Preview

literature review- should marijuana be legalised?

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1448 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
literature review- should marijuana be legalised?
Literature review
The legalisation of marijuana has long been a debated subject, and not only in Australia But all around the world. People’s views in this area vary greatly, with many reasonable arguments for and against the issue. In this report, past studies and literature will be reviewed providing an understanding into the possible consequences of legalising marijuana as well as the views and debates regarded to the issue.
The organisation, Gallup has been examining America’s attitude towards the legalisation of marijuana since the late 1960’s. Their studies show that in the past Americans have been opposed to the issue, with just twelve percent supporting the drug’s legalisation in 1969. However, in 1977 this number increased to 25 percent, and in 2000 rose again to 31 percent (Carroll, 2005). According to a new study by Gallop, the amount of Americans in favour of marijuana’s legalisation today has now soared to a riveting fifty percent. Including people between the ages of eighteen and twenty nine most in favour of its legalisation, and people sixty five and older proved to be most opposed to it (daily mail reporter, 2011)
A predominant question in the debate relating to the legalization of marijuana is whether consumption would rise and by how much. Many people are concerned that if the drug became legal it would become more accessible, affordable, and acceptable in society, making an increase in consumption a big possibility. Rand, a drug policy research centre, conducted a study that supports this argument.
“Results from these studies suggest that regular use of marijuana will
Increase both in prevalence and in terms of average level of use with a fall in the monetary price of marijuana and a reduction in the enforcement risk of using marijuana. The precise increase in use, particularly in terms of average quantities consumed among users, remains unclear because of inadequate analyses of conditional demand. However, it is clear that the number



Bibliography: Cannabis is The Answer To Booze Problems. (2011, October 16). Retrieved 2012, from imarijuana.com: http://www.imarijuana.com/tag/medical-cannabis-dispensary Medical Marijuana Laws Reduce Traffic Deaths, Preliminary Research Suggests Carroll, J. (2005, November 1). Who Supports Marijuana Legalization? Retrieved 2012, from GALLUP: http://www.gallup.com/poll/19561/who-supports-marijuana-legalization.aspx Debate on legalising marijuana Gallagher, P. (2012, April 30). Are the benifits of medical marijuana being completely overlooked. Retrieved 2012, from Activist Post: http://www.activistpost.com/2012/04/are-benefits-of-medical-marijuana-being.html Kilmer, B T, B. (2006, September 20). Heavy Marijuana Use Affects Learning, Social Skills. Retrieved 2012, from about.com: http://alcoholism.about.com/od/pot/a/social.htm This house believes that cannabis should be legalised

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Immigration Outline Research

    • 2804 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Throughout this paper, there will be the highly debatable discussion between legalizing medical marijuana and regular marijuana. Both sides of the argument have their pros and cons and there is an in depth description of both sides of the argument. At the end of the day though, the paper thoroughly supports the legalization of medical marijuana and marijuana in general. Medical marijuana less harmful than most other legal tobacco products and has the ability to reduce the pain within ailing people. Cannabis also can be a curable and more natural drug to help people in pain. Marijuana also has the potential to raise the U.S. out of their tough economic struggle as well as lower crime rate and create more jobs for many more people. On the other hand researchers believe that medical marijuana is still bad for people’s health and the government does not know how to regulate the production and sell of marijuana. Both sides have valid arguments, but the pros outweigh the cons by a significant amount. This paper has opinions of lots of credible sources, doctors and researchers explaining their side of the story. But read on to create your own personal opinion.…

    • 2804 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Goldberg, C. (1996, October 30). Medical marijuana use winning backing. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/30/us/medical-marijuana-use-winning-backing.html…

    • 2054 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Grinspoon, L. (2010). Whither medical marijuana. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, 11(2), 75-82. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/910990414?accountid=458…

    • 330 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marijuana legalization, is an issue that can be dated back to the late ninetieth century (PBS). This issue continues to be a controversial topic in today’s world. State and federal laws still collide on the issue of marijuana legalization. On November 2, 2010, California voters voted on a ballot called the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis 2010. Prior to this date, Charles Stimson wrote an article, “Legalizing Marijuana: Why Citizens Just Say No,” in order to persuade California voters to not vote in favor of the ballot. He made various claims such as; marijuana is bad for one’s health, that it is linked to crime, and that the legalization of marijuana will not help the economy. He also poses the questions: who would distribute the drug and…

    • 1334 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marijuana should be legalized. That is the decision everyone in our group has come to. We believe the pros of marijuana use greatly outnumber the cons, and that the government needs to realize that. Defending either side of this argument is actually quite difficult. Any studies that you may find can be disproven by studies performed from the opposition and vice versa. Still, we have not found anything that has even came close to changing our opinions.…

