Weigh it out: Marijuana and its positive and negative impacts
Dyani Fabiana Pino
Santa Clara Pueblo, San Ildefonso, and Hopi.
Pino. Dyani. Selfie. June 2023. Author’s personal collection.
I am interested in this topic because it is a controversial topic and I would say that it is an issue in my family. I believe that many of my family members have used it as a dependence for the majority of their lives and used it as an alternative to alcohol and other bad habits. It surrounds me everywhere I go, even in the place it should be avoided, for example, school. So the curiosity that led me to choose this topic for my Senior Honors Project was to find out how the positive/negative impacts harm and help communities.
Identity
Pino, dyani. sky. 2023. authors personal collection
The article “ Sharing One Skin” is about sanity, place, and the four capacities of self. This article is really diving into the topic of identity. The four capacities of self are physical, emotional, thinking-intellectual, and spiritual self. The physical self is the part that depends entirely on the parts of us that exist beyond the skin. The emotional self is connected to everything by our hearts. Thinking-intellectual self is sticking to “the spark that ignites”. The spiritual self refers to both The individual and the larger self, this shows that in a community you still have an identity in yourself and a larger point of view. An important quote I believe really captures the idea of identity this article gives is “ We survive by the continuous interaction between our bodies and everything around us.”
Pino, dyani. sky. 2023. authors personal collection
The article "How Place Names Impact the Way We See Landscape" is about how the names of Western landscapes are divided by personal memories, ancestral teachings, mythic events, and colonial disturbances. It mostly speaks on the Diné values and beliefs. How Diné people respect the mountains and water because it has spirit. Also, they keep the respect of the dead people by adding yęę to the end of the name. Unlike Western glorifying the dead by naming buildings or statues after them.
Pino, dyani. sky. 2023. authors personal collection
The article " And Then I Went to School" is about the memories of a Cochiti Pueblo childhood. He talks about life before electricity on the pueblo. Then he talked about how close the Pueblo people were, and the sense of familiarity they have with each other. The article talks about how hard it was to go from home to boarding school and how hard it was to see the difference in the people of Cochiti.
History
Oct. 27, 1986 | Anti-Drug Abuse Act Creates Racially Biased 100 to 1 Crack/Powder Disparity, 27 October 1986, https://calendar.eji.org/racial-injustice/oct/27. Accessed 16 January 2024.
This article gives information about how marijuana was used in the past either for medical or recreational use. It also talks about the timeline of the regulations on marijuana. Another thing this article talks about is the repression of marijuana when films became popular.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, https://images.app.goo.gl/9tAorLCeZWdBk1Px6. Accessed 16 January 2024.
Over the course of history, marijuana was used as medicine. Starting as early as 2737 B.C. marijuana tea was prescribed for the treatment of gout, malaria, and poor memory. Although it was used as medicine it was also used as rope, sails, and clothing. Marijuana has been a controversial debate on being illegal and harmful or a medical improvement.
Current State of Issue
This article talks about the different surveys they used to gather how US adults feel about the use of marijuana. All survey was conducted in October 2022. With the data collected only one in ten adults say marijuana should not be legalized at all. 30% vote for legalization for medical use only. In total 88 out of 100 adults say marijuana should be legalized.
Global Connections
Marijuana in college students is popular because it enhances and gives a confidence boost to go out and meet new people. The amount of college students using marijuana is about 25% which is inaccurate due to people not reporting. Smoking marijuana tends to lower GPAs, more skipping, and a longer time to graduate. Although there was not a clear answer if there were any academic benefits, I don't believe there are.
The use of marijuana in Mexico is ruled to be a constitutional right but has not yet been legalized. The legalization has been getting dragged out because Mexico's Supreme Court says the use of marijuana is unconstitutional to grow cannabis for personal use. A major view on this is the people's. A twenty-five-year-old named Sergio Valenti believes marijuana should stop being seen as a problem. The person interviewing Carrie Kahn believes the government has bigger problems like murder and kidnap to worry about other than small-time marijuana users.
The status of medical marijuana benefits for cancer patients and the risks and side effects of marijuana are described in the article. In medical marijuana there are multiple active ingredients known as cannabinoids, two are being used for potential therapies. CBD and THC are used in medical marijuana in either a pill, cream, or other forms. For cancer patients, it helps with pain, neuropathy, nausea and etc.
Action Plans 1 and 2
Dedication
“America's War on Marijuana—Timeline.” Wisconsin State Legislature, https://legis.wisconsin.gov/eupdates/asm48/marijuana%20timeline_4.30.15_ac.pdf. Accessed 8 December 2023.
"Armstrong, Jeanette.1996 "Sharing One Skin: The Okanagan Community" pg 460-470 in Jerry Mander And Edward Goldsmith (eds.), The Case Against the Global Economy, San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books.
Bort, Ryan, et al. “Weed Map: Status of Pot Legalization Across America.” Rolling Stone, 18 April 2023, https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/cannabis-legalization-states-map-831885/. Accessed 6 December 2023.
"B. Toastie, Oyster May 1, 2022, From the print edition “How Place Names Impact the Way We See Landscape.” High Country News- Know the West, 1 May 2022, WWW.hcn.org/issues/54.5/people-places-how-place-names-impact-the-way-we-see-landscape.
Johansen, Bruce E. "Marijuana Legalization." Adolescent Health & Wellness, edited by Paul Moglia, Salem Press, 2015. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleId=196169.
“How does smoking marijuana affect academic performance?” Chicago Sun-Times, 13 October 2021, https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/10/13/22725095/marijuana-effects-cannabis-academic-performance. Accessed 15 February 2024.
Kahn, Carrie. “Marijuana Is A Step Closer To Being Decriminalized In Mexico.” NPR, 29 June 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/06/29/1011415061/marijuana-is-a-step-closer-to-being-decriminalized-in-mexico. Accessed 15 February 2024.
“Marijuana Timeline | Busted - America's War On Marijuana | FRONTLINE.” PBS, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dope/etc/cron.html. Accessed 19 January 2024.
Montana Legislature, The History of Medicinal Cannabis, https://leg.mt.gov/content/Committees/Interim/2009_2010/Children_Family/Emerging-Issue/mmga-presentation-cannabis-history-aug2010.pdf, accessed on October 20, 2023.
Rogers, Patricia A. “Possible downgrading of marijuana to Schedule III drug carries with it significant implications.” McAfee & Taft, 28 September 2023, https://www.mcafeetaft.com/possible-downgrading-of-marijuana-to-schedule-iii-drug-carries-with-it-significant-implications/. Accessed 15 December 2023.
Saldivar, Reggie. “Medical Marijuana and Cancer.” Cancer Care, 15 November 2021, https://www.cancercare.org/publications/328-medical_marijuana_and_cancer. Accessed 15 February 2024.
Simmons, Selena. “Marijuana could soon be downgraded from a Schedule 1 drug.” NPR, 31 August 2023, https://www.npr.org/2023/08/31/1197084320/marijuana-could-soon-be-downgraded-from-a-schedule-1-drug. Accessed 8 December 2023.
Suina, Joe, and Joseph H. Suina is an Associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of New Mexico “And Then I Went To School” Rethinking Schools, 22 June 2021, Winter 1985, Vol.v, No.2 https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/and-there-i-went-to-school/