Take It Easy, It's Only Weed...

Cannabis sativa, or more generally known as marijuana, is a plant that produces a wide range of products. The stems and stalk of the plant are made up of very long, durable threads that are more commonly known has hemp. The plants leaves are the part of the plant that is smoked or ingested. The stems and stalk of the plant are used in a variety of fabrics and jewelry used all over the world. The fibers attained from the hemp plant are also known to be one of the strongest fibers used in producing fabrics today. The leaves contain many chemicals known as cannabinoids. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main cannabinoid in marijuana and the cause for the “psychotropic” effects of marijuana usage (Gettman I 3). The more common “psychotropic” effects of marijuana include loss of coordination, impaired motor skills, trouble thinking, altered perception, and augmented heart rate (Marijuana 1). Other less severe side effects include increased appetite, dizziness, bloodshot eyes, short-term memory loss and drowsiness. Long term side effects may include respiratory problems and, in high doses, hallucinations (1).

The way people use marijuana varies from person to person and country to country. The first known usage of the cannabis plant was in approximately 6000 BC in China, where the seeds from the plant were used as food. The first discovered medicinal use of the plant was in 2727 BC again in China. Even today, marijuana is still used as a medicinal aid to treat a wide variety of illnesses. The plant has been used to help stimulate appetite, relieve pain, induce sleep, and as a treatment for glaucoma. The fibers made from the plant are used to weave cloth and make jewelry. About 800 BC is when the Hindu religion named marijuana as one of the five sacred plants and began to use it in religious rituals. Marijuana was first introduced in the U.S. in the early 1800s; it was used as a medicinal aid as well as a religious herb. In 1937 is when marijuana was made illegal in the U.S. because of the passing of the Marijuana Tax Act (Timeline 1-4).

The legalization of marijuana in the Unites States is a very controversial subject. There are just as many, if not more, people for making marijuana legal as there are against it. Those supporting the legalization ask how America can be a free nation when its people cannot indulge in something grown from the earth in the comfort of their own home. Why is it unlawful to smoke marijuana, when it is acceptable to smoke tobacco, or drink alcohol? Tobacco kills many Americans everyday due to the chemicals that it contains, and alcohol, which contributes to drunk driving, is the major cause of fatalities in automobile accidents in the United States (A.C. 1). How can the people of this country object to something that can help citizens who are suffering from illnesses ranging form chronic headaches and anorexia to cancer and psychological disorders, yet they can approve of substances that warrant sickness? Marijuana should be legalized in the United States for a wide variety of reasons. One of the more important reason’s is the enormous medicinal aid marijuana has given to numerous patients suffering from a wide range of ailments. In addition, legalizing marijuana would free up a great deal of space in local jails and state and federal prisons. Furthermore, the tax revenues that could be collected off the sale of marijuana would greatly help the federal and state governments in making improvements to things such as schools, roads, and so forth.

Marijuana has many uses in the medical field. Before its complete illegalization in 1937, marijuana was prescribed by doctors all over the U.S. It was used to treat multiple types of ailments in patients of all ages. These illnesses included simple things like appetite loss, headaches, nausea, and insomnia as well as more complex illnesses like some types of cancer, malaria, tetanus, and epilepsy (Rachal 5). Since the illegalization, however, some states have opted to allow physicians to prescribe medicinal marijuana to their patients. These states include Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. In these states alone, there are over 35,000 patients in these eleven states who are using marijuana for medicinal purposes, and over 2,500 doctors who prescribe it to their patients  (AMU 2). Eventhough medicinal marijuana is legal in these states, the patients using the perscribed marijuana and the doctors’ perscribing it can still be prosecuted in federal court for posession and distribution of a controlled substance (Duke 3). Although medical research of the plant is slow because of the strict rules of the government, some progress has been made on how THC interacts with the brain. Until recently, THC was believed to affect the part of the brain that produces dopamine, a neurotransmitter which controls many inportant brain functions (Gettman I 2). The more common drugs that affect this part of the brain are cocaine and heroin.  According to the past ten years of research by the OTA (Office of Technology Assessment), THC has been proven to have no effect on the part of the brain that controls dopamine production. Their studies have concluded that there is actually a THC receptor site in the brain located in the frontal cerebral cortex. In this receptor site, the brain will only process a certain amount of the THC it is introduced to. When the THC gets to this part of the brain, it is only allowed so many receptors by the brain to “take control of.” After all of the allotted receptors are used, the brain will not process any more of the THC. Basically, the brain will only process enough THC to create a balance between the normal neurotransmitters and the THC. This means that the human brain cannot become physically addicted to marijuana (Gettman II 1-3). This research will greatly benefit the medical field because it concludes that it is not possible for someone to overdose on marijuana. The brain just will not let itself overdose.

Another reason why marijuana should be legalized is because it will free up countless space in state and federal jails and prisons. In 1982, President Reagan started putting people in prison for marijuana usage and distribution whether they were violent offenders or not. In 1997, almost 700,000 marijuana arrests were made and about 87 percent of those were just for possession. Records also show that since 1965, the U.S. alone has had over 12 million marijuana related arrests. In a report from November of 1998, there are about 15,700 people confined in federal prisons, 13,700 in state prisons, and 7, 250 in local jails all just for marijuana-related “crimes” (Rachal 2). By 2003, the number of people incarcerated in the U.S. for marijuana rose to over 755,000. According to NORML, a popular pro-marijuana organization, every forty seconds, someone in the U.S. gets arrested for marijuana-related crimes (St. Pierre 1). Every forty seconds. Where does the judicial system plan to put all these people? As of last year, state and federal police spent and estimated $7.6 billion dollars to arrest and prosecute these “criminals” for marijuana possession and/or distribution. That’s a lot of money that could be saved.

In addition to medicinal reasons and jail space, marijuana should be legalized because it would bring in massive amounts of tax revenue for both the state and federal governments.  According to a survey taken from 2002 to 2005, the average price per pound of marijuana was $1,606, and the estimated amount of money generated from selling the plant was a staggering $35 billion in one year. That is more than any other cash crop in the United States today (Kage 1). If one were to assume that the sale of marijuana generated a minimum of $35 billion a year, and if the government were to legalize it and impose just a 15 percent sales tax on the sale of the plant, it would have an extra $5.25 billion per year as a minimum. Also, on top of the tax revenue that could be generated from the sale of the plant, the government would also save the multibillion dollars that it spends every year to try and eradicate marijuana from this country. That extra money that the government would have could go to more important things such as improving schools to make life better for the children, improving roadways to make driving safer, and looking for the real criminals such as the pedophiles, terrorists, and serial killers that we see more and more of every day.

Although legalizing marijuana would greatly benefit this country, many people still do not approve of its legalization. One of the reasons why people do not think it should be made legal is because they say that it causes lung cancer from the actual smoking of the plant. Yes, marijuana does contain carcinogens and other irritants to the lungs, but since marijuana smokes smoke much less often than cigarette smokers, they inhale much less smoke. Because marijuana smokers inhale less smoke than cigarette smokers, they are less likely to develop breathing problems. Another reason why some people say marijuana should not be legalized is because they believe that marijuana is physically addicting and regular marijuana users need major professional aide to stop smoking the plant. This is not true. A book written by Dr. Lynn Zimmer and Dr. John Morgan states because most people who smoke marijuana only smoke from time to time, no physical or mental dependence occurs. Less than one percent of marijuana users report smoking on a daily basis and less than that actually develop a psychological dependence to the plant. Even in heavy users of the plant, physical dependence is not seen and psychological dependence is minimal. (Zimmer 1).