Have You Ever Been Misjudged? Something Said About You

Marijuana has a deep history in America, being in the Americas since 1545 when the Spanish brought it over with them. Later, it was again brought over with the English colonists to Jamestown. Here it was used as a large cash crop similar to tobacco and was used as a major source of fiber. Later in the 1890s, a similar plant, hemp, became another large cash crop in the southern half of the US even replacing cotton. Around this time marijuana was also used in medications, although it was not on the scale of cocaine and opium, being used to treat everything from labor pains to rheumatism, “any disorder of the extremities or back, characterized by pain and stiffness” (The Definition of Rheumatism). Further on, in the 1920s marijuana became increasingly more popular with jazz musicians and even special cafes/clubs opening for its use. It was not until the 1930s when a campaign conducted by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics whom labeled marijuana as the harmful “gateway drug” it is seen as today. Though

First, from 1900 to 1940, marijuana, including opium and cocaine were considered part of everyday drugs. As time went on, the U.S. cracked down on crack and opium, eventually outlawing them, but continued to be very “loose” with the use of marijuana. Hoxter a weed smuggler explains how he began in the 1960’s trying weed and years later saw himself unloading four hundred pounds of pot in Vancouver. The story of this man ends in his isolation and argument of why he couldn’t smoke weed even if he stopped selling? He asked a parole officer and she didn’t know what to respond. It is true what Hoxter states, fifty years ago alcohol was illegal and now it’s not, was it bad then? Will weed be legalized? And will the conflicts have been in vain? (Schou 8). Around the late 90’s and early 2000’s, scientific studies started to produce jaw-dropping results. Scientists started to discover that marijuana can significantly help people who have become ill. Medical Marijuana has been tested to help people with cataracts, cancer and severe depression (Zeese 1999). With this new worldwide discovery, the argument about medical marijuana ignited. States wanted to only make medical marijuana legal so it may help sick people, but the government did not want any form of marijuana legal. The law that was known throughout the United States was any form of marijuana was illegal. But now with this new discovery, doctors in states across the country want the

Since the 1970’s marijuana has been considered a schedule 1 drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Schedule 1 drugs are drugs that serve no medical purposes at all, has high potential for abuse and has lack of accepted safety use. Among marijuana, other schedule 1 drugs include heroin, LSD, ecstasy, and etc. Marijuana should not be in listed among these drugs for many reasons. Marijuana is much safer than the drugs list and does not have a high abuse rate like the other drugs. It also have many medical properties to contradict one of the schedule 1 safety guidelines.

Marijuana was in the United States Pharmacopeia from 1850 until 1942 and was prescribed to patients for various conditions including labor pains, nausea and rheumatism. During the 1850’s up to the 1930’s it was a very popular intoxicant. A movement conducted in the 1930’s by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics (presently the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs) fought to make marijuana appear to be an Addicting and powerful substance that would lead

Cannabis began being outlawed all across the U.S. during the 1900’s and has remained illegal ever since, until recent years when states began legalizing it (huffpost.com). Although many people believe that the reason behind the prohibition of cannabis was based on genuine concern for the possible consequences it may have on the well-being of people if it remained accessible to all, the truth is that the drive behind the U.S.’s prohibition of cannabis was founded on racism. During the early 1900’s cannabis was considered an “ethnic drug” due to the fact that many Mexican immigrants smoked the plant (huffpost.com). With the tension in Western states regarding the migration of Mexicans into the states, laws concerning the use regulation of

The medical marijuana debate is an interesting one because there’s such a wide diversity of opinions and views that oppose each other. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug. They consider these drugs to have no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse and to be some of the most dangerous drugs, because they’re highly addictive and may cause severe psychological or physical dependence. Other Schedule 1 drugs include heroin, LSD, ecstasy and meth. Many who are against marijuana believe the drug is dangerous, harmful and feel it should remain illegal.

Drugs categorized as Schedule I must meet three criteria; the drug has a high potential for abuse, the drug has no therapeutic value, and the drub is not safe for medicinal use. The federal government defends this classification, citing concerns about the validity of research showing the medicinal benefits of cannabis and the impact on society of legalizing its’ usage.” –Therapeutic Cannabis, Mathre-

For many years in the past, marijuana has been made to look like a dangerous drug, linked to crime and addiction. In the early 1920s and ‘30s most people still did not know what marijuana was or had even heard of it yet. Those who had heard of it were largely uninformed. The drug rarely appeared in the media, but when it did it was linked to crime and even thought to be murder-inducing. A 1929 article in the Denver Post reported a Mexican-American man who murdered his stepdaughter was a marijuana addict (Baird 2011). Articles such as this began to form a long-standing link between marijuana and crime in the public’s mind. Soon, laws against marijuana began coming into place. In 1970, Congress classified

