Legalizing MarijuanaBy Anna Jensen

Topic SelectionWhy Marijuana?

People effected negatively by marijuana laws in school and community

Close to home issue- affects entire nationClear up misconceptions about cannabisEncourage a change to benefit the country

Federal marijuana laws must be changed in order to

further benefit those with disabilities and the entire

nation.

World history of cannabisAsia

Chinese herbalists- Stomach Pain, malaria, menstrual cramps

Indian god Shiva was said to have given the plant for a joyful past time

Marijuana migrated from East to the Middle East

Europe

Arab traders brought the plant to North Africa and Spain

Napoleon introduces marijuana to Europe after conquest in Egypt- 1804

Traveled to London for recreation and medicine- insomnia, pain, tuberculosis, and lowering fevers

American HistoryLegal Marijuana

Traveled from Europe to New York in early 19th century

Prohibition caused an increase in popularity (Cheap and legal)

Marijuana was linked to violence and crime caused by illegal bootlegging- scape goat

15 states voted to ban non-medical distribution in 1924

Drug also banned in south due to prejudice during the depression

Illegal Marijuana

Harry J. Anslinger takes office at the Federal Bureau of Narcotics

Since immigration issues were involved, marijuana became a political issue

Outlawing a weed had never been doneThe constitution stood in the way of making a

federal law against cannabis until a loophole was found (National Fire Arms Act)

1950s- Marijuana was illegal, meth amphetamine was the most prescribed drug in American history

Continued..

Mayer LaGuardia commissioned a four years study involving medical professionals to study marijuana

Timothy Leary questioned the marijuana stamp act and the law was overturned

Marijuana was officially banned with the Controlled Substance Act of 1970

Medicinal marijuana was not recognized until the 1990s

The Current SituationMedicinal marijuana is recognize by 14 states

which allow itThe laws are very inconsistent and vague,

creating gapsAccording to federal law, marijuana is illegal

under any circumstances- patients are not protected

Since marijuana was outlawed, there have been more than 20 million marijuana arrests

Solution= LegalizationMarijuana should be legalized but

restricted asalcohol is

3 approaches to issues regarding marijuana: banning, decriminalizing, legalizing

Decriminalized (no criminal penalties for possessing, using, or transferring marijuana without profit) in Canada and EnglandNo negative affect on crime rateThe country has no ability to tax marijuana for profit

The Netherlands and Spain have taken the approach of legalizing marijuana:

“Legalization of the drug in Spain saw a sharp decrease in the number of frequent users, ostensibly because doing so ceased to be seen as a dangerous, rebellious activity. In Holland, where marijuana has been legal for decades, about 5% of the population smokes on a regular basis.”

Also had no increase in crimeThe countries’ governments are able to make

profit off legal marijuana through taxes

Positives of legalizationCombating criminals- less demand for illegal

drug dealers and violent Mexican drug cartelsMany legal drugs are equally or more harmful

than marijuanaPrescription drugs:

Deaths from 1976-1977: 0880 deaths from Valium390 deaths from AspirinThe difference between a dose of morphine

which causes pain relief and death is minusculeMarijuana is virtually impossible to overdose on

AlcoholMarijuana is far less addictive than alcohol

(scale 1-6: marijuana=1 and alcohol=3)Deaths from alcohol are far higher: 331 deaths

from alcohol in 2001, 0 from marijuanaAlcohol is one of the most toxic drugs,

marijuana is one of the least-Alcohol: using 10 times what one would drink

to become intoxicated leads to deathMarijuana: one must use 1000 times the

intoxicating amount to over dose

Alcohol contributes to the likelihood of sexual assault and domestic violence, marijuana does not About 3 million violent crimes occur each year in

which victims perceive the offender to have been drinking at the time of the offense

Among spousal victims, 3 out of 4 incidents were reported to have involved an offender who had been drinking

Alcohol is involved in nearly 50% of all domestic violence cases in Denver, and the use of alcohol by the perpetrator is a predominant factor in fatal cases of domestic violence

Marijuana is not mentioned as a correlating or causal factor in cases of domestic violence in Denver

TobaccoLike marijuana, tobacco is harmful to the lungs

and can cause cancer, but is still legalNicotine is far more addictive than marijuana

(scale 1-6: Marijuana=1, Nicotine=6, Heroine=5)

There has never been a documented case of lung cancer in a marijuana only smoker

Benefits to the economyMarijuana is America’s largest cash crop- $2

billion revenueEliminating many marijuana arrests would put

less tax money into housing prisonersBillions of dollars are spent each year in order

to keep marijuana illegalCase study: Mendocino County, Northern

California 2/3 economy marijuana related Economy would fail if cannabis was eliminated- 60%

population involved in industry Law enforcement spent more than $10 million

battling marijuana trade in this county alone

Marijuana in the medical fieldMarijauna could be more accessible for

medical marijuana patients suffering from debilitating illnesses

Doctors could recommend marijuana to patients without being concerned about careers

Natural alternative to many harmful prescription drugs

Other disabilities not addressed by current medical marijuana laws could benefit (anxiety)

Medical research on marijuana could be easily performed, possibly exposing more medicinal uses

ConclusionMarijuana has been an affective medicine for

thousands of yearsCannabis was outlawed through

demonization and propaganda- scape goat for minority crime

Outlawed as a schedule I substance (high potential for abuse, unsafe, no medical application) all of these claims have been proven false

Since this time there have been more than 20 million marijuana arrests- punishment must be put to an end

Now is the time for marijuana to be legalized in order to benefit the country as a whole

“A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very

principles upon which our government was

founded.”

Abraham Lincoln

For more information, please visit www.saferchoice.org