Friday, May 1, 2009

Marijuana Today Relaxes Like Soma Then (In the Future?)

Marijuana is a commonly used street drug and is now being used for medical purposes.  It comes from the hemp plan cannabis sativa and its main active ingredient is tetra-hydro-cannabinol (Stafford).   Marijuana is used to affect mood and to relax, which is one of the effects the soma has on the takers. While some people see marijuana as harmless, and some note the positive medical uses it has, there are quite a few negative aspects to marijuana.  There are many signs that show when one has uses this drug, such as red eyes, lethargy, and very uncoordinated body movements.  Also when people use this drug to get “high” they can abuse it to the point where everyday tasks like talking and moving their limbs are difficult for them to do.  Long-term effects of marijuana use can include a decrease in motivation.  With this decrease in motivation, tasks one originally wanted just to be relaxed to perform they now no longer even feel the urge to do.  There are commonly anti-drug commercials on television today that warn teenagers against doing drugs like this because things that were at one time important to them will no longer be priorities in their life because of the decrease in motivation marijuana causes.  Other negative side effects are seen in the brain, heart, lungs and reproductive system (Tracy & Acker).  People who smoke marijuana can develop cancer, and the longer you smoke the more likely you are.  While marijuana is shown to cause cancer, cancer patients are also using it legally.  Chemotherapy causes patients to be nauseous, and lose weight.  By using marijuana, the patients are able to reduce their nausea and keep their weight up.  It also helps provide relief from pain.  For these people state governments have began to legalize marijuana. So far Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington have legalized marijuana for medical purposes, requiring a doctor to prescribe patients to get a card allowing them access to medical marijuana (Tracy & Acker).  There are also people who just think that marijuana should just be legal for everyone to use, other than that is obviously has positive medical attributes.  One of the many reasons for this is would stop the product from being abused by teenagers.  The drug, some people think, could be used like soma, in small does to relax people and not purely as an illegal drug that is abused like it is today.  Another reason to legalize it would be the money would be used in the American economy.  Today, when people illegally purchase drugs money is supporting gangs, drug groups, and other types of criminals.  By legalizing marijuana, this flow of money to criminal organizations would stop.  People arguing that marijuana should be legal also sight the fact that it would save our justice system time and money.  Law enforcement arrests 750,000 individuals a year on possession charges and justice systems have to spend time and money prosecuting these individuals.  This money and time could be better served on people who commit violent crimes.  These are all valid reasons.  Soma has the same relaxation effect on the users in Brave New World that marijuana has on its users.  The only difference between the two is that soma is supported by the government.  The United States seems to be moving towards legalizing marijuana though, and the 4/20 movement is finding many more supporters.  Huxley could have predicted the future in his writing that some day we might always use a drug to relax when faced with difficult or intimidating situations.

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