Marijuana Legalization

For over 4,000 years the cannabis plant marijuana has been used medicinally by a variety of cultures around the world. It was used as medicine in the United States until 1937 when a new tax fee led to its discontinued use.

In 1972 marijuana was placed in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Marijuana is the common name for the hemp plant Cannabis sativa ("Medical Marijuana"). Hemp grows in tropical as well as temperate climates. The dried ground leaves, flowers, and stems of the plant have a long history for their use as drugs. It has been cultivated in different regions of the world throughout centuries for its fiber to produce linen, rope, canvas, and oil. It has also been used as a medicine to relieve symptoms of illness and as a euphoric to induce states of intoxication or elation. Throughout its long history, parts of the plants have been smoked, eaten, chewed, or brewed for its pharmacological effects on human biochemistry. Marijuana is a green or gray mixture of dried, shredded flowers and leaves of the hemp plant. There are many different names for marijuana. Slang terms change quickly in different country. Most users roll loose marijuana into a cigarette (called a joint). The drug can also be use in a water pipe. The most commonly reported effects of smoked marijuana are a sense of well-being or euphoria and increased talkativeness and laughter, alternating with periods of introspective dreaminess, followed by lethargy and sleepiness. THC is the chemical in marijuana which makes you feel high. Marijuana effect on the user depends on the strength or potency of THC it contains. Long term studies of high school student and their patterns of drug use show that very few young people use other drug without first trying marijuana ("How does marijuana use affect your brain and body?"). The opinion of Marijuana during the 70’s was much more definitive than it is today. Approval of Marijuana by 27 states, new medical studies, and its consequences on those convicted from use of the most common illicit drug in the world, is forcing the United States of America to rethink its stance on the matter ("Should Marijuana Be Legalized ?").

In general, the underlying argument about Marijuana in this country is: should Marijuana continue to be prohibited to citizens based on its health effects, medicinal values, and costs to the country? The reasons why this argument is so important are great.