Essay, Research Paper: Marijuana Outline

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name = Neal Peterson
email = wingedft@minot.com
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'