Medical Cannabis Vs. Un-united States
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As California gets ready to address the outright legalization of Cannabis in November 2010. L.A.'s D.A. Steve Cooley has decided to take a slightly different approach regarding the medical marijuana clubs. Mr. Cooley would like to close down every and all legal medical marijuana collectives in the greater L.A. county area. Despite the fact that 74% of the voting public are fine with the current system.
Cannabis is a plant that has a recorded history of medical use that can be dated back to 4,000 years ago. It has been used for its various medicinal exercises all over the world, in places such as China, the Middle East, and India. People in China used cannabis to treat ailments like malaria (a disease that kills more than a million people a year (WHO)). Not a single case of overdosing on marijuana has occurred since its noted history, making it one of the safest known drugs. However, back in the 1930s, the U.S. government saw marijuana as a major national threat, and made it illegal. Even with its criminalization, almost half of America has tried marijuana at least once. The outlawing of marijuana was a process that was driven by yellow journalism, ignorance, and bigotry, and it's obvious that these laws need to change.
The two main people that drove marijuana to its criminalization were Harry Anslinger and William Randolph Hearst. Anslinger was the first Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics back in 1930. Hearst was a corporate tycoon who owned newspapers all over the country. Anslinger knew that the department he just became head of wouldn't survive on the seizures of opium and cocaine alone, so he started rallying against marijuana, a drug that he knew came from Indians, blacks, and Hispanics. William Hearst helped him in his campaigns, because hemp (which is commonly associated with marijuana) was a major competitor to paper mills, a big part of Hearst's newspapers. Harry Anslinger approached Congress several times, where he made such statements as, “reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men,” and, “there are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others”. William Hearst's statements were no better, as he launched nationwide ads in his papers, making statements like, “marijuana influences Negroes to look at white people in the eye, step on white men's shadows and look at a white woman twice”. These statements of racism, along with countless other lies helped make marijuana illegal in 1937, despite its vast medical uses.
One primary reason marijuana should be at least nationally decriminalized is the fact that there is a long list of diseases and health problems that could be treated through cannabis, and the list grows larger every day. Cannabis can be used to prevent blindness for glaucoma patients. It is a very utilizable drug for muscle relaxation. Many studies show that people with rheumatism could benefit from taking marijuana. Another role for cannabis as a medicine is its use for cancer and AIDS patients. Chronic loss of appetite associated with chemotherapy and AIDS have been proven to be successfully countered by marijuana use. Nausea, which is also associated as a side effect with chemotherapy, has also been proven to be offset due to taking cannabis medicinally. Marijuana is the best known bronchial dilator, helping asthma patients (cannabis has been recorded to even completely stop asthma attacks). These are just a few examples of cannabis' countless medicinal purposes.
Another reason marijuana laws needs to change is the fact that they are one of, if not the most commonly broken laws in the United States. This might sound like a somewhat outlandish reason, but the Office of National Drug Control Policy says that almost 95 percent of American ages 12 and older have tried marijuana at least once of their lifetime. This accounts for 40 percent of America's total population. It doesn't need to be said that 40 percent of America isn't criminal. Neither is the 64 percent of people ages 19-28 who say they smoke marijuana on a regular basis. For the most part marijuana users are good, upstanding citizens. Still, more than 829,000 people were arrested for marijuana related crimes in 2006 (NORML), which exceeded the number of people that went to jail for all violent crimes combined, including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. People who get their driver's licenses taken away for marijuana related crimes are far less likely to receive a workers license (saying you can drive for working purposes) than those convicted of DUIs (even if a motor vehicle wasn't involved when caught with cannabis).
Marijuana has been around for a long time, and it has only been illegal for less than one percent of it's tenure of use. It's a drug that can be used for a variety of ailments, and it is even safer to use than all the drugs approved by the FDA. These laws that were established on racism and corporate greed seventy years ago are still affecting the lives of good people today, who are forced into prisons with murderers and rapists. The consequences of being caught with marijuana are far worse than the consequences of actually taking the drug, and that is why marijuana laws need some serious revising.
Works Cited
The Office of National Drug Control Policy:
Drug War Rant:
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws:
Jack Herer.com
