Marijuana is a mind-altering drug obtained from the cannabis plant that is used for recreational as well as scientific purposes. The scientific name for marijuana is cannabis sativa, but it is also referred using other slang terms as weed, herb, and pot among others. The roots, stem, seeds, and leaves of the plant are consumed in a variety of ways which include smoking it like a cigarette, in water pipes, or brewed as tea. The drug is made up of many compounds, but the one that has significant intoxicating effects is tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. Cannabis is illegal in many countries, in the United States the drug is illegal but in some specific states legislation has been enacted which permits exemption for a number of uses such as industrial and medicinal use. Cannabis is, however, becoming more acceptable in America which would be a great thing since the drug has a lot of benefits for medical and recreational purposes and should, therefore, be made legal in all the states.
History of Marijuana
The writings of Chinese emperor Sheng Nung are the oldest known reference of marijuana as a psychoactive agent in 2727 B.C (Maier, 2017). Marijuana was also familiar to ancient Greeks and Romans. The drug spread to the western hemisphere in 1545 when it was imported from Chile by the Spaniards and used as fiber.
The drug was later introduced by the English in 1611 in Jamestown as a commercial crop along with tobacco. Hemp was, however, replaced by cotton by 1890, during this time the drug was being used in some patent medicine in small percentages compared to cocaine and opium. In the 1950s the drug was referred to as an accessory of the beat generation, being used by hippies and college students in the 1960s hence becoming a symbol of the rebellion against the authority. Heroin, Marijuana and LSD were classified as schedule one drugs in 1970 which meant that they had no medical use and a highest abuse potential that was relative (Kilmer, 2017). The Reagan and the Bush administration passed mandatory sentences and strict laws for the possession of marijuana, raising vigilance against smuggling that was happening on the southern border. The heightened campaigns against the drug led to a decrease in use. However, smoking of the drug took an upward turn in the 1990s notably among teenagers.
Legal recreational and Medical Use today.
Some uses have been legalized such as recreational and medical uses. Recreational marijuana has been legalized in certain states, and it intentionally changes the state of a person’s consciousness to produce the feeling of exhilaration and happiness. Medical marijuana is cannabis that doctors recommend for their patients to treat illnesses and other symptoms. The drug is highly used to relieve pain in chronic conditions especially when inhaled. Marijuana is useful in treating chemotherapy-induced medical marijuana. Cannabis has also been associated with healing neurological disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (Welsh, 2014).
Negative Implications of Marijuana
Some people believe that marijuana is a harmful drug and should not be used legally. Cannabis is highly used by teenagers, and those who oppose it argue that it affects decision making for underage people such as leading them to illegal behaviors such as crime. The use, therefore, slows down young people from attaining their full potential. Excessive use of marijuana is argued to affect the education of teenagers by causing difficulties in learning and leading to memory loss. Excessive consumption of the drug also leads to addiction. People who have abuse marijuana are associated with practicing illegal activities that break the law (Guttmannova, 2016). The drug also causes health complications to a user who abuses the drug. Research that has been conducted has suggested that the use of marijuana leads to the usage of other drugs. Pot is the first drug that people tend to use which leads to the usage of other drugs. The drug has been proven to be a gateway drug which leads people to start other drugs. People who oppose the use of marijuana have claimed these and many other adverse effects hence stating that the drug is not a useful drug.
Positive Effects of Marijuana
The use of marijuana, however, has a lot of benefits, which have led to it being legalized in certain states. The drug has a lot of medical benefits; cannabis can slow and stop cancer cells from growing. THC which is the active compound in the drug slows down Alzheimer disease. Marijuana can also be used to treat glaucoma that is associated with increasing the pressure of the eyeball and injuring the optic nerve to cause a loss of vision (Welsh, 2014). Marijuana has been proved to lower the pressure inside the eye; it can, therefore, be associated with preventing blindness. Marijuana is also known to relieve arthritis; it reduces pain and discomfort causing someone to sleep. The drug can also control epileptic seizures, decreasing anxiety and a lot of other medical benefits.
Marijuana is also known to cause fewer deaths compared to other drugs; it causes less harm as compared to other legal drugs. In 2016 there were no deaths that were reported which were created by marijuana, other drugs, however, such as alcohol and tobacco are among the leading causes of death in the United States (Dills, 2017). Legalizing the drug will lead to a reduced crime rate since people found with the drug are charged and taken to prison, the prison population will also reduce, with the resources been transferred to another sector that can help people (Dills, 2017).
Marijuana should be removed from the controlled substance act. The military, however, does not accept the drug due to the zero-tolerance policy. Law enforcement officers need to be trained on how to recognize a person that is under the influence of the drug with citizens being educated about the general effects. The drug has a lot of positive effects that far outweigh the negative ones and should, therefore, be legalized in the whole country.
Annotated Bibliography
Dills, Angela K., Sietse Goffard, and Jeffrey Miron. The effects of marijuana liberalizations: Evidence from monitoring the future. No. w23779. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2017.
The research paper looks at the effects of liberalizing marijuana in the United States and its implications in the future.
Guttmannova, Katarina, et al. "Impacts of changing marijuana policies on alcohol use in the United States." Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 40.1 (2016): 33-46.
The paper analyses the impacts of marijuana policies that are rapidly changing on the use of alcohol in America.
Kilmer, Beau, and Robert J. MacCoun. "How medical marijuana smoothed the transition to marijuana legalization in the United States." Annual Review of Law and Social Science13.1 (2017).
Kilmer and other researchers in this paper have looked at the benefits of medical marijuana and how it led to the legalization of the drug.
Maier, Shana L., Suzanne Mannes, and Emily L. Koppenhofer. "The Implications of Marijuana Decriminalization and Legalization on Crime in the United States." Contemporary Drug Problems (2017): 0091450917708790.
The research attempts to find out the relationship that exists between decriminalizing marijuana and crime rates in the United States.
Welsh, Jennifer, and Kevin Loria. "23 Health Benefits of Marijuana." Business Insider 20 (2014).
Welsh and the other researchers highlight the positive effects of medical marijuana.
Works Cited
Dills, Angela K., Sietse Goffard, and Jeffrey Miron. (2017). The effects of marijuana liberalizations: Evidence from monitoring the future. . National Bureau of Economic Research.
Guttmannova, Katarina, Christine M. Lee, Jason R. Kilmer, Charles B. Fleming, Isaac C. Rhew, Rick Kosterman, and Mary E. Larimer. (2016). Impacts of changing marijuana policies on alcohol use in the United States. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 40, no. 1 , 33-46.
Kilmer, Beau, and Robert J. MacCoun. (2017). How medical marijuana smoothed the transition to marijuana legalization in the United States. Annual Review of Law and Social Science 13, no. 1.
Maier, Shana L., Suzanne Mannes, and Emily L. Koppenhofer. (2017). The Implications of Marijuana Decriminalization and Legalization on Crime in the United States. Contemporary Drug Problems.
Welsh, Jennifer, and Kevin Loria. (2014). 23 Health Benefits Of Marijuana. Business Insider 20.
