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Legalization of Marijuana

Introduction

Thesis Statement

The primary objective of this paper is to give an insight on the debate for legalization of marijuana or its continued prohibition in the U.S. The focus would be on the federal and state laws enacted in context of marijuana. The paper would construct the arguments after defining what marijuana is; the deterrent effects of marijuana on mind and body as well as its feature as a medicinal remedy for different ailments would be laid out. Further, we would dwell on the theory of marijuana as a prime form of a 'gateway' drug. Our research would also use credible data to highlight its prevalent cultivation, supply and demand in the world. We would also inform the readers with statistics of arrests in U.S. due to possession and use of the narcotic.

What is Marijuana?

Marijuana is a mixture of dry, shredded mix of flowers, stems, seeds and leaves of the hemp plant Cannabis Sativa (National Institutes of Health). Its uses vary from recreational purposes to religious or spiritual rites or as a medicine (Rudgley, pp.86-). One of the major constituent of Marijuana includes Tetrahydrocannabinol, its shorthand indicated with (THC). There are more than sixty compounds in the plant, including different cannabinoids, like cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN) and tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) (www.livescience.com).

Cannabis is used extensively for producing, several drug types, these, produces, can be categorized into three main categories: Herbal Cannabis; Cannabis Resin and Cannabis Oil. Herbal Cannabis is essentially the leaves and flowers of the plant. Commonly referred to as; Marijuana, Ganja and a collection of other names and slang words. Cannabis Resin are pressurized secretions of the plant, commonly termed as 'hashish' in Western countries and 'chars' in the sub-continent. The third category, hashish oil, is self explanatory. Herbal variant is most commonly formed and distributed in North America and most of the western world whereas the secreted variation is common in some parts of Europe and south-east Asian countries, mainly India, Pakistan and Afghanistan (World Drug Report 2006, p 167).

Body

History of Cannabis

The earliest uses of Marijuana; dates as far back as the 3rd millennium B.C. The author of the book, “The Lost Civilizations of the Stone Age”, Richard Rudgley describes; widespread consumption of alcohol as one of the contributors of declining usage of psychoactive substances. Most notable of such substances, were the natural byproducts of Cannabis Sativa, along with Opium Poppy. Further, Rudgley, dates the earliest uses of the psychoactive drug, extracted from the Cannabis plants, to the Stone Ages. He indicates that the plant has its origins in Central Asia, but its widespread uses were found from corner to corner before even history began. Besides its aforementioned inducements, cannabis was believed to have high levels of strong fiber and moreover held spiritual and ritualistic significance for the communities of the time. Archeologists discover a ritual brazier which still contained the remains of charred hemp seeds, during excavations of burial sites in Romania and Siberia. Romanian excavations revealed the in habitat of ...