• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
The Legalization of Marijuana: A Historical, Moral and Medical ApproachThe first to take advantage of marijuana were prehistoric farmers, most likely for its fiber, but speculation also exists that the seeds may have been planted as well. It is not known whenthe psycho-active properties of marijuana were first realized, but it does not require a vividimagination to imagine early man ingesting it purposefully or accidentally. Surely to prehistoricman the effects would have been almost supernatural, leading to religious practices, which inturn would lead to medical use. From those early moments of human history marijuana has beenwoven into the fabric of human society, being used for a multitude of purposes. For example, itis not uncommon for societies to revolve heavily around marijuana, it has been common in manyMiddle Eastern countries for thousands of years for men to smoke a mixture of tobacco andhashish throughout the entire day with some restrain, and rarely do they seek intoxication.Throughout this essay justification for the legalization of marijuana will be made by setting up aworld historical perspective as well as a legal perspective for the United States of America, suchas why marijuana was made illegal in this country in the first place. Points to be proven includewhy marijuana should be made legal according to past decisions by our government, past issuesof racism, and modern evidence pointing out marijuana is not as dangerous as many would like itto be.Marijuana is known by many different names, such as chronic, dope, ganja, grass,hashish, hash, herb, kif, mary jane, pot, reefer, sinsemilla, skunk, and weed. The plant itself grows wild in most parts of the world, but flourishes in hot, dry climates such as Central Asia.The plant includes the flowering tops, leaves, and stems which contain tetrahydrocannabinol(THC); the active psychoactive ingredient. Marijuana can be ingested through a number of methods, but the most popular have always been smoking and eating. Popular methods for 1
 
smoking include rolling the marijuana into cigarettes commonly known as “joints”, rollingmarijuana into hollowed out cigars which are commonly known as “blunts”, and smoking withsimple to elaborate pipes which sometimes use water filtration (“Marijuana” 175). Man has beenusing these methods for thousands of years.From prehistoric man to modern man, marijuana has had an impact in countless aspectsof society, from medicine to clothing to spiritual enlightenment and everything in between. Thestory of marijuana begins with the same people who brought humanity fire and the same wholaid the groundwork for modern society, prehistoric man. The likely first use of cannabis was for its fiber, although speculation exists that prehistoric man may have grown it for its seed; the seenin turn could them be eaten for its nutritional value (Booth 16). Fast forward to about 600 BCfor the first recorded use of marijuana for its psychoactive properties, Taoism was on the rise andintoxication was seen as antisocial. By the first century Taoists were becoming more interestedin the supernatural, alchemy and magic; cannabis was used as a means to inducing visions(Booth 19). From China, marijuana made its way to the Indian sub-continent, where it wasembraced by Brahmin priests and holy men who believed it took them closer to enlightenment.The public was only given access to marijuana during important religious festivals (Booth 21).The history of marijuana worldwide is long and illustrious, being used for personal enjoyment,clothing, and manufacturing and for medicine. Marijuana use is not limited to the ancient world,or the world outside the United States, marijuana had its place and remained there until becoming illegal in the 1930s.There is a common misconception that the Constitution, Declaration of Independence,and Bill of Rights of the United States of America were written on hemp paper, this is false; allthree were written on parchment paper. Learning from thousands of years of man using hemp,2
 
early Americans in the colonies grew large amounts for rope, paper and clothing. The plant isextremely versatile, being able to grow in many different regions; it especially thrived in thesouth. Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson cultivated hemp; Jefferson’s slaves onMonticello were producing 2000 yards of hemp per annum (Booth 34). A 1792 Act of Congress put a tariff on imported hemp of twenty dollars per ton, which rose to sixty dollars by 1828; thehemp business in America was big business. The 1800s saw a large increase in hemp machinery,especially for rope making. Hemp cultivation remained big in the United States until about1900, when American occupation of the Philippine Islands offered the importation of Manilahemp (Booth 36). In 1794 George Washington wrote a note to his gardener at Mount Vernonsaying, “make the most you can of the Indian hemp seed and sow it everywhere” (Washington270). Our forefathers had the insight to plant large crops of marijuana for industry, and theeducation to make use of the diverse plant with limited technology; there is no reason why our modern society can not also make use of hemp. Our roots with marijuana in this country were just like any other crop, the moral issue of slavery aside, crops boomed as did industry. The turnof the twentieth century brought a new wave of ignorance regarding marijuana; policies meant todemonize marijuana and its users began to sprout up everywhere.Harry Jacob Anslinger was born in 1892 in Pennsylvania. He started his career workingfor the War Department during the Great War and was later appointed to be the firstcommissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1930, which he held until 1962 (Booth 146).With his appointment came the birth of scare tactics and racism to fight drug use. Anti-Mexicanattitudes came to a peak during the Depression when jobs were scare; migrants were scene to bestealing work from whites. In fact the Mexican name
marihuana
was deliberately chosen in thehopes of it being a psychological tool to influence people against it. Anslinger and other 3
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...