Legalizing Marijuana Essays (1031 words) - Entheogens, Cannabis

Legalizing Marijuana Davis 7 Legalizing Marijuana Marijuana is the name for the drug that comes from the leaves and flowers of the Indian hemp plant, Cannabis sativa. It is a tobacco-like substance produced by drying the leaves and flowery top of the cannabis plant. Marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette called a joint or in a pipe or bong. Recently, it has appeared in cigars called blunts which are longer. This drug is a mild hallucinogen, meaning that it distorts sensory perceptions. The intoxicating part of the plant lies mostly in its strong-smelling, sticky, golden resin. This is given off by the hemp flowers, especially those of the female plant. The resin protects the plant from heat and helps it stay moist during its reproductive cycle. Many users describe two phases of marijuana intoxication: initial stimulation, giddiness, and euphoria, followed by sedation and pleasant tranquillity. Mood changes can often accompany altered perceptions of time and space and one's bodily dimension. The hemp plant can be found growing as a weed or as a cultivated plant throughout the world, in many soils and climates, with the more potent varieties produced in dry, hot, upland, climates (Berger 1). All forms of marijuana are mind-altering. They all contain THC, the main active chemical in marijuana. THC was first identified in the mid-1960s. Its chemical structure is complex and unique, making it unlike that of any other psychoactive drug. There are also four hundred other chemicals in the marijuana plant besides THC, but they do not cause the same effect. For this reason, marijuana is, by far, the most frequently used illegal drug. Though its use in the United States is primarily for the pleasure effect of the drug, it has been used as an intoxicant in various parts of the world for centuries. Marijuana is known as a Schedule I drug which means it is one of the most tightly controlled drugs (McCormick 94). Only few countries around the world have legalized marijuana, but those that have, have seen good results. Marijuana has many benefits and is used for various reasons other than the reaction from the drug, and therefore it should be legalized. The first existence of marijuana was first described in print in a Chinese book of medicine in the second century B.C.E. and was used in China as an anesthetic five thousand years ago (Freeman 58). Its earliest use was recommended as a painkiller during operations. Known in Central Asia as early as 3000 BC, marijuana was used as a folk medicine. The practice of smoking it was brought to Brazil by black slaves from Africa. After spreading throughout Mexico, it was brought to the United States by Mexican laborers. In the 1800s, it was popular with black field hands in the South and in the hashish houses that often took the place of opium dens. Many people knew that they would profit from marijuana in America and they imported the drug any way possible. Marijuana was smuggled across the Mexican border in a variety of ways including inside the gasoline tanks of motor vehicles (Bugliosi 13). During the 1920s and 1930s, marijuana rose in popularity, especially among jazz musicians, most of whom were black. The effects of marijuana back then, were believed to turn men into social deviants capable of crazed, even homicidal behavior. The violence of which they were capable had more to do with white racist imaginings than with facts. Nonetheless, marijuana was outlawed in 1937. These beliefs played a part in the passage of the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act, which tried to control the use of marijuana. The Marijuana Tax Act made the use or sale of marijuana without a tax stamp a federal offense. The law also included stiffer penalties for marijuana use. Over the next decade, drug penalties got even tougher. Most of the marijuana that is smoked in the United States is grown in the United States. Most wild United States cannabis is considered inferior to the Jamaican, Colombian, and Mexican varieties that range much higher in percent THC potency. This drug accounts for many arrests every year and costs each state millions. More recently, many marijuana growers have taken their illegal crop indoors. It is now frequently grown in basements, attics, and outbuildings under lights with timed fertilizer and sprinkler systems. Growers generally try to get the highest THC in order to produce the greatest possible effect, which would result in more sales and profit. Few marijuana growers are

Great Gatsby and the American Dream Essay Example

Great Gatsby and the American Dream Essay Example Great Gatsby and the American Dream Essay Great Gatsby and the American Dream Essay ?The Great Gatsby is a novel hailed as one of the greatest books of all time. Its many vague motifs provide for a unique experience upon every reading and a literary digestion that accompanies few novels beside it. It is a prime epitomization of the roaring twenties, and many immediately think of The Great Gatsby upon mention of â€Å"the American Dream.† F. Scott Fitzgerald makes this idea extremely prevalent throughout each chapter, emphasizing that the American Dream is truly unattainable, through its representation in the green light, Tom and Daisy’s unhappiness despite their apparent possession of it, and Gatsby’s terminal inability to achieve it. The green light is a significant symbol of the American Dream, which becomes apparent early on in the book. At the end of chapter 1, Nick observes a figure outside of Gatsby’s mansion that he infers to be Mr. Gatsby himself, and he narrates: I decided to call to him. Miss Baker had mentioned him at dinner, and that would do for an introduction. But I didnt call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone-he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness. (21) : Gatsby has a desire throughout the entire book to live happily with Daisy amongst his wealth and vast estate. The fact that the light is green is indicative of the money aspect of the American Dream, and it is fitting because of Daisy’s background of inherited wealth. Daisy in herself is a symbol of money, and Gatsby’s arms outstretched toward Daisy’s light, not able to fully reach it, are representative of his failure to achieve the American Dream. A key piece of informa

Firm€™s operations, management structure, corporate Essay

Firmâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s operations, management structure, corporate governance industry, competitors, business particulars and its motivation to operate as a MNC - Essay Example s been positive for the years 2004 up to 2008 – see Figures 2 & 3 in the Appendix sector; this increase of the firm’s profitability for the specific years is also proved by its financial ratios for the years 2004 to 2008 (see Figure 4, Appendix). The success of the firm has been related with its structure; furthermore, the style of its governance supports the firm’s continuous expansion. Another factor that led to the growth of the company in the global market is the firm’s motivation to operate as an MNC. The effects of the recession on the firm’s performance can be identified in Shell’s financial reports for the previous years – also to the performance of its share. It seems that the effects of the global crisis on the firm’s performance have been limited. As noted above, Royal Dutch Shell Plc operates in the energy and petrochemical sectors; however, initiatives have been taken regarding the expansion of the firm’s operations in new areas – and the development of its existing areas of operations: more specifically, through the firm’s new facility in China it is expected that the firm will further improve its performance in the lubricants market; at a next level, the firm has established new processing units in Singapore (Royal Dutch Shell Plc, corporate website, 2010); Among the firm’s key policies for the expansion of its operations has been ‘association with Iogen and Codexis to develop better enzymes and processes for the production of biofuels from straw’ (Royal Dutch Shell Plc, corporate website, 2010). All the above activities are considered as particularly important for the development of the firm’s operations and the further improvement of its position against its competitors. The management structure of the firm is quite simple; in fact the firms is based on ‘a single-tier Board of Directors chaired by a Non-executive Chairman, Jorma Ollila; the executive management is led by Chief Executive Officer, Peter Voser’