Rastafarins Challenge the Drug Act

Rastafarians Challenge Drug Act
Thesis: To highlight the positive, negative, and social affects that marijuana has on society.
Marijuana plant contains 400 chemicals and 60 of them are cannabinoids, which are psychoactive compounds. Tetrahydrocannibol (THC) is the main active ingredient in marijuana; it rapidly passes from the lungs into the blood stream which carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body. "These receptors control memory, thought, concentration, time and depth, and coordinated movement. THC also affects the production, release or re-uptake of various neurotransmitters”. 1
On March 17, 1999 the US Institute of Medicine (IOM) said that smoking marijuana has benefits for the terminally ill. The study concluded that cannabinoids can be useful in treating pain, nausea and appetite loss caused by advanced cancer and AIDS. THC also acts as a sedative and reduces anxiety, which in itself may have therapeutic effects.
The US National Institute of Health (NIH) and the British Medical Association released reports in 1997 on the potential therapeutic uses of cannabis and cannabinoids. Each one of the reports concluded that cannabinoids may be potentially useful as analgesics, antispasmodics, anti-emetics, appetite stimulants, and in treatment of epilepsy and glaucoma. In the case of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), marijuana seems to bring relief to sufferers like no other painkillers can.  
Some of the social effects of marijuana are learning, motivation and social behaviour:-
Learning
Marijuana can severely impair learning; critical thinking and other related functions for as long as twenty-four (24) hours after the last dose was taken. Studies have observed student before, during and after they took marijuana, and found that - after taking marijuana - students were much more likely to suffer from memory problems, difficulty concentrating and a decline in comprehension and cognitive skills.
Motivation
Marijuana can cause...