Marijuana

Another Post from a group i am in.


Marijuana: A burning issue
by Randy Wilbourn, Jr.

Abraham Lincoln once said, "A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very
principle upon which our government was founded."

Marijuana is a burning issue in society. People are thinking about the
different aspects of the prohibition of marijuana. Studying this topic can
help make one aware of the political and cultural aspects of this issue. In
deciding whether the prohibition of marijuana is worth the effort to ban the
substance, history, health, and social aspects of the substance must be
factored in.

The history of marijuana goes back as far as humans learned to cultivate
crops. Around 100,000 years ago, there were people weaving hemp for useful
purposes and at the same time, they were working with metal and making
pottery. The cannabis plant has been with man for several millennia.

Early evidence of hemp, processed cannabis fiber, use is traced to the
Yang-Sho culture of China, which traces back to around 4500 B.C. They used
the fiber to make rope, nets and clothing. Archaeologist also speculate
that the earliest woven fabrics may have been made from hemp fibers
in-between 8000 and 7000 BC.

It is not uncommon for early Western literature to make reference to
marijuana. When Homer created the Iliad, he spoke of a drug taken to Troy by
Helen that, as it was described, sounded like marijuana. An American
physician, Dr. Robert P. Walton has found passages from many manuscripts
with marijuana references in them, such as Pliny's The Arabian Nights, books
by Herodotus, Marco Polo and other writers that also indicate that the
marijuana plant was cultivated in ancient times for purposes other than
making rope and textiles. Cannabis, which is also called marijuana, is
possibly mentioned in the Bible. In the Bible, cannabis is referred to as
calamus. Also, the Hebrew word for calamus is qaneh. Some of the possible
translations of qaneh are shaft, stem, beam, branch calamus, cane, or stalk.

Before 1883, there were no laws on the federal level, banning the uses,
possession, manufacture, or sale of drugs. Marijuana and other drugs were
available to the Native Americans before the Pilgrims arrived and in the
"new world" and there were no drug restrictions whatsoever. The sails and
ropes on Columbus' ships all had sails and ropes made of hemp and as well
were the sails and ropes of the pilgrims' ship, the Mayflower. In 1620, as
the Mayflower landed in America, the English had grown marijuana for almost
a decade, for the settlers of Jamestown brought marijuana with them to
Virginia in 1611, because of its hemp fiber. Many books, Bibles, and maps
were made of hemp, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew crops of
hemp, and in 1640, the governor of Connecticut declared that " 'every
citizen must grow the plant,' because it was badly need for its fiber
content."

Marijuana was used in colonial America as a painkiller. There were not many
sedatives in colonies, so George Washington, which had dental problems his
entire life, grew marijuana and was concerned about the medical use of
marijuana. In his journal, some of his writing showed his concern over when
to harvest his marijuana plants to get the best resin for making the
hashish. Hashish is a paste that is taken from cannabis plants and can be
smoked in pipes or eaten.

With America's roots deep in marijuana production, people had favorable
opinions of the substance. One may recognize some of the names of today's
pharmaceutical companies that marketed hemp extract in the second half of
the 1800's, such as Lilly, Parke Davis, Squibb, and Burroughs Wellcome.
"(In) 1851, the United States Dispensatory reported that the extract of hemp
was recommended for helping a multiple of diseases such as "neuralgia, gout,
rheumatism, tetanus, hydrophobia, epidemic cholera, convulsions, chorea,
hysteria, mental depression, delirium tremens, insanity, and uterine
hemorrhage."

More current history of marijuana has not been so kind to the plant. The
first law prohibiting the sale and possession of marijuana was made in 1914
in El Paso, Texas. On a national level, the usage of marijuana in the
United States was "effectively banned" in 1937 because of public health
reasons.

Recently, the state of California has rethought its stance on marijuana. The
state of California saw that new, tougher laws with harsh penalties meant to
scare marijuana users into giving up the substance, simply were not working
as planned. California loosened its grip on the regulation of marijuana
when that state passed Proposition 215 in November of 1996. The newly
passed state law allowed patients to use marijuana for medical purposes and
caused a major political earthquake, causing people to pay more attention to
the marijuana debate even to today.

The heath aspects of modern marijuana are debated often and with passion on
both sides of the legalization issue. Marijuana is not only an entertainment
drug, but can also be used for serious medical purposes. There are both
pros and cons to the usage of marijuana considering the health aspects.

Despite what many people may believe, marijuana is not a narcotic.
Marijuana, like alcohol, does not induce sleep unless taken in copious
amounts. In comparison, marijuana is non-addictive, unlike tobacco products
or opiates. According the Consumers Union Report, "the lethal dose is not
known; no human fatalities have been documented." The book, Marijuana
Myths, Marijuana Facts: A Review of the Scientific Evidence, says that
marijuana does not cause deaths due to overdoes and that hospital visits are
frequently recorded as marijuana related only because the patient has
reported having used marijuana beforehand and not necessarily that the
problem was caused by the marijuana itself.

