Marijuana Outline Essay, Research Paper

name = Neal Peterson

email = [email protected]

publish = yes

subject =

Composition

title = Marijuana

papers = Marijuana Outline

What are all

the different ups and downs of marijuana, what can it be used for, and what

is

it?s role in today?s society?

Introduction

I. Marijuana

A. Getting

high

1. Effects

2. How

B. Hemp

1. What is it for

a. Cothes/paper

b.

Seasoning/cooking

II. Use

A. History

B. Who uses

1. Average user

2.

Celebrities

III. Medical use

A. Pain reliever

B. Legalization – yes or

no

1. Lincoln quote

2. Current laws

IV. Bad Sides

A. Death

1. Chart

B.

Crime and harder drugs

1. Statistics

C. Addictiveness

Conclusion

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Marijuana

Marijuana.

It may be one of the most discussed controversies of the decade. There

have

been many different contradictions between the two sides, pro-marijuana and

anti-marijuana.

Also, many statements have a derogatory basis towards marijuana use.

But

on the other hand, marijuana has many positive aspects. In this report, all

the different

areas and stipulations will be examined. I feel that the best

place to begin with is the

basics. So as basic as it can get: What is marijuana?

Marijuana

is an Indian hemp plant. It?s botanical name is ?Cannabis Sativa?. A

chemical

compound unique to this plant is THC, which is psychoactive. Psychoactive

means

it is something that alters mood, perception, thought process, and consciousness.

When using marijuana, you get an effect of being ?high?. When a person

is ?high?

or ?stoned?, they get, in the first phase, a good, stimulating feeling,

enhancement of the

body?s senses. Some say it helps them to appreciate things

better, like art, music, food,

and sex. There is also a raise in heartbeat

and in happiness. The second phase is said to

be a more sleepy relaxed feeling.

Marijuana may also cause unpleasant feelings including irritability, anxiety,

and

other effects. It can also effect such senses as attention, mood, perception,

memory,

thinking, and reasoning. Though you only get these effects while

being high. These are

the short term effects, not the long term effects.

After getting ?high?, the body converts the THC into different chemical

compounds.

And you have a feeling of being tired and hungry.

Contrary to popular belief,

smoking tobacco is less healthy than smoking

marijuana. There is no proof

of serious health or sexual problems, but it can stunt growth

in adolescents.

Peterson 2

Marijuana is smoked or eaten to produce the feeling of

being ?high?. Marijuana is

smoked by the ritual joint rolling with cigarette

paper, through a pipe, or it can be smoked

through a bong. A bong is a device

used to inhale marijuana. Bongs come in many

different shapes, styles, and

sizes.

Hemp is little white seeds which come from the marijuana plant. It

can be used for

making many different products including paper, cloth, rope,

etc. Hemp seeds can be used

for cooking and seasoning too. It is used in

making oils and in baking. ?With it?s

purported cholesterol-lowering properties

and it?s new age hippie connotations, hemp

could very well be the oat bran

of the nineties.? – (Robin Raisfeld, source 5, pg. 83) Hemp

is also an appetite

stimulant. Hemp seeds can make cheese cheesier, and cookies chewier.

Hemp

is a good additive for a vegetarian lifestyle.

Marijuana use has been one

of the major topics of many drug and non-drug groups.

The history of marijuana

use dates back to 3000 B.C. when the Chinese used it as an

esthetic. It was

also used by other countries for muscle spasms, pain reducers, and to treat

indigestion.

?As early as the year 1211, marijuana was cultivated for it?s fiber in

Jamestown,

Virginia.? – (Jack Medelson, source 3, pg. 87-88) It was also used for

medical

practices. Then in 1941, it was illegalized by the government, though it is

still

used as medicine in the middle east and Asia. Even George Washington

grew marijuana.

In all this time from past to present, marijuana has been

used for recreation. Marijuana

use, while still being illegal, was spreading.

It spread right to the united states

counter-culture. Then by 1972, research

finally started after years of anti-marijuana

propaganda. According to the

Family council on Drug Awareness, the scary statistics that

came out of those

studies were tactics for the government used to scare people away from

marijuana.

They were conducted by Dr. Gabriel Nahas. He would literally suffocate

innocent

monkeys in an unrealistic marijuana smoking environment.

Peterson 3

There

is no average marijuana user. There are many different kinds of people who

use.

