Taking the Testy Topic, Again! [Another Essay]

I just turned this paper in as well. This was the 6 page research paper I was talking about, hopefully this got the point across.

[FONT=&quot]An Illegal Cure[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot] What if one of America's most illegal plants was also one of the world's most useful plants? Marijuana has a wide variety of different applications in society, but remains illegal by federal law[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Some states have decriminalized cannabis, but federal law does not recognize state law[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Suppose that by federal law, cannabis were a decriminalized or legal substance[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] An entire new world of research could arise and each of its uses would become definitive[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Perceptions concerning the use of marijuana would likely be altered[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] The decriminalization or legalization of marijuana would presumably cause many economical, industrial, and medical adaptations focused towards the benefit of the United States of America[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] One of the likely effects of a drastic change in the prohibition laws of cannabis suggests the increase in the ability of the D[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot]E[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot]A[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] (Drug Enforcement Agency) to effectively prevent the use of drugs that solely provide their users with long term detrimental effects[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Freeing up the resources used in the prohibition of cannabis could be one of the most beneficial steps towards relieving the United States from its worldly debt[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] In the least, decriminalization of cannabis would contribute an additional ten billion dollars per year to the war against illegal drugs that are more harmful than beneficial to their users (St[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Pierre, par[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 5)[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] As a component of this fund allocation relief, current statistics suggest that about seven hundred and thirty nine thousand cannabis possession arrests per year could be prevented, thus freeing funds used in the process of these arrests (St[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Pierre, par[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 6)[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Not only can the relief of funds allocated towards the prohibition of marijuana assist in freeing the United States from its worldly debt, but the revenue increase from the sale and taxation of cannabis would provide an equal, if not greater relief[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] The current street value of a pound of marijuana is four thousand dollars (Vallance, par[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 5)[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] With the current value of cannabis, profit from sales without taxes could easily assist in the reparation of the United States economy[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] In relation to the potential revenue increase brought forth by the legalization of marijuana due to the copious amount of current users despite the substance's illegality, Allen F[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] St[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Pierre, the executive editor for NORML, states in his excerpt About Marijuana:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in America (behind only alcohol and tobacco), and has been used by nearly 80 million Americans[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] According to government surveys, some 20 million Americans have smoked marijuana in the past year, and more than 11 million do so regularly despite harsh laws against its use[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Our public policies should reflect this reality, not deny it[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] (par[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 1)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] The legalization of cannabis could restore stability to the economy by producing revenue from its sales to its countless users[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Besides its fund allocation relief and worldly debt relief, marijuana has an extensive list of medical uses including the transient or even therapeutic relief of many physical and mental symptoms involved with a variety of diseases and disorders[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of the NORML Foundation, stated at the beginning of this year that scientists are investigating cannabinoids' ability to moderate the pain associated with disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease, as well as the cannabinoids' role in the treatment of several neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease and Lou Gehrig's disease (par[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 3)[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] The cannabinoids contained in marijuana have the potential to provide therapeutic relief for a multitude of diseases[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] The potential therapeutic uses of medical marijuana include relief from clinical conditions like gliomas, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's, ALS, fibromyalgia, tourette's syndrome, dystonia, HIV, hepatitis c, hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea, gastrointestinal disorders, pruritis, incontinence, osteoporosis, and rheumatoid arthritis (Armentano, par[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 8)[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Armentano also stated in his report on the Recent Research on Medical Marijuana: [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Investigators are currently studying the anti-cancer properties of cannabinoids[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] A growing body of preclinical and clinical data concludes that cannabinoids can reduce the spread of specific cancer cells via apoptosis (programmed cell death) and by the inhibition of angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels)[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Arguably, these latter trends represent far broader and more significant applications for cannabinoid therapeutics than researchers could have imagined some thirty or even twenty years ago[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] (par[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 4)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]If cannabis were to be decriminalized, an entirely new domain of medicinal research could possibly be unlocked[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] The medicinal properties of marijuana including the transient as well as therapeutic relief to a broad list of clinical conditions could be further researched and bestowed upon