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Taylor Terry
2A English 111
Research Essay
12/15/2014

Marijuana in America
In the United States many illegal drugs are used, but marijuana is the
most used drug. Marijuana originated in China and eventually made its way
across the world due to its many uses. It was used in America in the 1600s
for many purposes, a major one, was being grown for profit in the early
colonies. By order of King James I, every colonist had to supply 100 crops to
the Virginia Company to ship back to England and trade (A Brief History). It
would later be grown by many early presidents with no restrictions until
1910. The Mexican Revolution of 1910 introduced marijuanas recreational
use. Interestingly, it was only referred to as marijuana, because anti
cannabis factions wanted to underscore the drugs Mexican-ness. It played
off of anti- immigrant sentiment (A Brief History). Marijuana was ruled illegal
by the government of the United States after being named a Schedule One
Substance. It later became medicinalized in the 1990s. In 1996 activists in
California, led by Dennis Peron, organized a ballot proposition to legalize
medical marijuana. Proposition 215 also called the Compassionate Use Act of

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1996, passed by 55.58 percent of the vote (Medical Marijuana). Shortly

after, the decision to make marijuana legal for medicinal purposes spread to
other states. Medicinalized or illegal it has been used for many years and
may be legal in the future.
Many users of medicinal marijuana will argue that it helps people with
many types of illnesses and diseases. Marijuana contains cannabinoids that
cause people to feel the effects. Cannabinoids are also effective in treating
nausea and vomiting, which are common symptoms of many kinds of
cancers and are side effects of chemotherapy (Medical Marijuana). A strong
argument for people who support the medicinal use of marijuana would say
that patients with sicknesses such as cancer, aids, and glaucoma can be
treated with marijuana. Pure Oregon is a medicinal marijuana dispensary in
Oregon, a seasoned employee from there had very positive information to
share about the benefits of medicinal use. The interview started off by asking
if the clients that would come in actually improved in health, and how fast
they felt better. She replied by saying They are getting better, we see
people come in really sick and frail, then after a short time they look and feel
better. She also said that some of her most common clients were people
who have seizures and cancer patients. When asked what the rules for the
dispensary were and if it was taxed by the government, she replied by saying
that is was taxed and that in order to sell marijuana to clients they must
have a prescription for it and they have to list all of their products they sell
on their website so that the government can see what they sell. The short

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interview ended by asking her if she felt that medical marijuana is a good or
bad thing. She stated that it plays a good role because of all the people it
helps; she then said that marijuana was safer than most pills people take
these days.
Others may strongly disagree with the use of marijuana for medicinal
purposes due to some obvious and oblivious reasons. Among arguments
against the legalization of marijuana is that it contains carcinogens and may
increase the risk of lung cancer and other respiratory tract cancers (Medical
Marijuana). Marijuana has a reputation to be more deeply inhaled by its users
than tobacco is, thus resulting in the lungs being exposed to the carcinogens
longer. Marijuana is said to weaken the immune system and cause extreme
damage to the bronchia mucosa. According to the National Institute on Drug
Abuse (NIDA), long-term use of marijuana can lead to addictionchronic
cannabis smokers have other respiratory problems found in tobacco
smokers, including daily cough, phlegm, and increased risk of lung
infections (Medical Marijuana). These symptoms could scare people and
account for the reason some stay away from marijuana even if they qualify
for a medicinal card.
In the next years to come the United States could possibly consider
making cannabis recreationalized or medicinalized nationally. If the
government was to pass a bill that made cannabis nationally medicinalized
or legal, then the benefit of taxing the product would be great. Analysts
suggest that taxing the drug could raise between five and twenty two million

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dollars annually (Pros and Cons). Earning more money will help decrease
the debt and cause positive outcomes. The safety of cannabis would increase
if recreationalized and the chances of getting laced marijuana would
decrease. When a person buys marijuana off the street, theres no way to
know exactly what dangerous substances are cut into the drug. While current
legalization efforts dont directly address safety issues, they do create a
framework for a safety control system (Pros and Cons). If recreationalized,
good outcomes would become reality only if properly supervised.
Many call marijuana a gateway drug and strongly oppose it because of
the gateway theory. Marijuana is described as, A gateway drug with the
potential to introduce a user to more serious illegal substances, like cocaine
or heroin (Pros and Cons). Another reason recreational marijuana has
negative reviews is the fact that marijuana can impair the proper function of
the brain. One study suggests the vessels in the brain of a marijuana user
restrict blood flow and continue to do so even after a month of abstinence
(Pros and Cons). This risk of impairing memory and restricting blood flow in
the brain proves too much for many people.
Opinion decides the fate of medicinal, recreational, or completely
illegal use of marijuana. Some believe that marijuana products are what
make it a miracle plant and strongly push for the use of medicinal or
recreational use. Yet others feel it should be banned totally due to the long
term effects it could cause. A study presented in 2006 found no evidence
that marijuana smokers had higher rates of lung cancer (Medical

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Marijuana). Many people agree with the use of marijuana because of this
study. If medicinalized or recreationalized the lives of many would be
changed and this outcome looks more possible than it has in the past. It may
become used in the future like it was in our past. Until then we can only
watch as the people of the United States decide the fate of medicinal or
recreational use of marijuana.

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WORKS CITED
Medical Marijuana. Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library.
Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Wed. 16 Dec. 2014

A Brief History of How Marijuana Became Illegal in the U.S. Mic, N.p., 14
Jan. 2014. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.

Pros and Cons of Legalizing Recreational Marijuana. Drug Rehab. N.p., 13

Dec. 2012. Web. 15 Dec. 2014

Cannabis, Coca, & Poppy: Natures Addictive Plants. Cannabis History. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014