There is no culture in the history of mankind that did not ever use some kind (kinds) of drugs. Despite the well-known consequences of drug addiction, millions of people constantly consume different legal and illegal drugs. Affecting people's mind and changing their behavior, drugs become one of the most threatening factors of social risk, resulting in increasing rates of mortality, aggressive and criminal behavior, and dissolution of social ties. This paper is devoted to comparison of social science outcome characteristics for two of the most commonly used drugs in the groups of legal and illegal drugs--alcohol in the first and marijuana in the second. It is argued that hardly any of two can be seen preferable over the other, and both have negative impact on the society through changing the behavior of individuals consuming them. Marijuana is a drug that has been used for thousands of years.
Marijuana was used in ancient China, as far back as 5000 B.C. The Incan’s and Mayan’s used marijuana in religious ceremonies. Marijuana also has roots in this country. The Indians of the plains used marijuana in their peace pipes as a sign of friendship and peace. After prohibition there was a sharp rise in the use of this drug in America, but after prohibition was repealed the use went down. In the 1920’s and 30’s the use of marijuana was primarily by the minorities. In the 1930’s it was common belief that minorities where inhumane and violent, and people believed that marijuana was part of the cause. Then in 1937 marijuana was declared illegal. This was done with no research. It was just assumed that marijuana caused psychological dependence, provoked violent crimes, and led to insanity. People were told that marijuana would make people want to take a gun, knife, or weapon and kill someone. Prohibition on marijuana was established due to a misunderstanding. Prohibition has not achieved its goal, and goes against an American philosophical approach. I...