Marijuana

Cannabis plant preparation known as marijuana is intended to be used as a medication or medicine. The drug is frequently used for its euphoric, generalized alteration in perception, and feeling of being extremely drunk or "stoned" mental and physical effects. Youths are now increasingly using marijuana as a recreational substance. It is a widely used substance because it is easily accessible and carries a fair sentence when used in court. Around the world, a lot of individuals have started smoking marijuana, some at home, some at gatherings, and a lot in educational institutions. Countries have put in place strict laws to reduce the use of marijuana while some have banned it completely. In the United States, some states have banned the use of Marijuana as a recreational drug while some have legalized it. Marijuana like alcohol has a negative impact on domestic matters. Alcohol for example has been known to cause families problems such as physical abuse, financial drain ad mental degradation. The paper will highlight the domestic impact of marijuana especially its prohibition using the prohibition of alcohol in the early 1900s as a basis for the discussion.

Legalization of marijuana has been the case of constant debate for decades now in states that have legalized the drug. Its prohibition has also been a relentless source of debate among many individuals. Many people have cited marijuana as a safe drug which has little to zero detrimental effects. Others have cited its medicinal value as a benchmark for its legalization (Wang 685). The people who want to prohibit the drug completely in all states have given the reason such as the effect it has on domestic matters especially to the family members, the neighborhood and the community in general. Like alcohol, one of the main negative impacts of marijuana is its power to alter the perception of an individual about different things, about a certain topic or object. Alcohol makes a person to do certain thing that such an individual cannot do while sober. This can include looking at a cop like a common citizen, or taking complex object/situations to be simple. The same case happens for a person who takes excessive alcohol. This is one of the issues that led to the prohibition of alcohol in the early 1900s in the United States (Okrent 20).

Domestically, alcohol has been a big issue with many people or rather families condemning this act. The negative perception about alcohol is widely agreed upon by the international community as well. The main people that can be blamed for this negative image of alcohol are the drinkers especially those that have been addicted (Gaytán 440). Their actions speak volumes in terms of how alcohol is bad for the society as whole. The medics also concur with the society regarding the impact alcohol has on the health of a drinker. According to people, marijuana is also seen in the same light as alcohol. In fact, some people prefer alcohol to marijuana due to the perception of this drug. The main issue is the drug being categorized or uttered in the same sentence as heroin, cocaine and meth. Alcohol is however mentioned alongside a cigarette which makes it less threatening than when an individual hears meth or heroin.

The prohibition of alcohol in the early 1900s was as a result of many men failing to meet family duties (Rumbarger 150). The actions of the drinkers did not seat well with the society as well. Marijuana also to some extent has the same effect to families. A person addicted to marijuana will less likely cater for the family. The little money such an individual has will be used to buy drugs instead of buying food. The effect it has on the thinking capacity of an individual can be compared to that of alcohol as well. A person’s perception is altered resulting in an individual that cannot do simple task. Sampling people who take marijuana on a daily basis, it can be identified that they exemplify alcoholics to some extent.

In the prohibition of marijuana, it can be identified that it has the same shortcomings as that of the prohibition of alcohol in the early 1900s. One of the main weaknesses is that the law makers have targeted the suppliers rather than the people who consume the drugs. The alcohol prohibition failed because the law targeted people who were making the product at that time (Gaytán 438). However, the alcoholics were not gathered for by taking them to rehabs. As such, these people mission was to find a place that they could find the alcohol. Although the government illegalized the producers, the market was still there. The same case can be seen about the illegalization of marijuana in many states. The people who take these drugs have not be targeted and sorted out or rather taken to a rehab. The government has only targeted the people who grow and supply the drug. The market is still out there and people who are aggressive could still make money. Marijuana continues to be popular because of this the same way alcohol in the 1900s was not controlled even after the government had taken action against alcoholism.

The government of the United States also focused its efforts on the transportation and sale of any alcoholic beverage in the 1920s (Davenport and Jonathan 418).. One of the exceptions that the government made was alcohol which had religious uses and medicinal purposes. Under federal law, the selling of alcohol was never illegal. This was early in the 1900s. It was not until 1920 the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S Constitution that prohibition was rolled out nationally. The problem that arose was the government accepted some people to sell alcohol to the people as a medicine. As much as they curbed a national problem, people were still drinking. Only the individuals who knew how to bypass the law and buy the products as medicine continued with their activities. It was not long before people could be found drunk by the roadside.

The government also allowed alcohol to be used for religious purposes such as wine in the Catholic Church (Davenport and Jonathan 415). This led to fake priests in the church and fake congregation. People only went to these churches so that they could take alcohol. Such churches had cropped in many areas. The prohibition was failing to fully control the scourge of drinking by the men. The fake priests would usually bring large amount of alcohol for the congregation. These were mostly done by fake priests who were drunkards initially. The drunkards frequented these churches to have a taste of alcohol which was given by the priest. The act was most common in areas hard hit by the ban such as the southerners who were monitored by the protestant churches and the Ku Klux Klan. It is these groups that forced the people to device such an ingenious method to beat the laws of the state.

