Just say no,” was a popular slogan when I was growing up. Throughout the 1980’s President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy created a powerful anti-drug campaign that used images like an egg representing a brain, and an egg frying for a brain on drugs. As a kid I couldn’t watch Saturday morning cartoons without being bombarded with anti-drug advertisements. Today kids get a different kind of message, not all drugs are bad regardless of the law. They are getting this message through the current fight to legalize marijuana within the United States. The last three presidents that were voted into office all admitted to at least trying marijuana, even though it is illegal. There are educated people standing in the spotlight fighting for people
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This is not only a dangerous message we are sending to young people, but to people in general. Without marijuana being federally legalized, proper medical testing cannot be conducted. This is a dangerous thread the medical community is weaving. Doctors in twenty-three states are now able to medically prescribe a drug that they know very little about. The risks and benefits need to be studied extensively to insure safe use. The federal government has two options at this point, one is to stand down and legalize it, or start conducting extensive research that without a doubt proves that marijuana has absolutely no medical benefits and only negative health risks. By continuing to do nothing on the matter, we are creating a generation of individuals that see the federal government as nothing other than an old fashion governing body that is …show more content…
The country became obsessed with anti-drug and alcohol campaigns and imaginative journalism flourished. News articles were published in the 20’s painting a horrible picture of marijuana, linked to low class immigrants committing crimes. In the 1930’s Harry J. Anslinger became head of the Narcotics Bureau for the U.S. Treasury Department and marijuana took another hit. Competing with other federal departments during the depression was no easy task. Anslinger needed a truly horrific villain to rally the government into assuring his budget was a federal priority. Aiding in the fight against marijuana was the release of the movie Reefer Madness in the late 30’s. As new bills were brought to Congress, many members knew nothing of the drug, making it that much easier for Anslinger to claim marijuana was incredibly
This is not only a dangerous message we are sending to young people, but to people in general. Without marijuana being federally legalized, proper medical testing cannot be conducted. This is a dangerous thread the medical community is weaving. Doctors in twenty-three states are now able to medically prescribe a drug that they know very little about. The risks and benefits need to be studied extensively to insure safe use. The federal government has two options at this point, one is to stand down and legalize it, or start conducting extensive research that without a doubt proves that marijuana has absolutely no medical benefits and only negative health risks. By continuing to do nothing on the matter, we are creating a generation of individuals that see the federal government as nothing other than an old fashion governing body that is …show more content…
The country became obsessed with anti-drug and alcohol campaigns and imaginative journalism flourished. News articles were published in the 20’s painting a horrible picture of marijuana, linked to low class immigrants committing crimes. In the 1930’s Harry J. Anslinger became head of the Narcotics Bureau for the U.S. Treasury Department and marijuana took another hit. Competing with other federal departments during the depression was no easy task. Anslinger needed a truly horrific villain to rally the government into assuring his budget was a federal priority. Aiding in the fight against marijuana was the release of the movie Reefer Madness in the late 30’s. As new bills were brought to Congress, many members knew nothing of the drug, making it that much easier for Anslinger to claim marijuana was incredibly