In comparison to other drugs, marijuana has a reputation of being a
"harmless" drug. In comparison to tobacco smokers, marijuana smokers inhale
more deeply and retain their smoke longer than their tobacco smoking
counterparts. Marijuana contains several irritants and carcinogens, but
there has been no report of lung cancer related solely to marijuana. There
has been studies undergone at John Hopkins University School of Medicine
that found that marijuana smokers adjust their smoking depending on the THC
levels of the marijuana and smoke more or less accordingly. Research
conducted for over thirty years shows that marijuana users are much less
likely than tobacco smokers to develop a serious lung disease. Although
marijuana is less dangerous than many other drugs, the dangers of smoking
marijuana should not be ignored or seen as being diminished.

Marijuana use can help people with many ailments. Asthma sufferers are using
marijuana in conjunction with or in replacement of their regular treatments
for their problems, with testimonies saying that the marijuana works as well
or better than their pharmaceutical treatments, because of the absence of
the unwanted side effects. Because of their expense or unwanted side
effects, drugs for arthritis are oftentimes rejected by sufferers and turn
to marijuana to aleave the problems of their arthritis. People who smoke
marijuana for its pain relieving properties are able to control the needed
dosage very accurately, in opposition to a pill which must be digested,
because when the marijuana is smoked, the active ingredients reach the brain
and other parts of the body almost instantly as it is taken from the lungs
and therefore patients can smoke until they reach the exact dosage to stop
the pain. Marijuana can be a good painkiller, because marijuana is not as
psychologically debilitating as other drugs such as morphine and does not
cause substantial dependence.

The intoxicating aspects of taking the marijuana temper the benefits of
marijuana. People simply are not in total control of themselves when they
are under the drug's influence. Large quantities of marijuana do not need
to be smoked to increase the mental and physical effects, as well as the
possibility of health problems for the user. Small amounts of the drug can
temporarily interfere with things like speech, memory, concentration, and
learning ability, so as a result, users can have a difficult time learning
and remembering information. Because of the inhibited state of the senses as
well as the restraint of the mental capacity of the individual taking
marijuana, they feel that they are more careful when operating machines or
heavy equipment, but it is a false sense of caution. Just the opposite is
true.

There are health benefits that come from the chemical changes to the body by
marijuana, but there are also dangers that can be harmful to innocent people
caused by an impaired marijuana user who gets behind the controls of busses,
planes, cars and trucks. The prohibition may have caused people to die from
not having the medical benefits of having the drug, but also may have saved
lives by not allowing people to use the substance and then irresponsibly
endanger the lives of others.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the prohibition of marijuana is the
social aspect of the prohibition and the substance and itself. There is a
drug culture with drug dens, smoking accessories stores, and marijuana
culture clothing. The prohibition of marijuana has shaped American culture
from the "hippies" of the 70's to the "pot heads" of the 80's.

In society there has been a decrease of anti-drug messages in the general
population since the 80's. Because of this and pro-drug messages in movies,
songs, and television shows, marijuana use has been "normalized" into our
society and people can now been seen with T-shirts, hats, and posters with
marijuana and drug related materials on them. Organizations have risen over
the issue to fight over the legalization and usage of marijuana, such as the
Partnership for a Drug-Free America and the National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

Marijuana is a very popular drug. Around thirty-five to forty million
Americans have tried marijuana at least once and between twelve and eighteen
million people are regular users of the substance. When people smoke
marijuana, they feel relaxed, exhilarated, and intoxicated. The pupils of
the eyes dilate, there is a feeling of drowsiness, and afterwards there is
an increased hunger called the "munchies." These are some of the reasons
people like to smoke marijuana recreationally.

Prohibition has made using marijuana a crime. Research has found that
marijuana could possibly cause a smoker to commit a crime. Criminals and
marijuana users have failure in school, broken families, and lack of social
skills in common. Gary Somdahl, an adolescent therapist in the chemical
dependency field said "nearly 589,000 youths and adults were charged with a
marijuana crime (in 1996)."

Upon looking at the evidence, people should do with their bodies as the see
fit as so long as they do not harm others. History shows that some people
are irresponsible, but people should be given the responsibility and let
them choose for themselves. Health aspects show that marijuana is both
helpful and harmful. People should make that decision for themselves.
Private organizations can shape society in any way people want it to be such
as church groups, environmental groups, or volunteer organizations. People
should be able to ruin their lives if they wish, but the author believes
that private organizations could curb drug use more effective that the
government's war on drugs.

Freedom to use marijuana may hurt some people, but in the long run it will
help America end the costly prohibition on drugs. Marijuana can be a bad
thing, but Helen Keller once said, "The highest result of education is
tolerance."



Viva Liberty!