The same case is happening to marijuana. Marijuana is illegal in many states in America. However, it is legal in all states as a medicine of some sorts (Pacula 78). One of its main uses is reducing pain for cancerous patients. These are the people who mostly use marijuana as a medicine. It is also used to cure backaches. Although this is a reasonable way to help the people, it is also a loophole that many marijuana users have used to exploit the system. The prohibition of alcohol failed because of it being used as a medicine for different ailments. That meant that alcohol continued to have a market among the people. Alcoholism was never stopped but controlled. Marijuana is in the same case where its market has not been completely controlled or done away with. Such loophole has ensured that marijuana users have the capability of taking the drugs. When facing the law, they can have the excuse of using it as a medicine for various ailments. As such, the only people that could have a reasonable sentence are the distributors and people who plant the drugs. These individuals can be easily be replaced by other groups who need the money as well. This is the main reason why prohibition of marijuana has completely failed in some areas such as Detroit.

Unity is one of the elements that make a cause successful. During the prohibition of alcohol in the late 1800s and early 1900s, some of the states were not cooperative (Murdock 136). The southern states and some from the western sides fully ensured that its environs did not have people that sold or distributed alcohol. The protestant and Methodist churches ensured that alcoholic places were closed down. The Ku Klux Klan was also part of the groups that ensured that alcoholism was controlled in the southern states as well as the western part (Abadinsky 2202). Small towns also found it difficult to control alcoholism. The people who were alcoholics were few and the effect of alcoholism was not widely felt. Cities such as Chicago also found it hard to prohibit the use of alcohol. It is the disunity that caused early probation to fail in most states until it was nationally enforced which ensured that all these other rebel states followed suit.

The same case can be seen in the prohibition of marijuana in the United States. California is the latest state that has legalized the use of marijuana. The drug is however illegal in many other states. It can be identified that the legalization of the drug in some states only worsens the situation for the states that have illegalized the drug. This means that users of marijuana will continue to exist. The states that have legalized the drugs are used as the growing grounds for marijuana and its main transportation routes. The disunity is worsening the situation for states that have taken a stance against the use of marijuana. The fall of the prohibition came when some of the states concentrated on other matter instead of enforcing the law against alcoholism (Gaytán 436). The same case can be witnessed now for marijuana prohibition. Most states do not focus on curbing marijuana use. They only arrest people when they are found smoking it in public places. However, most people enjoy it at the comfort of their house. This is common with high school and college student’s country wide showing how the illegalization of the drug has failed terribly.

The failure to curb transportation of alcohol during the 1920s resulted in its transportation from Canada. The alcoholic drinks still found its way to most counters in many parts of the country. The alcoholic drinks were smuggled over land and sea routes in parts which bordered Canada (Abadinsky 2204). Sea routes along the coats were also used by the smugglers. The popularity of small powerful speedboat aided the smuggling business at the time. While the federal government was engrossed with its crackdown on the consumption of alcohol on land in the U.S, the drinks were also being smuggled through the Great Lakes. The main weakness arose from the 3-mile limit along the coats which was exempt from the operations. As such, the consumption of alcohol continued and only some areas were controlled fully but most parts of the country continued to drink.

Marijuana faces the same issues in the United States. The states have focused on the instant interception of the drug when being distributed. It has however failed to come up with a proper plan to stop the drug from reaching the designated areas. The transportation routes are still unmanned allowing the drug to reach to millions of people. The states that have legalized the drug have made it difficult to the states that have illegalized marijuana. The peddlers can still transport the drugs within the legalized states to the borders of other states which have illegalized the drug (Blocker Jr 238). California for example is bordered by Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. The pacific oceans act as a good route for smuggling the drug to states far north. Mexico which is one of the countries that has a high population of people using different drugs can also act as a main source of marijuana from South America. The nearby States have no chance against curbing Marijuana. The DEA cannot man the full length of the border and as such, the nearby states have an uphill task to control marijuana. The same case can only be compared to the prohibition of alcoholic drinks in the early 1920s where most of the areas were nit manned and it provided the best route for smuggling the drinks.

Apart from these routes, people started to brew their alcoholic drinks at home. Hops and malt stores started cropping in various parts of the country. Some of the former breweries were turned to selling malts extract syrup. The syrup was used for beverage and baking purposes (Kilmer and Robert 72). All these went to making the home brew that some families were brewing. Many people ended up dying as a result of contaminated alcohol. The alcohol percentage in some drinks was so high that it caused multiple deaths. As can be identified, the prohibition did not fully curb the problem but t made the people find different ways to satisfy the market. Marijuana can be seen in the same light as well. Man people have been found selling the product from the basement of their property. The plant is simple to grow making it popular for people that have a big farm and in family’s basements. As such, alcohol and marijuana has continued to affect different families as a result of its weakness during prohibition.

