Legalize It Essay Research Paper Mary Jane

Legalize It Essay, Research Paper

Mary Jane

“Legalization of Marijuana”

For many years now there has been a constant argument over whether or not the medicinal uses of marijuana are enough to overlook the side effects of the drug and make it legal for medical use in the United States. To many people, when they think of the plant marijuana, technically known as Cannabis Sativa, or hear the phrase “legalization of marijuana”, they tend to only think of the addict smoking it for a high and not the person using it as a medicine. However, many people, all around the world, including the United States benefit not only from the medical uses of the plant, but also from many others. For example, to an AIDS or cancer patient, this is the plant that fights nausea and appetite loss or to the nutritionist, in which its’ seed is second only to the soybean in nutritional value, and is a source of cooking oil and vitamins. Finally, to the paper or cloth manufacturer, it is the plant that provided much of our paper and clothing for hundreds of years and produces four times more fiber per acre than trees.

Before making any sort of determination of whether or not marijuana should be legal or illegal, one needs to know some basic facts about the plant. Lester Grinspoon, M.D. and James B. Bakalar, authors of the book “Marihuana: The Forbidden Medicine”, note,” Most botanists agree that there are three species of Cannabis: Cannabis sativa, the most widespread of the three, is tall, gangly, and loosely branched, growing as high as twenty feet; Cannabis indica is shorter, about three or four feet in height, pyramidal in shape and densely branched; Cannabis ruderalis is about two feet high with few or no branches” (Grinspoon and Bakalar, Pg.1). They also say, “Cannabis has become one of the most widespread and diversified of plants. It grows as weed and cultivated plant all over the world in a variety of climates and soils” (Grinspoon and Bakalar, Pg.1). Cultivation of the plant has become more and more of a problem in recent years due to the widespread popularity of marijuana.

Cannabis may have been cultivated as long as ten thousand years ago. It was certainly cultivated in China by 4000 B.C. and in Turkestan by 3000 B.C. where it was mainly used as a sedative and analgesic. It has long been used as a medicine in India, China, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South Africa, and South America. Nevertheless, according to Grinspoon and Bakalar cannabis didn’t make its way into the United States until 1842 when,” Doctors in Europe and the United States began to prescribe it for a variety of physical conditions. It was listed in the United States Dispensatory in 1854 (with a warning that large doses were dangerous and that it was a powerful “narcotic”). Commercial cannabis preparations could be bought in drug stores. During the Centennial Exposition of 1876 in Philadelphia, some pharmacists carried ten pounds or more of hashish (4).” Though this seems unheard of today, at this point in time it was very common. There were too many remedies and uses of marijuana during this time period to mention, so it was decided to leave as many out of the paper as possible.

Today there are also many ways in which marijuana can be used to accommodate those who are severely ill. In an article in the 1999 January edition of High Times Muddy Webster says, “The American Cancer Society, the American Glaucoma Society, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and the American Medical Association all agree that there is some evidence that use of marijuana as a medicine has merit.” (High Times Magazine, Pg.30) Though much different from the treatment used over a century ago, cannabis is still a remedy for many sicknesses. According to information from The American Public Health Association, received from the site ”http://www.tfy.drugsense.org/apha.htm” which clearly states,” that marijuana has been reported to be effective in reducing intraocular pressure in glaucoma, reducing nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy, stimulating the appetite for patients living with AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and suffering from the wasting syndrome, controlling spasticity associated with spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis, decreasing the suffering from chronic pain and controlling seizures associated with seizure disorders.” This shocking information cannot only be verified by countless physicians, but also has been known by the Supreme Court for many years now!

Marijuana is illegal today because of the Marijuana Tax Act passed in 1937. The following information is not only appalling but sickening to think our government would ever do something such as this. According to Grinspoon and Bakalar, “This law was the culmination of a campaign organized by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics under Harry Anslinger in which the public was led to believe that marihuana was addictive and caused violent crimes, psychosis, and mental deterioration…Under the Marihuana Tax Act, anyone using the hemp plant for certain defined industrial or medical purposes was required to register and pay a tax of a dollar an ounce” (15). Almost incidentally, the law made medical use of cannabis difficult, because of the extensive paperwork required of doctors who wished to use it. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics followed up with “anti-diversion” regulations that