Hemp is the plant called “cannabis sativa” which is more commonly called marijuana.
Marijuana has been illegal in
the U.S.. ever since the Great Depression. The question we must ask ourselves is “why?”
Why is a drug that has so
many beneficial uses illegal? Is it because its poisoning the youth of today? Is it because it
leads to harder drugs, the
health problems, the addictiveness, the short-term memory impairment, the auto accidents,
or is it simply because
politicians tell us it is for “our own good?” We have grown up learning that marijuana is a
terrible drug, and that
using it gives us brain damage, kill all of our brain cells, and makes us lose our memory.
The fact is though, that
marijuana does not effect us in any of the ways listed above. The idea that marijuana
impairs short-term memory is
true, but misleading. Any signs of short-term memory impairment vanish once the user is
no longer intoxicated.
Mainly the reason we think marijuana is bad is because that is what the Partnership for a
Drug-Free America wants
us to believe. They tell us that marijuana will cause brain damage and memory impairment,
it will kill brain cells, and
lead to more crime. But what they forget to mention is all the benefits we can receive from
legalizing marijuana. For
example, the medicinal uses, and the textile and construction uses. It is very likely that
legalizing marijuana would
decrease the crime rate, and by legalizing marijuana we will save a lot of money because
we won’t have to spend it
on fighting marijuana as part of the War on Drugs. There are many habits much worse
than marijuana, one example
being cigarette smoking. “Tobacco smoking kills more people each year than AIDS,
heroin, crack, cocaine,
alcohol, car accidents, fire and murder combined. Tobacco smoking is the number one
cause of preventable death
in the US. Tobacco smokers have 10 times the lung cancer of nonsmokers, twice the
heart disease, and are three
times more likely to die of heart disease if they develop it. Does it make sense that
tobacco is legal and marijuana is
not, when so many people die from tobacco smoking each year and there is not one
reported case of anyone ever
dying from marijuana use in its 10,000 years of consumption? You have probably heard
that “one joint is that same
as 10 cigarettes,” but this statement is misleading. ALthough marijuana contains the same
amount of carcinogens as
an equal amount of tobacco and more tar, tobacco is still worse. Every yr 350,000
Americans die from
tobacco-related disease according to the American Lung Association. A tobacco smoker
consumes much more
tobacco than a marijuana smoker consumes marijuana. This is probably because tobacco
has a 90% addiction rate
while marijuana is less addictive than caffeine. Also, tobacco contains nicotine that may
harden the arteries and may
be responsible for much of the heart diseases caused by cigarette smoking. Marijuana on
the other hand contains
the chemical THC which opens up the lungs and aids in the clearance of smoke and dirt. I
think it is safe to say that
tobacco smoking is much more dangerous than marijuana smoking. Another bad habit is
alcohol, which in my
opinion is the worst of all. 8,000 American teenagers are killed each year and 40,000
maimed from driving under
the influence. The mortality figures for alcohol use are 100,000 annually, compared to the
zero marijuana deaths.
The amount of marijuana needed to kill someone is 1 to 40,000, while the ratio for alcohol
fluctuates between 1 to
4 and 1 to 10. Not only do many people die each year from alcohol poisoning, but alcohol
has caused thousands of
fatal car accidents. Although, marijuana, when used to the point of intoxication, impairs
judgement and reaction
time, actual studies suggest that the effect alcohol has on one’s driving ability is much
greater than that of marijuana.
In fact, it is found that 85% of marijuana related car accidents also involved alcohol. It is
sad to think that a legal
drug like alcohol, the drug of choice for most teens, causes so many fatalities on our
highways each year, yet
marijuana is the drug that is illegal. I personally feel that marijuana is an amazing plant, and
it should be being utilized
today. The problem is that most people don’t know the benefits that can come from
marijuana. There are many
different beneficial ways for which marijuana can be used. Marijuana can be used for
medical and textile uses, for
food, for fuels, and for the economy. First of all, marijuana could be used for food. It is
believed that enough food is
grown worldwide to feed everyone and that famine exists because there are not sufficient
means of distribution. So
why not let people grow their own marijuana? Marijuana grows like a weed and has few
insect pests. It is usually
grown without pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Hemp improves the quality of the soil
because it is grown without
pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Hemp is not finicky and grows under many different
conditions and has one of
the largest worldwide distributions of any plant. It is very nutritious and it contains high
amounts of protein and
essential fatty oils. The average adult can receive an adequate amount of protein and oils
from just one handful of
hemp seed a day. If this is the case, which it is, why are people starving around the world
when the solution is
marijuana for food? Hemp could also be used for fuel. By using marijuana for fuel we
could reduce the amount of
carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere. Hemp can also be used for heating
homes. Using marijuana for
fuel would not only help our environment save us a lot of money for fuel, but it would also
benefit our economy by
allowing the country to make huge profits because the cost of growing marijuana is
virtually nothing. Another way
marijuana can be used is for clothes, fibers, and paper. Marijuana has been used in the
past for textile and
construction and should be used today. For example, the first pair of Levi’s jeans were
made from marijuana
because it is extremely durable. ALso, sailors used marijuana in canvas for their sails
because it does become
corroded from the sea water. The pulp fibers of marijuana can be used for making paper,
which would reduce the
amount of trees that are cut down. One acre of hemp will make the same amount and
quality of paper as 4 acres of
20 yr old trees without the need for chlorine in the bleaching process and, creating no
toxic dioxin pollutants. What
I’m wondering in why haven’t we used marijuana for paper all along? I think it is senseless
that are constantly cutting
down trees and destroying rain forests when there is another alternative. There is only 4%
of America’s old growth
forest still remaining, and yet we are still cutting them down like they will grow back
instantly. The fact is that it may
take a lifetime for what has already been destroyed to grow back, so why keep ruining
America’s old growth
forests when growing marijuana grows much more quickly and it is cheaper? Most
importantly, marijuana should be
legalized for medicinal reasons. Hemp can be used to treat many diseases, some of which
include: multiple sclerosis,
depression, epilepsy, migraine headaches, asthma, glaucoma, cancer treatment, AIDS
treatment, emphysema, and
stress reduction. This list does not even include the many medicines that can be made from
marijuana, it only
includes the illnesses for which marijuana is used today. Marijuana is commonly used for
controlling nausea and
vomiting in cancer and AIDS patients that are being treated with chemotherapy or AZT.
