MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

Marijuana Legalization

Marijuana Legalization

Introduction

Marijuana should be legal. Not merely for medical purposes but also for industrial purposes, it should be 100% legalized. Before we examine why marijuana should become legal, we should first investigate about why and when marijuana became illegal.

It is a norm that marijuana is being made illegally through some kind of illegal process. The medical, scientific, and even government hearings emphasizes that it is to secure the people from what was determined to be a dangerous drug. It seems that the purpose for the illegalization of marijuana had more to do with ignorance, religion, fear, personal profit and racism than it did any facts or statistics of criminalization. Cannabis was a big part of the United States history as farming itself. In fact, the first law pertaining to cannabis in the US was a law in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 actually ordering all farmers to grow the substance (Booth, Martin, 2005).

Discussion

In the early 1900's, however, a flood of Mexican immigrants alarmed state officials. With them, the Mexicans brought a “demon weed” known as marijuana. However, the first State to outlaw marijuana didn't do so because of the Mexicans, but actually because of its use by Mormons. The very religious state of Utah saw this as a problem and subsequently outlawed it (Booth, Martin, 2005). Many other states would soon follow but for their own prejudiced reasons (Mostly against the Mexican population). Soon enough, in the 1930's the United States federal government took notice. With the establishment of the Bureau of Narcotics and its very racist leader Harry J. Anslinger, the propaganda machine was turned to full power.

On the industrial side of things, Hemp is useful for the manufacture of over 200,000 products. In fact, the USA is the only industrialized nation that does not embrace industrial hemp (Deitch, 2003). Every part of the hemp plant can be taken advantage of; the stalks for the production of fabrics, ropes, papers and insulation. The seeds and seed oil for inks, fuels, solvents, cosmetics and various edible uses due to its high nutritional value. Hemp produces a much higher yield per acre than do common substitutes such as cotton and requires few pesticides. In addition, hemp has an average growing cycle of only 100 days and leaves the soil virtually weed-free for the next planting.

As for the medical benefits, the possibilities seem just as endless. The active ingredient in marijuana, delta-9 ...