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Argumentative Essay On Marijuana In America

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Marijuana in America

For years, marijuana has been labeled by officials as a “dangerous drug” and criminalized in the America. Now, many scientists are discovering that marijuana can be helpful rather than harmful. They have discovered that marijuana can be used to treat many diseases including, epilepsy, glaucoma, Crohn's disease, and cancer. It can also treat the constant effects because of those diseases. Marijuana is proven to help many people with many ailments, yet it is still illegal in many states. But why has marijuana been demonized in America for so long? Where did it all begin? Marijuana’s demonization is believed to have originated just after the Mexican Revolution, when Mexican immigrants came to America, bringing plants they called “Marihuana” with them. The Americans didn’t like the Mexicans, mostly for being different than them, and because of their dislike of the Mexican people, they demonized marijuana, even though cannabis, the name they had given the plant, was prevalent in many medicines at that time. The American government sought out to destroy the customs of many of the immigrants by criminalizing marijuana because it could “cause men of color to become violent and solicit sex from white women.” (Dr. Malik Burnett and Amanda Reiman, PhD) Because of these false claims, marijuana was demonized and criminalized in America. In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act was passed, and marijuana was taxed greatly in order to stop it from being used as a medicine and
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