Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

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

In modern society marijuana has always been considered a sort of taboo subject in the United States due mainly to the fact that it is illegal. Many people don’t realize however that considering the history of our country, marijuana has only been illegal for a relatively short time span. Several of our founding fathers, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, grew marijuana for hemp (the material derived from the plant) regularly and there is even speculation Washington smoked the plant occasionally. Back in those days marijuana did not have the sinister reputation it has today but instead was a vital part of colonial life, with the hemp material having a number of uses including rope, clothing, and paper (West, 1998). It wasn’t until the early 20th century that the public opinion regarding marijuana began to shift and restrictive laws were put in place that would eventually lead to illegalization.

“The oldest known written record on cannabis use comes from the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung in 2727 B.C. Ancient Greeks and Romans were also familiar with cannabis, while in the Middle East, use spread throughout the Islamic empire to North Africa. In 1545 cannabis spread to the western hemisphere where Spaniards imported it to Chile for its use as fiber. In North America cannabis, in the form of hemp, was grown on many plantations for use in rope, clothing and paper” (Cannabis + Coca). Marijuana used to be listed in the United States Pharmacopeia from 1850 until 1942 and was prescribed for numerous conditions such as labor pains, nausea, and rheumatism. Increased use of pot as an

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

This paper will look at the benefits and drawbacks to legalizing marijuana by looking in at Colorado.The state made forty million dollars by taxed marijuana in 2014 alone, also Colorado saved countless millions because of the extremely lower amounts of marijuana arrest and court cases. It is not clear how having new recreational marijuana stores opening will affect the cannabis market, or businesses expanding around them. Gov. John Hickenlooper says that the economy is thriving with record setting numbers of tourists (73.1 million). 49 percent of those tourist said that legal marijuana influenced their decisions to vacation in Colorado. The ER’s in Colorado have also seen a rise in numbers of marijuana related cases and those cases in non-residents have almost doubled. An unexpected situation that arose from legal cannabis was the amount of electricity that is being use to grow the drug. Some cannabusinesses have to go green with solar or wind power. There are many varying views on the effects of legal marijuana have developed in Colorado since marijuana became legal in 2014.

Cannabis was used by almost every ancient civilization for, but not limited to, ropes, clothing, medicine, and recreation. Marijuana has only been illegal for the past 73 years. The interesting thing about it’s illegality is the fact that Cannabis used to be very legal in the United States. Prior to 1937, cannabis was the largest agricultural crop in the United

During the 1920's many mexican immigrants fled to the United States for work. With them, many of them brought marijuana. The act of smoking marijuana was picked up on by many black and white jazz musicians during the 1920's and 1930's, but was not used widespread until the 1960's. During the 1930's, Louis Artmstrong was arrested in California and given a sentence of six months for possession of Marijuana [3]. In 1937, the Treasury Department established a marijuana transfer tax known as the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, after testifying before Congress. After 1937 up until the passing of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Act of 1970, which include the Controlled Substance Act of 1970, marijuana was legally controlled through a transfer tax. [2]

There are many controversial topics being discussed in the United States today. Some will have more of an impact than others. Some you may have never even heard of. One of the major and most controversial topics in my opinion is whether or not marijuana should be legalized in the US. There are many factors that play a role in deciding if marijuana would be beneficial to our country. In this essay we will dig into the positives and negatives of legalizing marijuana and you can decide for yourself if legalizing marijuana is a good idea or not.

In the 1900s, weed had already had relatively long legal history in the United States. Many historians believe the Jamestown settlers were the first to introduce cannabis to the United States in 1611. Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, both grew hemp in the 1700s, which was distributed to drug stores to help cure migraines and menstrual cramps. In the beginning weed was used for recreational purposes, and still is used to aid aliments, some aliments worse than others.

