Ask anyone what the most popular drug of the 21st century is, and he will tell you it is marijuana. And why is this? Well for one, marijuana is a highly accessible drug. Whether at a high school, a town, a college campus, or a gas station, marijuana can be found there. And while it is quite easy to find, it is also not financially straining to purchase either. One can get a various range of amounts inexpensively depending on who is dealing it. And, unlike many other drugs, marijuana is not addictive. Available, cheap, and no strings attached, these words sound like they are describing a new product people can buy at the store, not an illegal drug. But marijuana has been illegal in the United States since 1937, when Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act. Since then those who sell, grow, buy, and possess marijuana are arrested, fined, and some are even incarcerated. The highest amount of jail time for a marijuana-related crime is forty years and fines have skyrocketed to millions of dollars. Yet, why is there such severity in the penalties associated with the drug? Is marijuana truly that dangerous to the citizens of the United States? And how did it come to be that way? Well, if studied, one can see that marijuana is a great remedy for all sort of medical conditions, and that it is illegal because of a bigotry against Mexican immigrants in the early 1900s. From ancient times to the present, marijuana has been used for a variety of medical purposes. Mechoulam writes that one of the earliest accounts of marijuana being utilized as a remedy was in ancient Egypt. Evidence has been found that the Egyptians used marijuana to reduce the excruciating pain for mothers in labor. Trace amounts of cannabis was found in a grave of a young Roman... ... middle of paper ... ...Marijuana -- Polling Results." The New England journal of medicine 368.22 (2013): e30. ProQuest. Web. Dec. 2013 Kuddus , Mohammed, Ibrahim A. M. Ginawi, and Awdah Al-Hazimi. “Cannabis sativa: An Ancient Wild Edible Plant of India.” Emirates Journal of Food & Agriculture 25.10 (2013) : 736-745. Print. “Marijuana Timeline.” Frontline. Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. December 2013. McIlwaine, H. R., and John P. Kennedy. “1619: Laws enacted by the First General Assembly of Virginia.” The Forum. Library Fund, Inc., n.d. Web. Dec 2013. Mechoulam, Raphael. "A Cannabis Tale." Science Spectra 21 (2000): 44. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. ProCon.org. "Historical Timeline." ProCon.org. 13 Aug. 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. Stack, Patrick, and Claire Suddath. “A Brief History of Medical Marijuana.” Time Health and Family. Time, Inc., 21 Oct. 2009. Web. Dec. 2013.
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Evidence based on research shows that marijuana has been used since the beginning of recorded history or longer. The first known record of its use was from Emperor Shen Nung in 2727 B.C. (Deamuseum.org, N.D.). There is also evidence that the ancient Greeks and Romans were familiar with and used marijuana as well (Deamuseum.org, N.D.). According to historical information on Narcon International’s website, marijuana was used to treat various medical issues as well as for recreational purposes (Narconon.org, 2010-2014). From there, marijuana spread throughout the Middle East, then into Africa and northward to Europe. The Spanish brought it to the New World in 1545 and the Engli...
Throughout history people have used marijuana for its dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds to relieve pain, stress, and other medical issues from one’s life. Within the recent years it has become one of the most debated issues in the United States. In the 1930s, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics (now the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs) claimed that marijuana was a “gateway” drug and was a powerful, addicting substance. During the sixties marijuana became a symbol for rebellion against authority so it became very popular by college students and “hippies”. So in 1982, Drug Enforcement Administration increased pressure on drug farms and houses which decreased the use of marijuana. In the past twenty years marijuana has become a
The history of marijuana in North America is integral in understanding the reasons it is now illegal and how to...
The Jamestown settlers cultivated hemp produced by the marijuana plant. They used these fibers to make clothing, rope, and canvas because of its quality and durability. Physicians in the 19th century were prescribing cannabis as a pain reliever, an anticonvulsant, and for migraine headaches (Doweiko, 2002). Following his work in India in the 1840's William
Before Americans can make accusations that marijuana can only be used for the sole purpose of euphoric pleasure, they should first become knowledgeable of cannabis’s original and highly valuable uses that gave the plant its primary popularity. The herbal plant was actually a food source around 6000 BC, and it was used as a fiber two thousand years later. Another couple thousand years later was when cannabis obtained its first medical record in China and soon traveled to India and North Africa where cannabis began its use as a “recreational hallucinogen.” When Europe greeted marijuana at about 500 BC, users began classifying in what methods the plant can treat various medical conditions. The Americas were first introduced t...
Wilson, Clare “The Case for Marijuana by Prescription." Marijuana (Contemporary Issues Companion). Tardiff, Joseph, ed. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press, 2008. 63-70. Print
Smith, Dave. "‘Medical’ Marijuana: 10 Health Benefits That Legitimize Legalization." . N.p., 8 Aug. 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
Ingraham, Janet. "Lee, Martin A. Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana--Medical, Recreational, and Scientific." Library Journal 1 Sept. 2012: 117. Student Edition. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
Pierce, A. (2014, March 17). Medical marijuana Archives - The Stoner's Journal. The Stoners Journal. Retrieved May 17, 2014, from http://www.stonersjournal.com/tag/medical-marijuana/
Marijuana continues to be one of the most used illegal drugs in the United States. Marijuana has been used for many years and at one time was legal to consume. Throughout the years, marijuana has been used for treatment of different medical conditions and has been used recreationally by people of all ages. While the use of medicinal marijuana has proven to be effective in treating medically ill patients, society continues to question its recreational use and the long term effects it will have on its users. Some feel that legalizing marijuana will only open up avenues for the use of more potent drugs, causing an increase in criminal activity. However, a number of people question why it is considered illegal being it is a naturally growing
In the perspective of America's war on drugs, marijuana is one of the biggest enemies. And since alcohol and tobacco, two life threatening substances, are legal it is a relevant question to ask why marijuana is illegal. The taxpayers of America can partly answer this question when they fill out their tax forms and when they hear the hash rhetoric used against marijuana by the government. The fact that marijuana is illegal is sufficiently caused by the amount of money, jobs, and pride invested in the drug war. In other words, the government cannot turn back now.
First of all, marijuana can have many positive effects on crime. Legalizing marijuana can actually decrease crime rates in the U.S. This past year, it was counted that 6.9 million people are inside the American’s jails and prisons. 60,000 of these individuals were there for marijuana according to one study. With the legalization of marijuana, it would cut the amount of tax we pay for these jails and prisons, costing us a total of 1.2 billion. Last year a total of 7 to 10 billion dollars was used towards arresting and processing against marijuana. The big picture here is that 90% of those arrests were just for possession. It is crazy that as a country we spend most of our time trying to stop the biggest drug in America when it is just wasting our money. There are less arrests on violent crimes than marijuana charges combined. These “violent crimes” consist of assault, rape, robbery, and murder. How awful is it that we waste our time on this drug when there are so many other bigger problems we could be solving or people to be saved. Cocaine and heroin arrests have actually decreased by 1/3 from 1991 to 2000. While marijuana has more than 700,000 people are ar...