Legalizing Marijuana
Garret Jones
Miss Griffith
5/10/12
Research paper
Legalizing it!
Marijuana has been vilified in America over the past 70+ years. Despite its many practical uses, medicinal and industrial, our Federal government insists on maintaining the status quo that the growth, possession and use of marijuana is criminal despite the evidence that the legalization of marijuana would have a positive influence on America. In this paper I will discuss the history of marijuana, the industrial uses of hemp, the prohibition of marijuana, the economic impact prohibition has on America, the effects of marijuana use on the mind and the body, marijuana for medical use, and how legalization of marijuana would have a positive influence on America. Although I support the legalization of marijuana I do not support the legalization of other Schedule I drugs, therefore this paper is not about the legalization of all drugs.
Marijuana, as most people commonly know it, is really a plant called hemp, or "cannabis sativa." There are other plants called hemp, but cannabis hemp is the most useful of these plants. "Hemp" is any durable plant used since prehistory for many purposes, and cannabis is the most durable of the hemp plants. The cannabis plant also produces three very important products that other plants do not, seed, pulp, and medicine. The cannabis sativa plant grows as weed and cultivated plant all over the world in a variety of climates and soils. Marijuana has been used throughout history; in 6000 B.C. cannabis seeds were used as food in China; in 4000 B.C. the Chinese used textiles made of hemp; the first recorded use of cannabis as medicine in China was in 2727 B.C.; and in 1500 B.C. the Chinese cultivated Cannabis for food and fiber. This time line goes on and on right through today.
It is thought that hemp was first brought to the New World in 1545 by the Spanish; it was introduced in Jamestown by the English in 1611 where it became a major commercial crop alongside
Miss Griffith
5/10/12
Research paper
Legalizing it!
Marijuana has been vilified in America over the past 70+ years. Despite its many practical uses, medicinal and industrial, our Federal government insists on maintaining the status quo that the growth, possession and use of marijuana is criminal despite the evidence that the legalization of marijuana would have a positive influence on America. In this paper I will discuss the history of marijuana, the industrial uses of hemp, the prohibition of marijuana, the economic impact prohibition has on America, the effects of marijuana use on the mind and the body, marijuana for medical use, and how legalization of marijuana would have a positive influence on America. Although I support the legalization of marijuana I do not support the legalization of other Schedule I drugs, therefore this paper is not about the legalization of all drugs.
Marijuana, as most people commonly know it, is really a plant called hemp, or "cannabis sativa." There are other plants called hemp, but cannabis hemp is the most useful of these plants. "Hemp" is any durable plant used since prehistory for many purposes, and cannabis is the most durable of the hemp plants. The cannabis plant also produces three very important products that other plants do not, seed, pulp, and medicine. The cannabis sativa plant grows as weed and cultivated plant all over the world in a variety of climates and soils. Marijuana has been used throughout history; in 6000 B.C. cannabis seeds were used as food in China; in 4000 B.C. the Chinese used textiles made of hemp; the first recorded use of cannabis as medicine in China was in 2727 B.C.; and in 1500 B.C. the Chinese cultivated Cannabis for food and fiber. This time line goes on and on right through today.
It is thought that hemp was first brought to the New World in 1545 by the Spanish; it was introduced in Jamestown by the English in 1611 where it became a major commercial crop alongside
Cited: 1. Cruz, Veronica. “Gunmen Get Medical Pot from Home on NE Side”. Arizona Daily Star. 20 March, 2012: A1 & A5. 2. Kurwa, Nishat. “Federal Agents Bust Marijuana School ‘Oaksterdam.’’’ NPR. NPR, 03 Apr. 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. http://www.npr.org/2012/04/03/149937087/federal-agents-bust-marijuana-school-oaksterdam. 6. “Up In Smoke.” The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 14 Apr. 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. http://www.economist.com/node/21552609.