All people who use are different, big and tall, white and black, male and

female, etc.

Included in all the different users is professionals. From

big name athletes to movie stars

and musicians. This is allot of the times

where the media comes into play heavily.

Lately people have been often times

discussing the use of marijuana for medical

use. This talk has mainly come

about due to the legalization of marijuana for medical use

in the state of

California.

As stated earlier, marijuana can be used as a pain reliever for

hundreds of different

symptoms. It is now greatly being used in California

by prescription holders with

glaucoma and cancer.

Marijuana, should it,

or shouldn?t it be legalized? This has been the question of

many people this

decade. Legalization has many different ups and downs. I have found a

quote

about legalization that comes from a very trustworthy leader; Abraham Lincoln.

?Prohibition…goes

beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a mans

appetite

to by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A

prohibition

law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was

founded.?

- (Abraham Lincoln).

?Federal Law prohibits the pocession and sale of marijuana.?

- (Jack Mendelson,

source 3, pg. 81) Though a law can be passed in your state

for legalization, with some

exceptions. Throughout time the marijuana laws

have gotten stricter and stricter.

Although there are many loop holes to

marijuana laws. And sometimes local laws can put

an alteration on federal

laws.

Now that we have gone over many aspects of marijuana, I think it?s

only fair to go

over some of the facts associated with the so called ?bad

sides? of marijuana use. One of

the most misplayed facts about marijuana

is death. There has never ever been one case of

death due to the use of marijuana.

Though, according to the Federal agency NIDA,

Peterson 4

autopsies reveal

that seventy-five people per year are ?high? when they cease to

live. But

of course, this does not mean that marijuana was the cause of their death.

Here

is a chart which compares the number of death attributable to selected

substances

in a typical year.

Tobacco……………………………………………………………………..340,000-395,000

Alcohol

(excluding crime/accidents)…………………………………………….125,000+

Drug

OD (prescription)……………………………………………………..24,000-27,000

Drug

OD (illegal)………………………………………………………………….3,800-5,200

Marijuana…………………………………………………………………………………………..0

But

what about crime, and marijuana leading to harder drugs? Well you see, the

director

of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics – Harry Anslinger, said that ?…it [marijuana]

leads

to non-violence and pacifism.? – (Harry Anslinger, source 7, pg. 3) Many people

who

use harder drugs started out using such legal drugs as caffeine, nicotine,

and alcohol.

Therefore the ?stepping stone? theory is now discredited.

Another

issue being escalated in the marijuana controversy is addictivenes. Is

marijuana

addictive? No. According to the Family Council on Drug Awareness, it was

stated

that most users are moderate consumers who smoke it socially to relax. Ten

percent

of our population have ?addictive personalities? and they are neither

more nor less likely to

over indulge in cannabis than in anything else. Marijuana

is less addictive than sugar or

chocolate, but more habit forming than anchovies

(this is comparing it on a relative scale).

The facts held up in this report

may have altered your original perspective of

marijuana. All areas outlined

in this report were of generally updated sources. To this

day, and probably

right now, testing involving marijuana are being conducted. Maybe in

the

future all the truths of marijuana can be brought forth to stop the controversy

despite

Peterson 5

what side the facts take. More information on this

subject can be obtained from the

Family council on Drug Awareness. P.O. Box

71093, Los Angeles, CA 90071-0093.

Neal Peterson

Taylor – hr. 5

4-11-97

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Works Cited

Mendelson,

Jack, M.D. and Mello, Nancy, Ph.D. Barbiturates. New York: Chelsea House

Publishers,

1992.

Kronenwetter, Michael. Drugs in America. Englewood Cliffs: Silver Burdett

Press Inc.,

1990.

Mendelson, Jack M.D. and Mello, Nancy, Ph.D. Marijuana.

New York: Chelsea House

Publishers, 1985.

Stepanian, Michael. Pot Shots.

New York: Delcorte, 1972.

Raisfeld, Robin. ?Celestial Seasonings,? New York,

29:83, Jan. 6, 1997.

Barinaga, Marcia. ?Pot, Heroin Unlock New Areas for

Neuroscience,? Science,

258:1882-1884, Dec. 18, 1992.

Marijuana. ?Marijuana,?

http://www.xs4all.nl/%7Emvis/marindex.html. March 27, 1996.

from the

?Family Council on Drug Awareness?

32a