The legalization of marijuana is not an alien topic as exemplified by many states and some countries that have successfully legalized the drug. Taking the alcohol prohibition in the 1920s as a case study, one of the ways that marijuana can be legalized is first identifying individuals that can grow safe marijuana. Studies show that marijuana can be laced with various synthetic drugs to make it stronger (Murdock 121). Alcohol has been a big issue to families. Legalization of marijuana should not cause the same problems. As such, identifying a proper association that can deal with marijuana is the first step. Many states have regulations to curb alcohol such as the alcohol limit in a bottle of beer, warning users and other measures such as curbing materials that can cause negative effects on a person. By having an association that can regulate the distribution and safety of marijuana, the people can find the drug safe. Black markets which mostly lace marijuana with synthetic drugs can then be dealt away with by the authorities.

Prohibition of alcohol did not take account into the transportation of the drinks. The government in its quest to legalize marijuana should identify all the routes that the drug can be transported through (Pacula 81). By having such data, the federal government can man the distribution of the content. In areas that marijuana has affected families, the federal government can reduce the transportation to such areas to limit the number of joints that these people smoke. Currently, it is easier to control alcohol in a certain part of a state. Having known brewers has made it possible to reduce the amount of alcohol distributed. The same case can be applied to marijuana. Having known transporters or rather distributors will go a long way into curbing the use of the drug rather than in the current state where any person can grow, transport and distribute the drug.

The prohibition of alcohol also failed to address the alcoholics in the country. In the case of marijuana, the market is not defined as a result of the current illegality of the drug. Legalizing the drug should take into account the number of people that take drug the drugs. This can be achieved by carrying out extensive research. One of the most important things while taking the research is taking a look at the current life style of the users (Wang 683). Alcohol has many detrimental effects to families. The source of its prohibition in the 1920s was how it affected the domestic home. By understanding the effect of marijuana to families or society as whole, the federal government can take a precarious measure to dictate which areas can be controlled and those that can have free access to the drug. It can be identified just like alcohol that there are users who drink responsible and others who have no responsibility at all. Understanding how marijuana first affects the society and identifying these areas will go a long way into legalizing the drug without causing damage to family values.

The prohibition of alcohol was done hastily. It should have been done by reducing the alcohol limit slowly until distribution ceased completely. As such, it had a greater impact on the society due to many addicted people left suffering. Withdrawal from alcohol is difficult and it requires a careful approach (Blocker Jr 240). This is one of the reasons that prohibition was not successful. Marijuana legalization can be made successful by introducing it to the people slowly. Although it can be easily found in the cities, a larger quantity can be allowed slowly. This will ensure that the society cannot be taken by surprise by the legalization.

Before the prohibition of alcohol, the tax had been reduced from $1 to $60 cents (Kilmer and Robert 88). For alcohol, that was a low tax rate taking into account the effects it had on the society. Marijuana can be legalized but it should be taxed heavily. The federal government can then be tasked with controlling the black market. The government can have a defined area to tackle. Taxing marijuana will ensure that not every person will have the capability to buy. Additionally, those that will have the capability would be limited by the funds. As such, this will be a win-win case for the public and the federal government. The users will have the drug that they have been fighting for while the federal government will also have helped domestic families, the neighborhood and society as whole from having drug heads.

The main fall of the prohibition of alcohol was developing institutions that could have helped the drunkards. The legalization of marijuana should be met with a public campaign about its negative effects. People that have not experimented with the drug can have a second look at what they are getting into. As such, the drug will have few new users compared with the absence of such campaigns. The federal government should also be ready to build social platforms that can help people who have become addicted to the drug but want to stop smoking marijuana. Associations should be ready to help guide people or rather help them to reduce the consumption of such a drug. This will have a low impact on the society. Many people would be smoking the drug in decent doses rather than abusing marijuana.

The prohibition of marijuana has led to the development of underground drug routes in cities which has facilitated smuggling of hard drugs such as cocaine, heroin and meth. I think that legalizing marijuana will go a long way into controlling all these drugs. Families can be protected by legalizing the drug in that, a spouse will know if his or her partner uses the drug. Such an individual will know what effect it has on the family and probably seek help. Seeking help currently is a problem. A person may be arrested or forced to give the details of the person supplying the drug. I am sure that legalizing marijuana will not fail like the prohibition of alcohol in 1920. If the correct steps are taken, the legalization of marijuana can be successful with few or zero detrimental effect to the society.









Work cited

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