"These new Americans brought with them their native language, culture and customs. One of these customs was the use of cannabis as a medicine and relaxant" (Burnett and Reiman). Americans always knew the plant as "cannabis" but Mexicans referred to it as "marijuana." The term "marijuana" was foreign on United States' soil therefore, it raised suspicion and fear amongst not only Texans but Americans as well. Surprisingly, the herb was never illegal during the time period of the massive immigration. However, it was originally used in Texas for medical reasons, such as arthritis but evolved into substance abuse over the next decade or so. As more immigrants came into American territory, so did marijuana. "In an effort to control and keep tabs on these new citizens, El Paso, TX borrowed a play from San Francisco’s playbook, which had outlawed opium... the idea was to have an excuse to search, detain and deport Mexican immigrants" (Burnett and Reiman). Of course, the drug got into the hands of rich white men and since America is known for their free market economy, money started to be made. This turned into the entrepreneurship we know today as drug dealing. Laws were made to help regulate and control the exchange of marijuana. It became illegal during the 1930's."Twenty-nine states carried restrictions on cannabis by 1931" (Rathge). Eventually that's how the old "Say no to drugs" campaign was

Back in the 1900’s when there was a large immigration influx of Mexicans into the U.S., citizens not only saw there was an influx of their customs. This included the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes (Burnett and Reiman, 2014). What most Americans didn’t realize is that it is the same as what they knew as cannabis, which had been used in many medicines for years and was found in may American households. The U.S. had been known to control immigrants by having an excuse to search and deport certain races by outlawing the use of their traditional medicinal drugs, like had been done with Chinese immigrants and the use of opium in San Francisco (Burnett and Reiman, 2014). Texas adopted this way of thought by using marijuana to control Mexican immigrants. Claims were made that marijuana was able to “cause men of color to become violent and solicit sex from white women” (Burnett and Reiman, 2014). From accusation like this, the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 came into being and

Adding history and background to the issues and conflicts that will be discussed later in the paper is critical in order to discern them. Following the Mexican revolution, the United States in the early 1900s experienced an increase of immigrants coming from Mexico. These immigrants brought their native language, culture, and customs. One of their customs was the use of cannabis plants, which at the time was used for medicinal purposes and as a major relaxant. These new Americans referred to the plant as marijuana, which is the same as cannabis. However, at this time many Americans were oblivious to that. Media reports supported the fears that had risen from the general population of believing immigrants were dangerous, claiming that they

On August 14, 1970, the Assistant Secretary of Health, Dr. Roger O. Egeberg wrote a letter recommending the plant, marijuana, be classified as a schedule 1 substance, he succeeded and it has remained that way for nearly 45 years. The Drug enforcement agency defines a schedule 1 substance as “drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule I drugs are the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence. ("Drug Schedules." DEA.gov.)”

In the 1800’s marijuana was sold in the drugstores and was used to treat migraines and menstrual cramps. In the early 1900s some states required you to have a prescription for the medical use of marijuana. By the 1930’s marijuana was being tied with criminal cases being the lead cause of the crime. In the 1960-70’s Congress with Richard Nixon as President passed the Controlled Substances Act classifying marijuana as a drug with a “high potential for abuse” and “no currently accepted medical use” (Bronner, 2013).

The use of marijuana for medical purposes and personal use can be recorded as far as 12,000 years ago. Marijuana is classified as a schedule 1 drug. Schedule 1 drugs are drugs are drugs that have the potential for abuse (Drug Scheduling,2016). The government contains the high-level drugs, this is the reason we have pharmacies. Pharmacies are regulated so that people can not get medicine that can be easily abused. Pharmacies require a medical prescription from a certified doctor for any drug that could be used improperly. Marijuana should be in the same category as prescription drugs because, like any medicine/drug it can be easily abused. Decriminalizing marijuana is not helping millions of people that could benefit from its medical benefits from legalizing it. Even though legalized marijuana may result in an increase in black-market drug trade, marijuana should be legalized because its sale could benefit the economy and can also be used for medical purposes.

Within today’s society, Cannabis is seen as a harmful substance of such negative controversy. Marijuana is a very prominent and controversial issue in society today. Despite many malicious allegations have been made regarding marijuana today, the truth of what marijuana’s real dangers are are beginning to come about again. Sadly, these facts have been held under considerable judgement because of what people stereotype a pot smoker as. This has been brought under heavy criticism due to the stereotypical view of what people view as the typical “pot smoker.” This image society has of a lazy and unambitious America has all been the result of almost one hundred years of false propaganda and stereotypes gossiped by certain private individuals trying to keep weed illegal for their own personal benefit.