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Sangam Shah Instructor: Malcolm Campbell English 1102 February 11, 2014 Topic Proposal: Was legalizing marijuana in the states a mistake? I will be examining whether if the move to make marijuana legal in the following states: WA, CO Spell out state name is a mistake. Many people in the United States have smoked the plant. According to a National Survey on Drug Use, 14.4 million people of the age of 12 or older have used marijuana at least once before the interview took place which was December 20, 2013. The National Survey of % of Americans in favor of legalization had 58% in favor of legalization according to the Gallup Poll. Anyone being a young teenager in a world where people will do anything to get their hands on money is very hard, because anyone can walk up to someone on the corner asking for drugs. A common thing (instance?) of this is getting offered marijuana. Marijuana has had its fair share of negative publicity. As a result, individuals under the influence of marijuana may experience impairment in motor control and compromised shortterm memory. While being intoxicated, memory is often selectively impaired in a dosedependent fashion similar to alcohol. I found most of my information through the internet organizations such as Italics >National Institute on Drug Abuse, and CT prevention. There are so many different views that the world has on marijuana. Throughout the United States, each state each of the states has their own opinion about the situation except for the ones that have spoken their mind on it, and have passed laws for recreational use. The topic can only be solved by one a factor, and that is the government. Some states have gone through the research and now have come to a conclusion such as Washington, and Colorado. Commercial marijuana stores opened at the beginning of the year and legalizing it means that it opens all kinds of opportunity for
Comment [z1]: New Paragraph?

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medical research on how it can help cure with cancer. Making the chronic has its economic benefits too. The Policymakers can put a sales tax on the product. Right now the state of Colorado has a heavy tax rate of 25 percent on pot sales. Was it a good idea to legalize it? Many people find it hard to believe that we have a couple states in the country that have finally broke down and decided to legalize the usage of marijuana like Colorado and Washington State. Just recently the states just opened up shops for recreational marijuana. It was a success on the first day as many people stood outside in the morning anticipating the opening of the stores. The only downside about this is now the government has their hands in the profits of the marijuana. This is a downside for the consumers, because they can make it more expensive then what it usual is. They set up a 29 percent tax rate on all pot sales. 37 pot shops opened statewide, and reportedly said they had received over a million dollars in sales. This could be a new way for us to climb out of our disastrous debt situation. It is the perfect way to get the economy flowing again. It was wise to legalize, because they can focus more on destructive drugs like cocaine, and heroin. These drugs are more violent, and more destruction can come from these things. What happened after legalization? The legalization of marijuana in these states is complete, and now both of the states are starting to regulate it. Washington is stated that there will be a limit on number of sellers licenses, and plants will not be allowed for personal use. Colorado is less strict with having no limit on sellers licenses, and stores are already going up. They reported the project ed revenue will be close to 300 million by the end of year 2014, and increased to 2 billion at the end of
Comment [z2]: Marijuana

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2017. The taxes received on pot sales will be put towards public school construction, and the smaller sales tax would receive a 15 percent cut. The smaller sales cut would go to the states tax income that can be evenly divided up into paying for other necessary things.
Comment [z3]: What new laws have come with the legalization. For example driving under the influence of marijuana- How high is too high? Is it allowed in public placesrestaurants, sporting events etc. How have the professional sports organizations reacted to this? Do they allow athletes in CO and WA to use pot?

What was the crime rate before legalization? After the legalization of marijuana, State penitentiaries in the state of Washington and Colorado experienced a drop of 20 percent in crime rates. This was a smart decision, because now the police can worry about far more badly than the usage of marijuana. This will also clear out the cells with all the people who were convicted of marijuana felonies.

Comment [z4]: About far worse crimes such as ., rather

Comment [z5]: Have there been any instances of dispensaries being robbed? How much illegal sale of marijuana still goes on.

What does marijuana do with your body after use? As THC enters the brain, it causes the user to feel high by acting on the brain's reward system, which is made up of regions that govern the response to pleasurable things like sex and chocolate, as well as to most drugs of abuse. THC activates the reward system in the same way that nearly all drugs of abuse do: by stimulating brain cells to release the chemical dopamine. It is also known to cause short-term memory loss because it kills all the brain cells. It hurts the brain to form new memories, and also conceptors are being destroyed which enables the body to be balanced and to be coordinated. So if this drug is being used, then activities such as driving and athletics would be hard.
Comment [z6]: Is this the main claim for states who have chosen to keep marijuana illegal? If not what is?

What are some advantages of Marijuana?

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Marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS. Cannabis has been smoked in the western countries for four decades; there have been no reports of lung cancer or emphysema coming from marijuana. Some patients that receive cannabis have an improved immune function compared with the ones that are receiving placebo. There is no defined withdrawals syndrome from the use of marijuana, and the sign of a true addiction is when the use is stopped according to Medical Marijuana ProCon organization. Was the legalization of marijuana a mistake? I do not think so, and so does the state of Colorado. The plan will do nothing but be successful according to the people. Washington Times in an article was stating that the weed now is far stronger than what our parents used to smoke. Marijuana intoxication doubles the risk of a car crash; heavy marijuana use has been significantly linked to an 8-point reduction in IQ. I believe that the legalization of Marijuana is a legit idea, and should be implemented, because it is just as worse as drinking alcohol, and smoking cigarettes. I understand that is hard to let our children get bombarded with promotions about smoking marijuana. Most people understand what to do in life, and that is why there is a thing call civil liberties. People should be allowed to do whatever they want with their own body. I think legalization is a splendid idea. Works for both sides of the consumer, and the government.
Comment [z7]: I think you should explore more about why the remaining 48 states have kept it illegal, and use evidence in CO and WA to prove them wrong. I want to also know how many weed related crimes still take place in WA and CO. What kind of advertisements exist? And are they regulated? Comment [z8]: How do the prices of weed in dispensaries compare to the street prices of weed?