Because of nausea caused
by chemotherapy, these patients sometimes can’t eat, which could kill them. One way of
controlling the nausea is to
smoke marijuana, but the problem is that it is illegal. So what are they supposed to do,
starve? I don’t think there is
anything wrong with smoking marijuana, especially if it means their happiness. My
neighbor, Jason, has an aunt who
is dying of cancer. She has very little chance of beating this disease, and wants to be
comfortable for the time she
has left. She doesn’t want to be on all the heavy drugs. She tells Jason that she would
rather be in pain than be all
drugged up. She hates feeling dizzy, lightheaded, and sedated. When she smokes
marijuana she feels much better.
The pain doesn’t go away completely, but at least she can function. I think the fact that she
could be put in jail for
smoking marijuana is terrible. It is okay for a patient to be on serious narcotics to kill the
pain, but smoking
marijuana is out of the question. Marijuana has no side effects, whereas drugs like
Demerol and morphine have both
short-term and long-term effects on the patient. The short-term effects are dizziness,
sedation, itching and rash,
respiratory depression, delirium, decreased heartbeat, vomiting, disorientation,
hallucinations, decreased cough
reflex, and problems with urination. The long-term effects can actually be more serious
than some of the illnesses,
one example is liver damage. Marijuana, however, has no side affects, except sometimes
euphoria, which is minor
compared to the serious effects of narcotics. Glaucoma and multiple sclerosis are also
illnesses in which marijuana is
sometimes used. Glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness, is caused by
uncontrollable eye pressure.
Marijuana helps control the eye pressure and keeps glaucoma from leading to blindness.
Another illness that
marijuana is used for is multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is the disease in which the
body’s immune system
attacks the nerve cells. Marijuana can stop the spasms from occurring and can prevent the
disease from getting
worse. Marijuana should be legalized in th US because it has medicinal and textile
purposes which can benefit
everyone. Marijuana can be used as a material for clothing and the effects it has on both
cancer and AIDS patients
are positive. Marijuana is inexpensive to grow, allowing us to obtain a huge profit on the
medicinal and textile
industries, and it can be used as an alternative form of cigarettes. If the US government
were to take hold of this
operation, new jobs would open and money for the War on Drugs could be distributed to
other programs.
Marijuana must not be ignored or destroyed. Marijuana’s many uses are not and cannot
currently be used to its
fullest potential because of the drug laws. Among the most important uses of marijuana are
for medical and health
reasons, and textile and construction materials. The undeniable truth is that the benefits that
can come from legalizing
marijuana greatly outweigh the weak and unsupportive myths that keep this great resource
from being utilized. The
solution to this problem is to legalize marijuana and its many uses today. By legalizing
marijuana, many problems
would be solved. The only way for marijuana to be legalized though, is with the support
and help of everyone. Now
that you have a good understanding of what some of the many uses marijuana has, you’ll
help to decide. The most
important step to making marijuana legal is educating the public. One of the biggest
problems is that the people who
know about marijuana and agree that it should be legalized are too busy and too paranoid
to help. If you are
interested in helping, there are several organizations you could join. These organizations
need your help with getting
the word about marijuana out, so join one of the many committees in putting this issue
onto the ballots and into
legislatures of this country, where everyone can state their opinions in a straight forward
manner set forth in our
United States’ and individual states constitutions. The Florida Legalization Organization is
looking for sponsors for
the Hemp Re-Legalization Act which will re-legalize hemp for food, fuel, fiber, medicine,
recreation, sacramental
uses and almost all known purposes. One of the most important things you can do to help
is talk about marijuana
today, talk to friends, parents, co-workers, etc. Tell them you think marijuana should be
legalized, you may actually
be surprised at how many people will agree. Talk about the medicinal uses for marijuana ,
and the many other uses
you know about. You could photocopy fliers and literature and pass them around to
friends or anyone for that
matter. Spread the word about marijuana and have your friends pass the information along
to others. Post fliers
about meetings on campus or in the library. This is an easy way to inform people about
marijuana. Mostly what
these organizations need is volunteers, and funding for office supplies, printing, postage,
transportation, telephone,
etc. You can also write letters to elected officials such as the president, senator, or state or
local officials. Maybe
even spend some time with a local group doing telephone outreach, folding and mailing
literature, etc. Finally, you
can donate money and resources to activist groups like NORML, BACH, HEMP, etc. I
think that the best way in
spreading the word about marijuana is by talking about it. Go to the rallies with some
friends that are unsure about
the idea, and they can find out for themselves what it is all about. Also, go to Hempfest,
they are a lot of fun from
what I hear. They usually are much more fun than rallies and they are very educational. So,
if there is any question in
your mind about legalizing marijuana you should definitely attend. Every year the number
of people that go to
Hempfest gets bigger and bigger, but it is still not big enough. They need your support.
Whatever you do, do it right
away, This is an important issue that needs to be resolved soon and chances are that if you
don’t get started right
away, you never will.
