MARIJUANA LEGALIZATIONBY TRUNG DOAN

INTRODUCTION

• MARIJUANA OR MARIHUANA, A DRUG OBTAINED FROM THE FLOWERING TOPS, STEMS, AND LEAVES OF A HEMP PLANT, CANNABIS SATIVA OR C. INDICA.

• IT IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMONLY USED DRUGS IN THE WORLD, FOLLOWING ONLY CAFFEINE, NICOTINE, AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES IN POPULARITY. IN THE UNITED STATES, WHERE IT IS USUALLY SMOKED, IT ALSO HAS BEEN CALLED WEED, GRASS, POT, OR REEFER.

• MARIJUANA GROWS AS A COMMON WEED IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD, AND DRUG PREPARATIONS VARY WIDELY IN POTENCY ACCORDING TO CLIMATE, CULTIVATION, AND METHOD OF PREPARATION. MEXICO, PARAGUAY, AND THE UNITED STATES ARE THE TOP MARIJUANA-PRODUCING NATIONS WORLDWIDE.

POPULARITY

1. MARIJUANA USE IN AMERICA IS HIGH AND GETTING HIGHER. A 2009 SURVEY SHOWED THAT 10.8 PERCENT OF AMERICANS ADMIT TO AT LEAST AN OCCASIONAL TOKE - UP FROM 10.2 PERCENT JUST A YEAR EARLIER.

2. FORGET COLORADO OR WASHINGTON, TINY RHODE ISLAND IS THE MARIJUANA CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES, AT LEAST AS MEASURED BY THE PERCENT OF STATE RESIDENTS WHO REGULARLY USE MARIJUANA.

3. 18- TO 25-YEAR-OLDS USE MARIJUANA THE MOST.

4. USAGE RATES DROP OFF CONSIDERABLY FOR PEOPLE AGE 26 AND OLDER: ONLY 5 PERCENT OF AMERICANS IN THAT AGE GROUP SMOKE MARIJUANA REGULARLY.

HISTORYMARIJUANA HAS BEEN USED AS AN AGENT FOR ACHIEVING EUPHORIA SINCE ANCIENT TIMES; IT WAS DESCRIBED IN A CHINESE MEDICAL REFERENCE TRADITIONALLY CONSIDERED TO DATE FROM 2737 B.C. ITS USE SPREAD FROM CHINA TO INDIA AND THEN TO NORTH AFRICA AND REACHED EUROPE AT LEAST AS EARLY AS A.D. 500. IN 1545 THE SPANISH BROUGHT MARIJUANA TO THE NEW WORLD. THE ENGLISH INTRODUCED IT IN JAMESTOWN IN 1611 WHERE IT BECAME A MAJOR COMMERCIAL CROP ALONGSIDE TOBACCO AND WAS GROWN AS A SOURCE OF FIBER. BY 1890, HEMP HAD BEEN REPLACED BY COTTON AS A MAJOR CASH CROP IN SOUTHERN STATES. SOME PATENT MEDICINES DURING THIS ERA CONTAINED MARIJUANA, BUT IT WAS A SMALL PERCENTAGE COMPARED TO THE NUMBER CONTAINING OPIUM OR COCAINE. MARIJUANA WAS LISTED IN THE UNITED STATES PHARMACOPEIA FROM 1850 UNTIL 1942 AND WAS PRESCRIBED FOR VARIOUS CONDITIONS INCLUDING LABOR PAINS, NAUSEA, AND RHEUMATISM.

PROS AND CONS IN PERSPECTIVE

PROS

• "THE EVIDENCE IS OVERWHELMING THAT MARIJUANA CAN RELIEVE CERTAIN TYPES OF PAIN, NAUSEA, VOMITING AND OTHER SYMPTOMS CAUSED BY SUCH ILLNESSES AS MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, CANCER AND AIDS -- OR BY THE HARSH DRUGS SOMETIMES USED TO TREAT THEM. AND IT CAN DO SO WITH REMARKABLE SAFETY. INDEED, MARIJUANA IS LESS TOXIC THAN MANY OF THE DRUGS THAT PHYSICIANS PRESCRIBE EVERY DAY."

-JOCELYN ELDERS - FORMER US SURGEON GENERAL

CONS

• "ALTHOUGH I UNDERSTAND MANY BELIEVE MARIJUANA IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE DRUG IN COMBATING THEIR MEDICAL AILMENTS, I WOULD CAUTION AGAINST THIS ASSUMPTION DUE TO THE LACK OF CONSISTENT, REPEATABLE SCIENTIFIC DATA AVAILABLE TO PROVE MARIJUANA'S MEDICAL BENEFITS. BASED ON CURRENT EVIDENCE, I BELIEVE THAT MARIJUANA IS A DANGEROUS DRUG AND THAT THERE ARE LESS DANGEROUS MEDICINES OFFERING THE SAME RELIEF FROM PAIN AND OTHER MEDICAL SYMPTOMS."

-BILL FRIST - FORMER US SENATOR

HOW MARIJUANA WORKS• ALTHOUGH BANNED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IN 1937, MARIJUANA HAS BEEN

THE SUBJECT OF MUCH LEGAL WRANGLING SINCE THE 1980S, GRADUALLY OPENING THE WAY FOR MEDICINAL USE IN 20 STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AS OF JANUARY 2014. COLORADO AND WASHINGTON ALSO HAVE APPROVED RECREATIONAL USE. MEANWHILE, MORE THAN A DOZEN STATES HAVE DECRIMINALIZED HOLDING OF SMALL QUANTITIES OF WEED

• THE CANNABIS PLANT CONTAINS MORE THAN 500 CHEMICALS, INCLUDING DELTA-9-TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL (THC), THE MAIN PSYCHOACTIVE CHEMICAL

• CANNABIS IMPAIRS MEMORY DURING AND BETWEEN USES, ALTHOUGH THE RESTORATIVE EFFECTS OF LONG-TERM ABSTINENCE REMAIN UNCLEAR.

• DURING USE, IT ADVERSELY AFFECTS MOTOR COORDINATION, ATTENTION AND JUDGMENT, INCREASES HEART RATE AND RAISES LEVELS OF ANXIETY.

• STUDIES ALSO SHOW THAT MARIJUANA SMOKE CONTAINS IRRITANTS AND CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICALS TYPICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH CIGARETTES.

EFFECTS OF MARIJUANA

THE EFFECTS OF MARIJUANA VARY WITH ITS STRENGTH AND DOSAGE AND WITH THE STATE OF MIND OF THE USER. TYPICALLY, SMALL DOSES RESULT IN A FEELING OF WELL-BEING. THE INTOXICATION LASTS TWO TO THREE HOURS, BUT ACCOMPANYING EFFECTS ON MOTOR CONTROL LAST MUCH LONGER. HIGH DOSES CAN CAUSE TACHYCARDIA, PARANOIA, AND DELUSIONS. ALTHOUGH IT PRODUCES SOME OF THE SAME EFFECTS AS HALLUCINOGENS LIKE LSD AND MESCALINE (HEIGHTENED SENSITIVITY TO COLORS, SHAPES, MUSIC, AND OTHER STIMULI AND DISTORTION OF THE SENSE OF TIME), MARIJUANA DIFFERS CHEMICALLY AND PHARMACOLOGICALLY. MARIJUANA LOWERS TESTOSTERONE LEVELS AND SPERM COUNTS IN MEN AND RAISES TESTOSTERONE LEVELS IN WOMEN. IN PREGNANT WOMEN IT AFFECTS THE FETUS AND RESULTS IN DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFICULTIES IN THE CHILD. THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT MARIJUANA AFFECTS NORMAL MATURATION OF PREADOLESCENT AND ADOLESCENT USERS AND THAT IT AFFECTS SHORT-TERM MEMORY AND COMPREHENSION. HEAVY SMOKERS OFTEN SUSTAIN LUNG DAMAGE FROM THE SMOKE AND CONTAMINANTS. REGULAR USE CAN RESULT IN DEPENDENCE.

MEDICAL USESCONTROVERSY SURROUNDS THE MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA, WITH PROPONENTS SAYING IT IS USEFUL FOR TREATING PAIN AND THE NAUSEA AND VOMITING THAT ARE SIDE EFFECTS OF CANCER CHEMOTHERAPY AND FOR RESTORING THE APPETITE IN PEOPLE WITH AIDS. ITS ACTIVE INGREDIENT, THC, WAS SYNTHESIZED IN 1966 AND APPROVED BY THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION IN 1985; SYNTHETIC THC IS AVAILABLE BY PRESCRIPTION IN PILL FORM AS DRONABINOL (MARINOL) AND NABILONE (CESAMET). PROPONENTS OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA SAY IT IS NOT AS EFFECTIVE AS THE HERB AND IS MORE EXPENSIVE. IN ADDITION TO THC, ANOTHER CANNIBIS DERIVATIVE (OR CANNABINOID), CANNABIDIOL (CDB), IS AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTIOXIDANT AND ALSO MODERATES THC'S PSYCHOACTIVE EFFECTS. A 1999 U.S.-GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED STUDY BY THE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE FOUND THAT MARIJUANA APPEARED BENEFICIAL FOR CERTAIN MEDICAL CONDITIONS, SUCH AS NAUSEA CAUSED BY CHEMOTHERAPY AND WASTING CAUSED BY AIDS. BECAUSE OF THE TOXICITY OF MARIJUANA SMOKE, HOWEVER, IT WAS HOPED THAT FURTHER RESEARCH MIGHT LEAD TO DEVELOPMENT OF NEW DELIVERY SYSTEMS, SUCH AS BRONCHIAL INHALERS.

