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Legalization of marijuana can bring great benefits to the society, including numerous medical uses, economic profits for the private sector as well as for government, and lowering of violent crime. ... I intend to prove that marijuana does not belong in Drug Enforcement Agency’s schedule 1. ... James Goddard, former director of the Food and Drug Administration, dispels many of the myths that confuse the marijuana debate. “Man has used marijuana both socially and medicinally for several thousands of years and yet today [1969] there is little scientific knowledge of its dangers or merits. ... [According to recent statistics provided by the federal government, nearly 80 million Americans admit having smoked marijuana]. ... One thing we know about marijuana is that it is definitely not a narcotic even though our federal laws (and most of our state laws) restricting its usage erroneously define it as such. … Marijuana, unlike narcotics, does not produce tolerance, requiring higher dosages to produce the same effect. ... … Though marijuana has been the drug first used by 90% to 95% of heroin users in the U. ... … Our laws governing marijuana are a mixture of bad science and poor understanding of the role of law as a deterrent force. ... Young, ruled, “Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known. ... [T]he provisions of the [Controlled Substances] Act permit and require the transfer of marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2. ... But top DEA bureaucrats rejected Judge Youngs ruling and refused to reschedule marijuana (MPP).
Compared to most other drugs, dependence among marijuana users is relatively rare. ... Institute of Medicine (IOM): tobacco 32%, heroin 23%, cocaine 17%, alcohol 15%, and marijuana (including hashish) 9%. Out of this list, marijuana is the only substance that doesn’t cause physical addiction, only psychological. Although few marijuana users develop dependence, some do. But they appear to be less likely to do so than users of other drugs (including alcohol and nicotine), and marijuana dependence appears to be less severe than dependence on other drugs (MPP).
Many people think smoking marijuana is just as harmful as smoking tobacco, but this is not true. Those who hold that marijuana is equivalent to tobacco are misinformed due to the efforts of various federal agencies to discourage use of marijuana in the 1970’s when government, in a fit of “reefer madness,” conducted several biased studies designed to return results that would equate marijuana smoking with tobacco smoking, or worse. ... Marijuana is already the third most popular recreational drug in America, after alcohol and nicotine, despite harsh laws against its use. ...
In addition, marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco, which are both legal. ... By comparison, marijuana is nontoxic and cannot cause death by overdose. ...
Many successful business and professional leaders, including many state and elected federal officials, admit they have smoked marijuana. We must reflect this reality in our state and federal laws, and put to rest the myth that marijuana smoking is a fringe or deviant activity engaged in only by those on the margins of American society. Marijuana smokers are no different from their non-smoking peers, except for their marijuana use.
Approximate Word count = 2595
Approximate Pages = 10.4
(250 words per page double spaced)
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