well this is my essay...i'm going to be sending it to a congressman or something, so i'm going to revise it to reflect it...any suggestions? Through the years, marijuana has become synonymous with dangerous drugs. Because of the Reefer Madness propaganda, marijuana has stayed illegal for inaccurate reasons. In fact, cannabis would benefit everyone if it were legalized. Millions of people die from alcohol and tobacco related problems each year, but there are no reported deaths from marijuana overdose. Compared to these legal drugs, cannabis is relatively harmless. Also, if marijuana were legal, the U.S. would be able to take advantage of the agriculture benefits. This ranges from hemp fiber to the seed oil. Smoking it is also a popular practice in various religions. Rastafarians, Buddhists, and Muslims smoke this plant to connect themselves to a higher power. Anti-marijuana activists are persistent, but the truth is becoming more known. Although smoking anything is harmful, cannabis could be a better alternative than tobacco and alcohol. Tobacco and alcohol are known to be dangerously addictive and cause serious long-term health problems. Contrary to belief, it is more likely for marijuana to be mentally addictive than physically. As for health issues, marijuana smoke can damage the lungs, but not as much as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. And on top of that, it can either be vaporized or cooked, eliminating the smoke altogether. Since it is almost impossible to overdose on cannabis, a person does not have the same worries as when drinking liquor .According to the Center of Alcohol Studies, about “50,000 reported cases of alcohol poisoning occur each year” (http://alcoholstudies.rutgers.edu/onlinefacts/od.html), and yet the government continues to allow this genocide. If a person substituted marijuana for alcohol or tobacco, it would ultimately help their health and happiness. Because marijuana has other uses besides smoking, legalizing the plant would help the U.S. economically. Before marijuana was illegal, presidents like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp (cannabis) and used products from it. Even drafts of the Declaration of Independence were written on hemp paper. Clothes, food, and homes can be made using parts of the hemp plant. Considering the current fuel crisis, the U.S. would greatly benefit from hemp seed oil, which can be used in diesel engines. Legalizing cannabis would increase revenue in the economy, instead of making drug dealers wealthier. The first amendment in the Bill of Rights is the freedom to practice religion. However, some religions like Rastafarian and Buddhist freely smoke marijuana as a spiritual tool. Marijuana is justified because it is “seen by Rastafarians as the herb of life mentioned in the Bible” (http://www.swagga.com/ganga.htm). Rasta’s ritually use it as a religious rite to gain wisdom and getting closer with their inner spiritual self. It is no different than Christians drinking wine at church. In this context, many religions are excluded from having the liberty to practice their traditions. By decriminalizing marijuana, the entire country would benefit, not just smokers. It would redirect millions of dollars spent in the War on Drugs to fight harder drugs like cocaine and heroin. Not to mention it would also keep undeserving citizens out of jails who may have only been exercising their religion. Patients suffering from glaucoma or nausea would find marijuana an effective and inexpensive remedy. In short, through legalizing cannabis, the general morale of the population would greatly increase.
imo the whole thing is too statistically based, and you dive into the point way to harshly to be presented kindly to anyone who you want to read the whole thing
I found a typo. "However, some religions like Rastafarian and Buddhist freely smoke marijuana as a spiritual tool. " should read "however, some religions, like rastafarianism and buddhism, use marijuana as a spiritual tool. " I would also change the following: The word Marijuana to Cannabis, and most instances of the word smoke to use. Don't use the word genocide, it is not appropriate in this context. Add some info on Medical Cannabis in the body, or remove the mention of it from your conlcusion. remember: you never introduce new information in the conclusion. all in all, an okay paper.
its got good ideas, but it needs structure, and like the one person said, you are too "harsh" and dive too quickly into your statistics, so whoever youre trying to convince will be turning off from the start. you gotta be sneakier...
yeah, you shouldn't start so abruptly... you sholud try to make make a smoother introduction.. and i didn't like the last sentence: "In short, through legalizing cannabis, the general morale of the population would greatly increase.", i'm not sure why... it sounds soviet-ish to me lol overall it's an interesting read though, and kudos for actually making an effort. if everyone did their part cannabis's situation in the world would be very different.
yes thank you all...i still dont know if im going to send it to legislative, but i most likely will..not like they will do anything but its part of the assignment
uh, I think "Buddhist" should be Hindu because I know some Hindus use it and I don't think any Buddhist do. (I've studied Buddhism) and Rastafarianism should be Rasta because "Rastafarianism" is offensive to some rastas
I read the first 2 paragraphs, and I was reading it as if I was against the legalization. I think you just in far too fast. The opening paragraph of an essay is used to lay out the ideas to come in the following paragraph. Also "In fact, cannabis would benefit everyone if it were legalized." is a VERY BOLD generalization. I would turn that into a full paragraph if I were you. Also, develope a thesis and build on it. ...just some ideas off the top of my head.
Yea you're right.. I'm a non-practicing Hindu and I know for a fact that Hindus in India do smoke cannabis for religious and other purposes. Your paper's pretty good.. you presented useful facts and stats but you probably want to space them out and introduce more structure as opposed to listing the arguments one after the other.
I loved it. Well-written and not as typical as I would of thought as far as that style goes. Good job.
I'm not quite sure, but aren't decriminalization and legalization two different things? If they are, you might want to make sure you're saying the same think. otherwise, good essay. any help to get something done for ganja's benefit is great!