THE LEGALIZATION QUESTION

• WITH THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF MIDDLE-CLASS USERS IN THE 1960S AND 1970S, THERE CAME A SOMEWHAT GREATER ACCEPTANCE OF THE VIEW THAT MARIJUANA SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED IN THE SAME CLASS AS NARCOTICS AND THAT U.S. MARIJUANA LAWS SHOULD BE RELAXED.

• LEGALIZING AND REGULATING MARIJUANA WILL BRING THE NATION'S LARGEST CASH CROP UNDER THE RULE OF LAW, CREATING JOBS AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FORMAL ECONOMY INSTEAD OF THE ILLICIT MARKET.

• SCARCE LAW ENFORCEMENT RESOURCES THAT COULD BE BETTER USED TO PROTECT PUBLIC SAFETY WOULD BE PRESERVED WHILE REDUCING CORRECTIONS AND COURT COSTS.

• STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WOULD ACQUIRE SIGNIFICANT NEW SOURCES OF TAX REVENUE FROM REGULATING MARIJUANA SALES.

MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT (MPP)

Barack Obama (President)• "When I was a kid, I inhaled

frequently. That was the point."

Jon Stewart (Daily Show)• “Do you know how many

movies I wrote when I was high?”

Bill Clinton (President)• "I experimented with marijuana

a time or two."

• MPP, WHICH WAS FOUNDED IN JANUARY 1995, IS THE LARGEST ORGANIZATION IN THE U.S. THAT'S FOCUSED SOLELY ON ENDING MARIJUANA PROHIBITION.

• MPP'S MISSION IS TO CHANGE FEDERAL LAW TO ALLOW STATES TO DETERMINE THEIR OWN MARIJUANA POLICIES WITHOUT FEDERAL INTERFERENCE, AS WELL AS TO REGULATE MARIJUANA LIKE ALCOHOL IN ALL 50 STATES, D.C., AND THE FIVE TERRITORIES.

• MPP HAS BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR CHANGING MOST OF THE STATE MARIJUANA LAWS THAT HAVE BEEN REFORMED SINCE 2000, INCLUDING THE LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA IN COLORADO IN NOVEMBER 2012.

2013 MOST INFLUENTIAL MARIJUANA USERS

SUMMARY

• IT IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMONLY USED DRUGS IN THE WORLD, FOLLOWING ONLY CAFFEINE, NICOTINE, AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES IN POPULARITY. IN THE UNITED STATES, WHERE IT IS USUALLY SMOKED, IT ALSO HAS BEEN CALLED WEED, GRASS, POT, OR REEFER.

• TWENTY-THREE STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HAVE ENACTED EFFECTIVE MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAWS. THESE LAWS ARE WORKING WELL AND PROTECTING PATIENTS.

• A CLEAR MAJORITY OF THE PUBLIC AND MANY PROMINENT RELIGIOUS AND MEDICAL ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORT SERIOUSLY ILL PATIENTS' RIGHT TO USE MEDICAL MARIJUANA WITHOUT RISKING ARREST AND IMPRISONMENT.

• STUDIES SHOW THAT MANY PATIENTS SUFFERING WITH HIV/AIDS, GLAUCOMA, CANCER AND CHEMOTHERAPY, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, EPILEPSY, AND OTHER DEBILITATING ILLNESSES FIND THAT MARIJUANA PROVIDES RELIEF FROM THEIR SYMPTOMS.

REFERENCES

• HTTP://WWW.INFOPLEASE.COM/ENCYCLOPEDIA/SCIENCE/MARIJUANA.HTML

• HTTP://SCIENCE.HOWSTUFFWORKS.COM/MARIJUANA.HTM

• HTTP://MEDICALMARIJUANA.PROCON.ORG/VIEW.RESOURCE.PHP?RESOURCEID=000141

• HTTP://WWW.NARCONON.ORG/DRUG-INFORMATION/MARIJUANA-HISTORY.HTML

• HTTP://WWW.WASHINGTONPOST.COM/BLOGS/WONKBLOG/WP/2014/08/05/WHERE-AMERICANS-SMOKE-MARIJUANA-THE-MOST/

• HTTP://WWW.MPP.ORG/OUTREACH/TOP-50-MARIJUANA-USERS-LIST.HTML

• HTTP://WWW.DRUGPOLICY.ORG/MARIJUANA-LEGALIZATION-AND-REGULATION