jewel C. Solis September 25 2014 1…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays