Why Marijuana Should Be Decriminalized

James Morton

Why Marijuana Should Be Decriminalized Marijuana has been used recreationally as well as medicinally for thousands of years. The earliest evidence of inhalation of marijuana, a small pile of charred cannabis/seeds, was found in Romania and believed to be dated prior to the 3rd millennia BCE. Marijuana use is considered to be beneficial to some, however has been controversially classified as a schedule 1 controlled substance, making it as illegal as heroin, politicians claim it to be more dangerous than cocaine, with little to no factual basis. Based upon my personal use of medical marijuana, I have seen more positive than negative effects, and believe it should be decriminalized so as to ease the pain, suffering, anxiety,
and mental anguish of thousands upon thousands of would be criminal users. Herodotus and many other historical figures have used marijuana and claimed it to have medicinal purposes. Cultures have used marijuana for such purposes as religious experiences, some believed it to bring them closer to their God (Rastafarian), Mayans’ claimed it to ease headaches, fever, and also to improve hand-eye coordination. Americans have begun to realize marijuana for its medicinal benefits such as its effect on cancer cells; components of marijuana have been shown to slow the progression of cancer cells if not stop them altogether, slow the progression of alzheimers, ease the pain and suffering of those enduring countless diseases, and help those with problems such as PTSD, anxiety, and eating disorders. I found at the age of 12 that my right arm was hurting due to the fact that I had rheumatoid arthritis which had occurred from a break at age 5.
All the while I ignored doctors orders and kept playing sports with only 75% use of my right arm, and did so quite well competitively. At age 17, I was injured during a baseball game and never played again, underwent surgery to remove bone fragments in my elbow and my world of pain began. I was introduced to marijuana as an alternative for pain pills shortly thereafter, and thank god for it as I do not want to be an doped up zombie for the rest of my life just to cope with the pain. Opiate based pain killers are the most commonly abused drugs in the US, and I found them to be extremely addictive, to have far more negative side effects than postitive, after a month of taking them I would wake in the middle of the night with flu like symptoms as the pain killers make you so dependant upon them you cannot go a period of more than 8 hours without taking them. Marijuana has enabled me to live a more active life, has eased the pain in my arm and back considerably, and also helped me to get past my anxiety and stress disorders. It has eased my arthritis pain, helped me regain a healthy appetite, and most importantly enabled me to live an opioid free life. The campaign to make marijuana illegal began in 1906 with the District of Columbia restricting the sale of cannabis, and soon thereafter in 1937 the Marihuana Tax Act was imposed, albeit some say with ulterior motives. Many scholars claim that the act was passed to destroy the hemp industry, largely due to the efforts of wealthy businessmen such as Randolph Hearst, Andrew Mellon, and the DuPont family. The invention of the decorticator made hemp a very cheap subsitute for paper pulp to the newspaper industry, and the DuPont family did not like this as they had relied on the downfall of hemp to help the rise of their newly developed synthetic fabric, nylon. Mellon had invested
substantially in the DuPonts business efforts, thus the reason why these people pushed so hard for the outlaw of cannabis (marijuana) and hemp altogether. Marijuana came under much scrutiny after the forming of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, headed by Harry Anslinger and his push to outlaw all recreational drugs. His reasoning was unfounded; he believed cannabis to cause an increase in peoples willingness to commit violent crimes and to act irrationally or over sexually. In 1970 the Controlled Substances Act was passed placing marijuana under the same category as heroin, mdma, and other harmful drugs, though there has never been one death attributed solely to the use of marijuana, not a single overdose in the history of the drug. Marijuana has widely been considered the ‘gateway drug’, since the 1950’s government agencies have claimed users are more likely to move up to more dangerous ‘hardcore’ drugs such as cocaine and heroin, yet marijuana remains in the same class as these ‘more dangerous’ drugs such as heroin, mdma, etc. So if marijuana was more likely to make you try more dangerous drugs, why would it be placed in the same class as these drugs which the government admits are more harmful. With every passing day more people are realizing the positive effects of marijuana, and more and more demand to see it decriminalized, millions of people remain locked in jail although they are non violent, all over the use of an herb which has been on this planet since before mankind. Research firms are progressively finding more and more positive aspects to marijuana, medical marijuana has generated millions of dollars in tax revenue, yet we have yet to legalize this worldly recognized herbal medication with countless healing qualities. One must wonder if the pharmaceutical companies just want to push another pill down your throat, rather than let you grow your own medicine in your backyard which would slim their sales and profit margins considerably, especially if marijuana use continues to be widely accepted for its medicinal properties.