society[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Allen F[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] St[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Pierre states in his article About Marijuana:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Modern research suggests that cannabis is a valuable aid in the treatment of a wide range of clinical applications[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] These include pain relief – particularly of neuropathic pain (pain from nerve damage) – nausea, spasticity, glaucoma, and movement disorders[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Marijuana is also a powerful appetite stimulant specifically for patients suffering from HIV, the AIDS wasting syndrome, or dementia[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Emerging research suggests that marijuana's medicinal properties may protect the body against some types of malignant tumors and are neuroprotective[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] (par[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 10)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Newer and healthier methods of the application of THC could be researched in order to prevent any negative effects that inhaling the combusted material of cannabis may have on your respiratory system[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] These new branches of research dedicated to the broadening of marijuana's wide horizon of application and maximum usage efficiency could be possible if the decriminalization of marijuana were to be set in motion[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Canada has already benefited tremendously from their nation-wide legalization of marijuana[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Andrew D[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Hathaway and Kate Rossiter state in their article on Canada's society involving medical marijuana that “In 2001, Canada announced it would be the first country to legalize cannabis for therapeutic purposes and earmarked funding for clinical trials[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] By June, 2007, legal access had been granted to about 1,800 patients with terminal illnesses and serious medical conditions” (1). Not only does cannabis have the potential to provide the United States with an extremely broad range of medical application, but this plant also has the potential to provide various industrial applications.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] Hemp, an impotent form of cannabis, also has an extremely broad range of industrial applications. While this form of cannabis has no medical potential, it has an extremely versatile industrial potential. St. Pierre also elaborates on the efficiency and versatility of hemp while noting its harmlessness:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Various parts of the plant can be utilized in the making of textiles, paper, paints, clothing, plastics, cosmetics, foodstuffs, insulation, animal feed and other products[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Hemp produces a much higher yield per acre than do common substitutes such as cotton and requires few pesticides[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] In addition, hemp has an average growing cycle of only 100 days and leaves the soil virtually weed-free for the next planting[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] The hemp plant is currently harvested for commercial purposes in over 30 nations, including Canada, Japan and the European Union[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Although it grows wild across much of America and presents no public health or safety threat, hemp is nevertheless routinely uprooted and destroyed by law enforcement[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Each year, approximately 98% of all the marijuana eliminated by the DEA's “Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program” is actually hemp[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] (pars[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 14-16)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The decriminalization of cannabis would allow for the commercial use of hemp in the United States, thus providing the nation with a new, reliable, and renewable resource for the aforementioned materials and products[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Despite its plentiful list of positive uses, there is some controversy behind this resourceful plant[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] One of the most controversial topics concerning the decriminalization of marijuana consists of the underlying disquietude by parents for their children about the image of drug use portrayed by the end of prohibition. Allen St. Pierre states, however, in his article About Marijuana, that “More than 30 percent of the U.S. population lives under some form of marijuana decriminalization, and according to government and academic studies, these laws have not contributed to an increase in marijuana consumption nor negatively impacted adolescent attitudes toward drug use” (par. 4) St. Pierre also elaborates on legalization and its effect on adolescent attitudes toward drug use: [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]NORML supports the eventual development of a legally controlled market for marijuana, where consumers could buy marijuana for personal use from a safe legal source. This policy, generally known as legalization, exists on various levels in a handful of European countries like The Netherlands and Switzerland, both of which enjoy lower rates of adolescent marijuana use than the U.S. Such a system would reduce many of the problems presently associated with the prohibition of marijuana, including the crime, corruption and violence associated with a "black market." (par. 7)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Consequentially, government and academic studies have essentially proved that neither the decriminalization nor the legalization of marijuana have a negative impact on adolescent attitudes toward drug use or adolescent usage rates of cannabis. This extensive research may have the ability to remove the need for concern towards the youth in the fight for the decriminalization of marijuana.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] Even though cannabis prevails as possibly one of the most useful plants on the face of the Earth, it still remains illegal in the United States. With countless uses, whether they be industrial, medical, or economical, it is hard to believe that marijuana still remains a regulated and prohibited substance. It seems as if this harmless flower is considered illegal for no other reason than to be considered illegal. Cannabis is a possible nationwide head start towards the economy's stability and withholds the potential to assist in the addressing of some of the United States' most pressing issues[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot] The decriminalization of cannabis has the potential to become one of the greatest economical advances in the history of the United States of America.[/FONT]​

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It's because of the forum's text and its size.

It was six full pages + a work cited.
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