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On January 2nd 2014, the Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) party’s president Michael Bladerstone called for a referendum on whether Australia should legalise the sale and consumption of marijuana, also known as cannabis. This came into action following Colorado’s decision to legalise the distribution and use of this particular drug. The HEMP party is pushing for the legalisation of marijuana for personal and medical use. I believe that marijuana should be made legal to the Australian public due to its extensive medical benefits, the fact that it is a lot safer than alcohol and for the economic benefits that it would bring to our Government.Marijuana has been used as a medicine for thousands of years in countries all over the world. Medical cannabis is used to increase the appetite in patients with HIV, AIDS and cancer, to reduce nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy, to reduce the symptoms of chronic pain, to help relieve spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis and Tourette’s and to stop seizures caused by Epilepsy.The Herald Sun undertook and investigation that found that up to 10 Victorian children, some as young as three, are taking daily doses of medical cannabis and in some cases it is being administered by teachers as desperate parents turn their backs on ineffective pharmaceutical drugs.On the 12th of January the Herald Sun also published an article about an eight year old girl called Tara O’Connell who suffered from Epilepsy and was having up to 60 seizures a day. This little girl could no longer walk or talk and was given only months to live. That was until her mother Cheri started giving her doses of liquid cannabis. One year on, she is now a bubbly eight-year old who no longer needs a wheelchair to get around. The only side effects that she experienced were an increase in appetite and fatigue. Imagine all the children whose lives could be saved and change for the better if medical marijuana was made legal and made accessible to everyone. Think of…

    • 962 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Shohov, T. (2003). Medical Use of Marijuana: Policy, Regulatory, and Legal Issues. New York: Nova Publishers.…

    • 1464 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    English 121

    • 1945 Words
    • 8 Pages

    I. The first article “Up in Smoke” Ward (2010) describes the legalization of marijuana and the positive attributes it would provide in regard to the government and individuals with health issues.…

    • 1945 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marijuana is the growing topic in Americans daily lives; shockingly people are blind to realize that this substance will probably be one of the deadliest drugs in the next decade. “History repeats itself” a wise man once said, and this isn’t the first time or the last time America will use the excuses to make illegal substances that kill. The generations of the 20th century where blind and medically illiterate to the dangers of cigarettes in fact they believed it was health approved. Only a few decades later people started to realize the demons of smoking and plagued America with 5 million deaths a year ever since.…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Caulkins, J. P., Hawken, A., Kilmer, B., & Kleiman, M. A. (2012). Marijuana Legalization What Everyone Needs to Know. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.…

    • 2324 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bibliography: Alan Bock, Waiting to Inhale: The Politics of Medical Marijuana. Santa Ana, CA: Seven Locks Press, 2000.…

    • 2426 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    If the federal or state government were to legalize marijuana, the number of marijuana users would increase. Research shows that today there are more than 15 million people who use marijuana, compared to the better than 100 million alcohol users and 70 million tobacco users. Though the number of marijuana users might not rise quickly to the current numbers for alcohol and tobacco, if marijuana was legalized, the increase in users would only grow large and rapid with much higher numbers in addiction. As Americans, we need to see that legalization will make the drug become less of a dirty little secret…

    • 515 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Medical Marijuana

    • 1773 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Marijuana is a very prominent and controversial issue in society today. Although many slanderous claims have been made about cannabis in recent history, the truths are slowly starting to resurface. Unfortunately, these truths are under heavy criticism due to the stereotypical view of what people view as the typical “pot smoker.” This skewed perception of a lazy and unmotivated American is the result of over seventy years of propaganda and misinformation spread by private interests who relied on illegal cannabis illegal from their own personal gains. As a marijuana consumer and a current medical marijuana patient, I strongly believe that marijuana should be legalized for all users. Currently in the United States today, marijuana is prohibited by federal law and has been a topic of controversial debate since the start of the prohibition. There are several, important reasons for the legalization of marijuana, including research concerning these issues are beneficial in understanding both sides of the debate. The result of abolishing our country’s marijuana prohibition by supporting legalization will stimulate the economy, to show the medical properties, and lower the crime rate.…

    • 1773 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Legalization of Marijuana

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Marijuana has a history dating back many years, and has been used in various cultures in different ways. In recent years, marijuana has become a forefront topic in the world of American politics whether or not it should be legalized. Marijuana has been adapted to fit our lifestyles and our social environment. A vast amount of the world’s population smoke marijuana for various purposes. Thus, the drug should be legalized because it has many medical beneficial uses, the ability to generate billions of dollars in tax revenue, and would lower the cost to imprison individuals arrested for crimes related to marijuana.…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is a plant that can be ingested or smoked. This plant, or rather botanical, is illegal in most of the country with the exception of some states giving physicians authority to recommend the use to their patients. The purpose of this essay is to examine both the benefits and the risks of legalizing marijuana. Marijuana has many medicinal properties that have been proven to be therapeutically effective for various conditions. However, this drug also has carcinogenic properties and dangerous short- and long-term effects on the body. Although advocates may argue that the legalization of marijuana has many potential benefits, such as it would lessen our national debt and benefit our overall economic system, opponents may beg to differ. In this essay, the debate over the legalization of marijuana continues, with arguments over the therapeutic benefits versus the dangerous adverse effects of marijuana, the influence marijuana has on individuals, and whether or not the legalization of this drug could benefit our economy.…

    • 5889 Words
    • 24 Pages
    Better Essays