Marijuana In Today's World
Marijuana in Today 's World
While doing a bit of research, I stumbled upon something that I found quite fascinating. Marijuana, America 's favorite and most widely-used illicit drug, is being tested in studies to treat sick patients with symptoms of nausea, pain, muscle spasms, glaucoma, vomiting associated with chemotherapy, and weight loss associated with AIDS. Marijuana, also known as weed, mary-jane, dope, or reefer, is not only currently being used and tested for medicinal purposes, but is also widely known for its durable material called hemp. “The use of industrial hemp has been around for more than 12,000 years, grown in twenty-six International Nations, and can produce over 26,000 products” (Iversen, 5). Being crowned as illegal in the 1930 's, the United States ' view on marijuana has changed and this creates debatable questions when marijuana is the topic. Questions such as: Is marijuana is a gateway drug? Is marijuana a highly addictive substance? Does long-term marijuana smoking cause numerous health problems? These are just a few of the questions that the American population and the federal government are unsure about. The real question should ask: Is there currently a medicine that doesn 't arouse those questions stated above? According to Jocelyn Elders, a former US Surgeon General, she states that “Marijuana is indeed less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe everyday” (13). If this statement is true, then why isn 't our government doing anything about it? If our government placed a tax on medicinal marijuana and taxed industrial hemp farmers, the government could obtain a huge profit and work to improve the United States debt, which is currently sitting at 15 trillion dollars. So my other real question is, Why is a natural growing plant that is beneficial for our bodies and our community crowned as illegal? Taxing and legalizing hemp, medicinal marijuana, and creating new decriminalization penalties for those who wish to use
While doing a bit of research, I stumbled upon something that I found quite fascinating. Marijuana, America 's favorite and most widely-used illicit drug, is being tested in studies to treat sick patients with symptoms of nausea, pain, muscle spasms, glaucoma, vomiting associated with chemotherapy, and weight loss associated with AIDS. Marijuana, also known as weed, mary-jane, dope, or reefer, is not only currently being used and tested for medicinal purposes, but is also widely known for its durable material called hemp. “The use of industrial hemp has been around for more than 12,000 years, grown in twenty-six International Nations, and can produce over 26,000 products” (Iversen, 5). Being crowned as illegal in the 1930 's, the United States ' view on marijuana has changed and this creates debatable questions when marijuana is the topic. Questions such as: Is marijuana is a gateway drug? Is marijuana a highly addictive substance? Does long-term marijuana smoking cause numerous health problems? These are just a few of the questions that the American population and the federal government are unsure about. The real question should ask: Is there currently a medicine that doesn 't arouse those questions stated above? According to Jocelyn Elders, a former US Surgeon General, she states that “Marijuana is indeed less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe everyday” (13). If this statement is true, then why isn 't our government doing anything about it? If our government placed a tax on medicinal marijuana and taxed industrial hemp farmers, the government could obtain a huge profit and work to improve the United States debt, which is currently sitting at 15 trillion dollars. So my other real question is, Why is a natural growing plant that is beneficial for our bodies and our community crowned as illegal? Taxing and legalizing hemp, medicinal marijuana, and creating new decriminalization penalties for those who wish to use
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