The Future of Marijuana in the United States Essay -- Drugs

American politicians are constantly finding themselves in a heated debate concerning the legalization of marijuana. Currently the no’s have it but the real question is how long will they be able to keep it that way. Since, "To the agriculturist, cannabis is a fiber crop; to the physician, it is an enigma; to the user, a euphoriant; to the police, a menace; to the trafficker, a source of profitable danger; to the convict or parolee and his family, a source of sorrow" (Mikuriya, 1969). Introduction The future of marijuana in the United States is uncertain. Whether it is truly on the path to legalization on a nationwide scale, no one knows. But one thing is for certain: marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States. It has currently; the move towards legalization on a small scale has taken even further strides with Proposition 19 gaining approximately 44% of the California’s votes. One of the leading causes of the gradual tolerance of marijuana use has been the change in the perception of the substance among the older segment of our society. Since 2000, there has been a drastic increase in the amount of frequent marijuana users that are age 55 and above. This paper will seek to examine some of the major factors that have contributed to the significant rise in the prevalence of marijuana use among baby-boomers, the short-term effects of marijuana with an emphasis on how those effects would impact older individuals, the long-term effects of heavy mar ijuana use, and the potential political and social implications of extensive marijuana use amongst the United States’ older individuals. The first decade of the 21st century was a particularly eventful time in history. Recent studies have shown that ... ... Psycho geriatrics 20, 1081-1089. Hendrix, S. (2009). Boomers see views relaxing on marijuana. From http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/15/AR2009111503007.html. Mikuriya, Tod H. (1969). Marijuana in Medicine: Past Present and Future. California Medicine 110(1), 34–40. Stack, P, Suddath, C. (2009). A Brief History of Medical Marijuana. Retrieved November 4, 2010 from http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1931247,00.html. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. (December 29, 2009). The NSDUH Report: Illicit Drug Use among Older Adults. Rockville, MD. (Suggested Citation) Tashkin, D.P. (1999). Effects of marijuana on the lung and its defenses against infection and cancer. School Psychology International. Special Issue: Preventing marijuana use among youth 20 (1), 23-37. .