The Issue Of Marijuana Legalization

Cannabis has been used as an agent for achieving enlightenment throughout all of time. It is described in an Oriental medical compendium traditionally considered to date form 2737 B.C. It has a long history of being used as a medicinal herb. Its origins spread from China to India and then over into North Africa and could be found in Europe as early as 500 A.D. It was a major crop in the colonial North America. It was extensively grown during WWII.

The marijuana legalization movement is one of the most controversial social movements of the modern day. Efforts to reform marijuana policy have been organized since the mid 1900s. There are two major organizations leading the battle for marijuana decriminalization. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and the Marijuana Project Policy (MPP) are both looking to reschedule and eventually legalize marijuana for the use of responsible adults. These two organizations provide various strategies that, along with additional tactics from other sources, have strongly influenced the position of the marijuana legalization social movement. The mobilization of resources is strongly influenced by the two leading organizations

Marijuana is now legal for medicinal purposes due to Proposition 215 in California, and Proposition 200 in Arizona. Also, the House has introduced bill 912, "The medical use of marijuana act." People with specified physical pains such as headaches, arthritis, and

In recent years across the United States and in many other nations as well, drug policy and the rationale behind these policies have started to undergo a tremendous shift. This change in public policy is visible to most through the ongoing legislation across America regarding the legalization of medical marijuana in 23 states, and recreational cannabis use becoming legal in 4 states as well (Hanson, 2015). This shift in public policy marks a significant turning point in the view of drugs and drug culture in the United States and reflects increased public knowledge of the less than desirable affects of the “drug war” mentality.

You’re living in the USA and there is much less debt and crime than there was previously; How may one ask? The legalization of marijuana will cause these things stated and more. It will also lead to lower prison populations, lower crime and increased tax revenue due to the taxation of an underground market such as Marijuana. Some believe that Marijuana causes harmful effects to the human being’s physical and mental health and abilities.  Although some people believe marijuana is harmful, it should be legalized because it would lower gang populations, increase  tax revenue, and lower prison populations.

Legalizing medical marijuana for North Carolina would be extremely beneficial. Marijuana does not only relieve stress but it can cure symptoms of cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, and Crohns’s disease. Twenty-three states have already legalized it and it has helped thousands of people. If something that is grown naturally in the earth can be beneficial to society and do the same job as all these drugs made in labs with unhealthy side effects the why do we not utilize it? According to federal law there is no such thing as medical marijuana. To the government marijuana is a dangerous drug classified as a schedule one substance. What the government does not understand is that not only is it helpful but they could generate millions of dollars in tax revenue from it.

Marijuana has been around as long as 2700 B.C. There is evidence that the Chinese used the drug for treatment of rheumatism, malaria, and absent-mindedness, among other things. The Spanish brought marijuana to America in the 1500’s, and the English brought it to Jamestown in 1611. After the English bought the crop over, it was considered a principle crop. They primarily started growing the crop for the use of hemp rope. The English were uncertain of the hallucinogenic properties the crop produced when first brought to America. The recreational use for marijuana has been on the rise since the early 1900’s in America.

“The first recorded mention of cannabis used in a medical context comes from the Shennong pên Ts’ao ching of the earliest texts on herbal medicine, which dates back to 2700 BCE.” ("Sensi Seeds, 2015, "What is medicinal marijuana?", para.2).

The use of marijuana by Americans has been no secret; over the past century whether it has been legalized or not. It has only recently become a huge controversial issue in America in the past several decades. Marijuana was not outlawed in the United States until the 1930’s. By 1931, 29 US states had outlawed marijuana, but it wasn't until 1937, when congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act, that the drug effectively became criminalized. In the early 1900’s marijuana was seen as an evil drug associated with Mexican immigrants; terrible crimes were attributed to marijuana and the Mexicans that used it. It wasn't until the 1960’s that attitudes towards marijuana became more relaxed. The drug started to be used for recreational fun in the white upper middle class. In the 70’s the drug took flight across the nation. With music festivals such as Woodstock and peace movements during the Vietnam War the drug became very popular. In 1996 California became the first state to legalize the medical use of marijuana with the passing of Proposition 215. Within the following years several states began to decriminalize marijuana, and legalize marijuana for medical use, but it wasn't until last year that the states of Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana for recreational use. With many states changing the laws on the use of marijuana it beings a problem for the federal government being that federally marijuana is still illegal. The use of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes

Nowadays, marijuana has become a very prominent and controversial issue in our society. This type of drug, commonly used by people for “medicinal, recreational and spiritual use”, gives rise to disputes and heated discussions toward its legislation process. Some people, like Ethan A. Nadelmann, strongly support the legalization of Marijuana because of its medical use, According to his recent article Support: AN END TO Marijuana Prohibition, it is proved that Marijuana is often the only medicine that relieves nausea in cancer and AIDS patients without any debilitating side effect. Nadelmann points out that marijuana prohibition is totally a failure because of the easier accessibility for teenagers. He also

The first direct reference to a cannabis product as a psychoactive agent dates from 2737 BC, in the writings of the Chinese emperor Shen Nung. The focus was on it’s powers as a medication, for reheutmatism, gout, malaria, and oddly enough, absent-mindedness. http://www.narconon.org/drug-information/marijuana-history.html

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.

Secondly, the monetary gain of its legalization for most has been productive to say the least. For example, Denver Colorado is on track to more than triple the marijuana tax revenue this year alone. $44 million was collected in 2014. In July 2015, 73.5 million was collected, while 19.6 million went to schools. A place such as Chicago could really use the legalization to help with the school system infrastructure issues they have. With a deficit of over 1.1 billion marijuana sales could alleviate both the conditions of schools themselves, as well as provide more funding.

Originating in Asia, Cannabis has made its way across the world over thousands of year, as a harmless planet with numerous benefits. It has been within the last couple of hundreds where this magical plant has been banned, and made a crime aside from all the good it can do for our society and the world.

Marijuana has a long history of medical use. It is one of the oldest living plants and, in ancient times, was used as various forms of medicine through ingestion of the plant. The first recorded use of marijuana as medicine was in China. It was reported in Pen Tsþoo Ching in first or second century A.D. It reported that ma-fe-san(boiled hemp compound) was used as an anesthetic for