1. Cannabis The Push for Legalization By: Kyle Nielson

2. The Debate Ever since Reagan’s war on drugs there have been people pushing to have marijuana legalized. These people believe that marijuana is not the kind of substance that should be outlawed. Here we are going to look at some of the arguments against legalization and also the value of the cannabis plant.

3. Why is Marijuana Bad? Marijuana leads to other drugs (the Gateway theory) Marijuana is unhealthy and can cause cancer Marijuana causes crime and violence Common arguments against the legalization of marijuana are:

4. Gate-Way Theory Also known as the stepping stone theory, the belief is that marijuana opens the door to more harmful drugs.

5. Truth is…. There is certainly no component in marijuana that causes the user to want to explore a new high. The majority of pot smokers stick to smoking weed rather than using other drugs. 1 in every 104,000 people who use marijuana also use cocaine

6. Cancer? Marijuana is not a new substance to mankind. It has been smoked throughout the ages. Over the history of time there has not been a single case of cancer linked to smoking marijuana So what are the health risks???

7. The harmfulness of smoking marijuana is caused from the dangers of inhaling heated plant matter. This injures the cilia which is the lining of your lungs. Symptoms could include such things as bronchitis and tuberculosis. Such harsh symptoms are rarely caused from smoking marijuana however. These symptoms are usually seem from smoking tobacco Speaking of tobacco smoke……

8. Did you know? There are over 400,000 deaths annually in U.S. alone that are a direct result of habitual cigarette use Cigarettes are the #1 killer in America, yet still continue to receive government subsidies OTHER DEATH TOLLS (annually) Alcohol- 85,000 Caffeine- between 1 and 10 thousand Asprins- about 7 and ½ thousand Prescription Pharmaceuticals- 100,000 We’ll touch more on Pharmaceuticals but lets first continue….

9. Crime and Violence Many people believe that it is drugs that cause rises in crime rates. The truth is actually in our history. We saw from the prohibition of Alcohol that the black market created by prohibition was what caused major crime. Organized crime grew to an all time high and we saw the rise of notorious gangsters like Al Capone and Bugs Moran.

10. “I cannot recall being called to a single incident that somebody under the influence of marijuana was intending to harm another person.” - Former Seattle Police Chief - Al Capone

11. Black Market So if marijuana does not cause the user to be violent or want to commit crimes how does it influence crime rates?? It is the same as in alcohol. The prohibition causes a black market that criminals use to make a profit

12. Proposition 19 When asked about Proposition 19, (which would legalize marijuana in California) many drug dealers spoke negatively about the bill. They didn’t want it to pass…… WHY?? Because if the government to were to legalize and then tax marijuana, they would make quite the revenue. Revenue that is currently going to these drug dealers. Let me get this straight, both drug dealers and the U.S. government are against the legalization of marijuana… odd.

13. Revenue and Cost If regulated and taxed the government could earn an estimated 1.4 billion dollar revenue, in California alone. Each year 7.7 billion dollars is spent by government agencies in an attempt to combat marijuana

14. Now that we have laid a few of these argument to rest and seen that money could be made, lets look at how else we could benefit

15. Medicinal Value Marijuana has been known to have positive affects for: Glaucoma Depression Epilepsy Arthritis Nausea caused by Chemo-Therapy And several more…..

16. Back to Pharmaceuticals If marijuana can be used successfully as medication why is it not? Because the number 1 most profitable business in the United States are those that are producing pharmaceuticals.

17. Not only are these companies extremely wealthy, most tend to be political lobbyists. The extensive testing on their products is what turn the government to their safety. If enough testing is done these products must be safe right??? Wrong. We’ve already seen that over 100,000 deaths occur annually from pharmaceuticals. Recognize this…..? Bayer is a well known company and started the pain medication aspirin. But I’ll bet you didn’t know that this beloved company also made….

18. With real medical value and no seriously ill side affects to be known, why is it that marijuana is frowned upon? Millions of people end their work day with an alcoholic beverage. Alcohol impairs a person as much if not more than THC. So what is wrong with a little indulgence once in a while? Lets move on from the subject of merely smoking marijuana and look at cannabis.

19. Cannabis Cannabis is the plant in which marijuana is derived from. This plant was at one time very much legal to grow. At one time it was the #1 cash crop in the nation. How is a drug plant so useful???

20. This crop was at one time so industrial because of its variety of uses. The most common of which is the fabric known as hemp. It is the most robust, durable, and naturally soft fiber in the world and can be used to make over 25,000 textile products.

21. Benefits

22. Believe it or not, this was actually an add ran by the United States government during World War II.

23. To sum it up… Hopefully this has made you at least ask a few questions about today’s prohibition. Questioning is the key to solving issues. Here are the issues that I have with prohibition 1-It has not reduced supply or demand of the substance 2-It is the gift of revenue for organized crime 3-It is the underground market that is causing crime and violence related to the substance

24. Work Cited Fruhwirth, Jesse. "Weed Goes West." City Weekley 30 September 2010: 18-22. Johnson, Gary. The Sacramento Bee. 22 June 2010. 2 October 2010. Levin, Carl. "Preventing Tobacco-Related Deaths." 12 June 2009. Carl Levin United States Senator. 1 October 2010. Time Magazine. Time. 16 August 1968. 3 October 2010 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&hid=15&sid=0e418910-94f7-47fc- 8bdd-b0f91a942e73%40sessionmgr14 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&hid=15&sid=0e418910-94f7-47fc- 8bdd-b0f91a942e73%40sessionmgr14 The Union. Dir. Adam Scorgie. 2007.