Marijuana became a problem in America from 1913 to the late 1930s. California was the first state to ban marijuana in 1913, and Utah outlawed marijuana in 1914. From 1915 to 1937 it was banned by 30 states, in the southwestern states it was outlawed because of racial prejudice against the mexicans who used it. In other states they thought that marijuana was a “gateway” drug and lead to heroin addiction. Marijuana also became illegal because of Henry Hearst, he invested in the timber industry to support his newspaper business and he did not want hemp as a competitor. Another man was also trying to get marijuana banned, he was the director of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, Harry Anslinger. He saw a business opportunity, like many other corrupt

Marijuana use in the United States is more recent. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew marijuana on their estates and Washington said to "Make the most of the hemp seed, and sow it everywhere" (Schleichert 9). During the early 1800's marijuana was sold as extracts that were said to help cure aliments ranging from migraines and asthma to epilepsy, insomnia, chronic bronchitis and gonorrhea. Later, around 1890, the medical use of marijuana declined with the invention of the hypodermic needle. Drugs could now have quicker and more reliable pain relief and finally in 1941 cannabis was taken out of professional

The question of legalizing marijuana has been an issue for many years. In the Unites States from the 1600s to late 1800s hemp was harvested on U.S. soil to create materials such as rope, paper and clothing. It was during the 1800s that cannabis products became popular for medical use and was sold in many pharmacies across the nation. It became a requirement to label these over-the-counter medicines containing cannabis but it was still legal. Around the early 1900s the many Mexicans immigrated to U.S. to escape the Mexican Revolution conflict. These immigrants smoked marijuana recreationally and brought this concept with them. El Paso, Texas became the first U.S. city to ban marijuana in 1915 (Benson, 2015) By 1937, 46 of the 48 states has passed laws banning marijuana use and the Marijuana Tax Act was passed making it illegal to have marijuana unless it was for medical reasons. In 1952 the Narcotics Control Act of 1956 was imposed and the federal government started requiring minimum prison sentences for possessing marijuana. Marijuana was made a schedule I drug meaning it had no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse in the Controlled Substance Act of 1970.

Marijuana has been used for a very long time throughout the country for many medical uses. Starting in the 1900’s marijuana as well as other drugs such as cocaine and opium were not considered drugs and were in fact very commonly used. Not much later in 1914 the U.S. made cocaine illegal for non-medical purposes, 56 years later in 1970 cocaine was classified as a schedule II substance. The U.S. was very strict about the cannabis laws starting around the 1980’s. Then beginning in the early 2000’s scientists started discovering the medical benefits the marijuana has on people that are sick. Marijuana was used to treat many people with cancer and also people suffering from depression. Shortly after these studies were released the argument for medical marijuana began to grow throughout the United States. The government did not want any kind of marijuana becoming legal but by being able to overrule the government laws marijuana was legalized for medical use only in California in 1996. This was a huge step in the marijuana industry and a few other states such as Colorado and Arizona had also allowed medical marijuana shortly after. There are now 21 states in the United States that have legalized medical marijuana.

The inception of cannabis prohibition in the United States began no more than a century ago. During the colonization of the free nation, the consumption, production, and sale of cannabis was legal due to high reliance on hemp at the time. By the close of the nineteenth century cannabis became, alongside tobacco and cotton, one of the leading crops produced in the Americas. During this time physicians often prescribed cannabis for medical, however, after a rise in opiate addiction following the Civil War, cannabis fell under the same fate as many other commonly stigmatized drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Moreover, early restrictions on cannabis are documented as being under the guise of federal drug regulatory objectives backed with discriminatory

By 500 A.D. its use had spread westward, to the Middle East, where it was reportedly used as an analgesic and antiseptic. It slowly spread to Africa and Eastern Europe. Several years after Napolean?s army returned from Egypt, marijuana became widely accepted by western medical practitioners. It wasn?t until the mid 1800s that the United States embraced its therapeutic qualities as evidenced by the 1860 convening of the Committee on Cannabis Indica of the Ohio State Medical Society, which reported on its therapeutic applications. In the years from 1840-1890, the medical community in the U.S. had written 100 papers recommending its use for various illnesses. By the early 20th century nearly 200 papers had been written demonstrating the medicinal qualities of marijuana. In the period from 1890-1937, the development of newer medicines led to the decline of using medical pot, although many organizations still endorsed medical pot, including the American Medical Association (Nat?l Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse).