Electronic Cigarettes Comm 101 April 27, 2013 The electronic cigarette is a smoking alternative that is relatively new to the United States market. Electronic cigarettes are largely regarded as a healthier alternative to traditionally manufactured cigarettes, which contain thousands of chemicals, many of which are poisonous. However, electronic cigarettes have had little testing done to determine the dangers that they have, the safety of the electronic cigarette as an alternative is unclear. * Electronic cigarettes, look like the real thing but have just one thing in common with cigarettes made from tobacco; nicotine. An electronic cigarette consists of a white cylindrical tube with a brown filter and a red, glowing tip.
Dylan Kelley Rough Draft 11-15-10 Yes We Cannabis Should marijuana be legalized in the United States? Should people be punished for smoking a harmless natural plant? The legalization of marijuana is a topic that most Americans have a powerful say in. Some believe it should remain illegal because they believe it’s a “gateway” drug or because it causes violence. Others, like me, think that the government shouldn’t have the power to outlaw if it’s not harming or endangering others.
Legalizing Marijuana The legalization, or decriminalization, of Marijuana has been one of the leading controversial political issues in the past decade. Made up of dried leaves of the Cannabis Sativa plant, with THC as it’s main psychoactive ingredient, Marijuana has proven to be less harmful than tobacco and alcohol, and even non-addicting. According to the Drug Awareness Warning Network, “There has never been a death recorded from the use of marijuana by natural causes.” (DAWN) Many people ask why the government would add one more substance to the list of the harmful, legal ones already, but I’m a firm believer that if we do not use our rights they will be taken from us. So should it not be a right of the people to decide whether Marijuana
They believe that since alcohol and cigarettes are more dangerous so why shouldn’t it be legal if regulated in a similar manner. Many people are curious to see how this works for Colorado. With the passing of Amendment 64, marijuana will be distributed under the same guidelines as alcohol; meaning residents must be 21 years of age or older to purchase and possess the drug. Alcohol can lead to disorientation and uncontrolled behavior. Although marijuana can lead to a relaxed and euphoric feeling it will not cause you to make decisions you would not normally do.
Cigarettes in anything greater than trace quantities. No one has reported adverse effects, although this product has been on the market for more than 3 years. Still, the FDA struck a more ominous tone in its July 2009 press release, warning of the presence of Carcinogens at ‘detectable’ levels. Yet it failed to mention that the levels of the carcinogens were similar to that in NRT products. Whereas electronic cigarettes cannot be considered safe, as there is no threshold for carcinogenesis, they are undoubtedly safer than tobacco cigarettes.
Also at the center of the issue, fraudulent online pharmacies are selling potentially substandard and fake medicines to unknowing American consumers at an alarming rate. A recent report by the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, a PhRMA subsidiary, suggests that only a tiny fraction of the online businesses possessed the certification they claimed and that two-fifths of spam emails offering prescription drugs from Internet pharmacies are from China, a country with no specific regulatory agency for prescription
Additionally they claim marijuana’s addictive, interferes with fertility and impairs driving ability. Does alcohol not do the same thing? They go on to say that it also affects the immune system and the brain as well as that medical marijuana is a front for drug legalization and recreational use. Just as on September 4, 2007 Member of the US House of Representatives Mark Souder was quoted as saying “In April 2006, following my request the FDA release an inner agency advisory confirming the smoke marijuana is not medicine because it has a high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use of treatment in the United States and it has a lack of accepted safety for use under medical
Ethical issues and a lack of research studies that prove the effectiveness of Cannabis are the reason the drug has not be legalized in all states. Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies is working on research to show the usefulness of medicinal Marijuana in a therapeutic situation. According to "Research Medical Marijuana" (2011), “The National Institute on Drug Abuse’s monopoly on the supply of marijuana for research and the DEA's refusal to allow researchers to grow their own has effectively paralyzed medical marijuana research,” (para.
People suffering from many illnesses would be able to experience relief. Also the government would make billions in tax revenue. There have never been any deaths recorded from the use of marijuana. It is not physically addictive, like alcohol and tobacco, and most doctors will agree that marijuana is safer than those substances. On the other hand legalizing marijuana can create a lot of problems.
For most age groups, marijuana usage statistics are similar between the Dutch and the Americans. For teenagers specifically, usage rates are much lower in the Netherlands (Fromberg, 113-124). By prohibiting and prosecuting marijuana usage, The United States wastes and forgoes billions of dollars a year. The money is wasted attempting in vain to stop people from using a substance that is not addictive, not detrimental to cognitive performance, and, unlike alcohol, not a catalyst of car accidents. Furthermore, the example of the Netherlands shows that there exists no correlation between legalization and increased usage.