Legalization of Cannibus (Marijuana)

I will begin with three categories: Health Effects, Criminal Attributes (Gateway theory, drug related violence, etc. ), and Economic Effects. HEALTH EFFECTSWhen Cannabis Sativa is either ingested or inhaled (smoke or vapor), there are various chemicals that enter the body. These compounds (excluding Tetrahydrocannabinol) are known as Cannibinoids. The main three are Cannabichromene (CBC), Cannabidiol (CBD), and Cannabinol (CBN). [1, 2, 3]-CBC is the compound that gives C. Sitiva anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties [1]-CBD relieves nausea, anxiety, inflammation, convulsions, and can inhibit cancer cell growth. CBD also increases alertness by stimulating the Limbic system. CBD is the largest chemical component, comprising over 40% of C. Sitiva's make-up [2]-CBN is the main psychoactive component prior to the formation of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and is THC's main metabolite. [3]When these three compounds meet warm temperatures, they enter a THC-synthase in the Cannabis cells. The resulting product is THC, chemical compound of C21H30O2. [4] THC is known to reduce aggression in many species, including humans, and has no death has ever been reported from consuming natural THC from C. Sativa (there have been 5 deaths related to synthetic-THC from 1997-2005). [5, 6, 7]Among other things, the smoking of medicinal marijuana is known to decrease obesity --while not limiting hunger--, treat asthma (even if received through smoking, but preferably through vaporizers or ingestion) [8] chronic arthritis, various cancers, viral infections, the tics associated with tourettes and obsessive-compulsive-disorder, cure glaucomas by relieving inter-ocular pressure, and decrease dependency on opiates; as well as treat HIV/AIDS carriers to prevent further transmission. [9-15]CRIMINAL ATTRIBUTESThere is a strong belief that if any person begins to use Cannabis in any way (smoking, eating, etc. ), they will begin to use stronger, harder, drugs to acheive a stronger high. There may be some truth to this, but only in America. From Gateway Drug Theory on Wikipedia: (source for article also provided [16])"In 2004, a study comparing cannabis users in San Francisco to those in Amsterdam was done to test the effects of the differing drug policies in the two cities on drug use patterns. The Netherlands has a drug policy of decriminalization in which cannabis can be bought by adults over 18 in quasi-legal "coffee shops" and used publicly, while in the United States cannabis is criminalized and must be bought in the black market (often from the same dealers that sell hard drugs) and used "underground". The results found that, compared with their counterparts in Amsterdam the San Francisco cannabis users were significantlymore likely to use cocaine, crack, amphetamines, ecstasy, and opiates despite similar cannabis use patterns and a more permissive drug policy in the Netherlands" [16, 17]This study shows that decriminalizing Cannabis has potential effects to end all speculation on Gateway theory, and decrease the useage of hard drugs. ECONOMIC EFFECTSThe sale of illegal marijuana is a multi-billion dollar industry each year in th US alone. [18] In California alone, the taxes (a conservative estimate) on legal marijuan would total ~1.5 billion U. S. D. annually. This figure is only based on the value of confiscared C. Sitiva in California. Estimates put yearly confiscation at a maximum of 5% of total trafficking per year. This gives the tax revenue of marijuana in California a possibility of $30 billion U. S. D. each year. The amount of resources wasted on imprisoning the growers, ditributers, sellers, and users of cannabis would save the state and federal government space in prisons, money, and man-power. [18]IN CONCLUSIONThe United States of America would be in a better place if the legislation for nationwide legalisation of cannabis was passed. VOTE PRO! SOURCES[1] . http://en.wikipedia.org...[2] . http://en.wikipedia.org...[3] . http://en.wikipedia.org...[4] . http://en.wikipedia.org...[5] Hoaken (2003). "Drugs of abuse and the elicitation of human aggressive behavior". Addictive Behaviors 28: 1533–1554. [6] Walker, J. Michael; Huang, Susan M (2002). "Cannabinoid analgesia". Pharmacology & Therapeutics 95 (2): 127–35. "…to date, there are no deaths known to have resulted from overdose of cannabis. (p. 128)"[7] "Deaths from Marijuana v. 17 FDA-Approved Drugs"(PDF). 2005-06-30. Retrieved 2011-02-03. [8] Seamon, Matthew; Jennifer Fass, Maria Maniscalo-Feichtl, and Nada Abu-Sharie (15 May 2007). "Medical Marijuana and the developing role of the Pharmacist". American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy64 (10): 1037–1044. [9] Tomar, Rajpal C. ; Beaumont and Hsieh (August 2009) (PDF), Evidence on the carcinogenicity of marijuana smoke, Reproductive and Cancer Hazard Assessment Branch Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, retrieved 23 June 2012[10] Joy, Janet E. ; Watson, Stanley J. ; Benson, John A. , eds. (1999). Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. Washington, D. C. : National Academies Press. [11] AMA meeting: Delegates support review of marijuana's schedule I status; A change could make it easier for researchers to test potential medical uses and develop a drug delivery form safer than smoking. By Kevin B. O'Reilly, American Medical News. Nov 30, 2009[12] Claire Bates (2012-09-20), Cannabis compound could stop breast cancer from spreading, Dailymail. co. uk, retrieved 2012-12-25[13] Ellis RJ; Toperoff W; Vaida F; Van Den Brande, Geoffrey; Gonzales, James; Gouaux, Ben; Bentley, Heather; Atkinson, J Hampton (2009). "Smoked Medicinal Cannabis for Neuropathic Pain in HIV: A Randomized, Crossover Clinical Trial". Neuropsychopharmacology34 (3): 672–80. doi:10.1038/npp.2008.120. PMC3066045. PMID18688212. [14] Salazar M; Carracedo A; Salanueva IJ; Cecconi, Sonia; Pandolfi, Mar; González-Feria, Ainara; Iovanna, Patricia; Guzmán, Cristina et al. (2009). "Cannabinoid action induces autophagy-mediated cell death through stimulation of ER stress in human glioma cells". The Journal of Clinical Investigation119 (5): 1359–72. doi:10.1172/JCI37948. PMC2673842. PMID19425170. Lay summary – HealthDay (1 April 2009). [15] Morel LJ, Giros B, Daugé V (2009). "Adolescent Exposure to Chronic Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Blocks Opiate Dependence in Maternally Deprived Rats". Neuropsychopharmacology34 (11): 2469–76. doi:10.1038/npp.2009.70. PMID19553915. Lay summary – PhysOrg. com (7 July 2009). [16] Reinarman, C. ; Cohen, P. D. A. ; Kaal, H. L. (2004). "The Limited Relevance of Drug Policy: Cannabis in Amsterdam and in San Francisco". American Journal of Public Health94 (5): 836–42. [17] . http://en.wikipedia.org...[18] The Times – California dreaming of full marijuana legalisation, The Times, September 28, 2009