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1. Marijuana 3
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marijuana |
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... Since I am confining this paper to discussing the laws prohibiting marijuana use, I will concede that it fits the first two categories above; i. ... There is no scientific proof that the prolonged use of marijuana exacts a greater physical toll on the user than the equivalent abuse of nicotine or alcohol. Under the name Extract of Cannabis, marijuana was once widely used medicinally in the United States, and still has minor medicinal uses in other countries. ... contains what is usually cited as the first reference to marijuana. ... The first definite mention of the marijuana plant in the New World, dates from 1545 A. ... ” George Washington was growing hemp at Mount Vernon three years later – presumably for its fiber, though it has been argued that Washington was also concerned in increasing the medicinal or intoxicating potency of his marijuana plants. The argument depends on a curious tradition, which may or may not be sound - that the quality or quantity of marijuana resin (hashish) is enhanced if the male and female are separated before the females are pollinated. ... Mount Vernon, New York: Consumers Union, 1972 The plant has many names: marijuana, hemp, ganja. ... Marijuana for Parkinsonian tremor. ... Acute pulmonary physiologic effects of smoked marijuana and oral delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in healthy young men. ... In The Therapeutic Potential of Marijuana Cohen and Stillman, Eds. ... In fact, it is physically impossible to overdose on even the most potent marijuana. Marijuana has never killed anyone, in the history of recorded medicine. ... In fact, on September 6, 1988 the administrative law judge for the Drug Enforcement Administration, Judge Francis Young, ruled that: "Marijuana is less harmful than many common foods we eat. ... Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of he safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care. ... Even with all the evidence that shows marijuana to be an effective, safe, and useful medicine, it cannot be prescribed by any doctor. The Drug Enforcement Administration refuses to allow medicinal use of marijuana. ... By contrast, cocaine is a much more dangerous drug than marijuana. ... Even with overwhelming evidence that marijuana is good medicine, the government refuses to reschedule marijuana so it can be prescribed. ... New ballot measures have been passed, such as Proposition 215 in California, which allow doctors and patients to make the decision whether or not to use marijuana as medicine, and protect them from state prosecution. However, the federal government has vowed to prosecute patients who grow or use marijuana for medicine under the new law To illustrate the seriousness the Federal Government attaches to this substance, here are some interesting statistics: Average Length of United States Federal Sentences Assault: 3. ... Commissioner Anslinger had no jurisdiction over marijuana, but his interest in it was intense. ... By 1937 forty-six of the forty-eight states as well as the District of Columbia had laws against marijuana. Under most of these state laws marijuana was subject to the same vigorous penalties applicable to morphine, heroin and cocaine and was often and erroneously designated as a narcotic. Many false and exaggerated stories about marijuana were used to achieve Anslinger’s goal e. ... blanket statements that marijuana “addicts” went crazy, or that several mass murders and numerous rapes were directly attributable to the effects of smoking marijuana cigarettes. Indeed only one physician was called to testify at the 1937 Congressional hearings of the proposed federal anti-marijuana law, he was a member of the American Medical Association and he opposed the bill Brecher, Edward M. ... The proposed federal anti-marijuana law was also considered by the American Medical Association at the June 1937 Convention of the American Medical Association in Atlantic City. ... When it comes to any rational discussion of marijuana, a purely objective study is impossible to have properly funded and the ones done by previous groups have had their results ignored or somewhat patronized. Witness the findings of the study done in 1972 under President Nixon which found that "there is little proven danger of physical or psychological harm from the experimental or intermittent use" of marijuana. On the question of law enforcement, the panel recommended a "decriminalization" of possession of marijuana for personal use on both the state and the federal levels. Specifically, it recommended that: "Federal and state laws be changed to no longer make it a crime to possess marijuana for private use.” "The distribution in private of small amounts of marijuana for no remuneration or for insignificant amounts should no longer be an offense.” “State laws should make the public use of marijuana a criminal offense punishable by a $100 fine.” Under federal law, marijuana smoked in public would merely be subject to seizure." Report of The National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse , 1972 [The "Nixon Marijuana Commission"] One rather puzzling fact is the number of dedicated advocates of legal (and in many cases, state-funded) abortions using the logic: “my body, my choice”, who go into near hysteria when the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana is mentioned. ... Another measure of the degree of our ignorance concerning this substance is exemplified by the fact that under our current drug laws marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance (along with heroin and LSD) while cocaine is placed in Schedule II in the confusing hodgepodge we refer to as our National Drug Policy. ... In the past 30 years, 10 million people have been arrested for marijuana offenses in the U. ... Indeed, in 1996, the most recent year for which figures are available, there were 641,600 marijuana arrests in this country, 85% of them for possession; more than in any previous year! ... ” Here are some of the more prevalent myths about marijuana and the truth about these myths from one of the best books recently published on the subject: The Myth: Marijuana is an Addictive Drug It is now frequently stated that marijuana is profoundly addicting and that any increase in prevalence of use will lead inevitably to increases in addiction. ... National epidemiological surveys show that the large majority of people who have had experience with marijuana do not become regular users. In 1993, among Americans age 12 and over, about 34% had used marijuana sometime in their life, but only 9% had used it in the past year, 4. ... A longitudinal study of young adults who had first been surveyed in high school also found a high "discontinuation rate" for marijuana. ... Of course, even people who continue using marijuana for several years or more are not necessarily "addicted" to it. Many regular users - including many daily users - consume marijuana in a way that does not interfere with other life activities, and may in some cases enhance them. There is only scant evidence that marijuana produces physical dependence and withdrawal in humans. ... However, they noted the syndromes relatively mild nature and remained skeptical of its occurrence when marijuana is consumed in usual doses and situations. ... The most avid publicizers of marijuanas addictive nature are treatment providers who, in recent years, have increasingly admitted insured marijuana users to their programs. |
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Title: marijuana
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