Marijuana Tax Act example essay topic

In this attempt to define Marijuana this paper will discuss it in all aspects possible, including street / slang terms, how it is used, what it is used for, and how it affects the body. Mainly due to its variety of uses, Cannabis has been taken across the Globe. We cannot know for certain which use of the plant came first, but remains of hemp fibers have been found in the earliest archeological sites in Asia. "There is evidence of fiber in China dating from 4000 B.C., and hemp rope and thread from Turkestan dating from 3000 B.C. Stone beaters for pounding hemp fiber and hemp cord have also been found in ancient sites in Taiwan. Hemp fabrics have been found in Turkey dating to 800 B.C. and there is some evidence of use in Ancient Egypt between three and four thousand years ago (marijuana. nl)". Over the many years that marijuana has been in the United States it has been given a large number of street or slang terms.

Some of these slang terms include: Pot, weed, trees, smoke, greens, grass, ganja, cannabis, and even some new aged terms such as trizzles. Many of these names started to be used very frequently when marijuana became illegal in the United States. The finalization of making marijuana illegal was in 1937 when the Marijuana tax act was passed that prohibited the use of the plant in any way, shape, or form, before this act was passed, states had already passed state laws that prohibited the plant, but the tax act banned it in the entire nation and labeled it as a drug (PBS). THC, the chemical found in marijuana, is obtained in various different ways. This chemical is mainly found is large quantities in the flower bud of the plant. The most popular way of extracting the THC out of the plant is by smoking it, this also is one of the oldest forms as well as the most harmful.

As people started to get creative, many had begun to cook with the plant. A very popular food that is made with marijuana is brownies. The least harmful way of obtaining the desired THC is in the form of a pill, which was introduced in the late 80's when the medicinal uses of marijuana were studied in depth. Marijuana is also the most used and abused drug in the united states today. There have been an enormous amount of scientific breakthroughs for the drug that are helping cancer patients across the globe. Current laws enforcing marijuana prohibition further overcrowd jails and divert scarce public safety resources away from issues and problems that really need attention.

Nicotine presents a high degree of toxicity and was first used as an insecticide in the 18th century. Whereas excessive alcohol consumption can be lethal, marijuana is medically nontoxic and not lethal to humans. As with any legal substance, be it tobacco or alcohol, adults are able to decide if and when they will use those substances, without government intrusion; marijuana should not be an exception. Some facts on marijuana. "It was recently reported that the annual retail value of marijuana grown in the city of Vancouver alone was $750 million. According to the B.C. Minister of Agriculture, Ron Charles, profits from marijuana operations are three times greater than from dairy production, B.C.'s most valuable farm industry at $245 million per year.

"So far, 26 states and the District of Columbia have existing laws and resolutions establishing therapeutic research programs, allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana or asking the federal government to lift the ban on medical use. In 10 states, similar laws have either been repealed or have expired. And, 15 states have had no medicinal marijuana laws ever. "People also believe that legalization of the drug will promote its use. Legalizing the use of the drug will give the government the power to regulate its use. Both state and federal government would be able to tax the drug in the same way they do alcohol and tobacco products.

The government could also set standards that the drug must meet before being sold. The FDA would have direct control over such standards making the risk dangerous additives less likely. ".