Marijuana, or Cannabis, is a plant that has been in use since ancient times. Cannabis has had significant affects on history and societies throughout the years. It is a plant that can grow in any environment, with the exception of the Arctic Circle. Up until recent years the Cannabis plant has never been looked upon negatively. The debate on Cannabis has started again; with some people thinking that it should be legal and others thinking that it should stay illegal. It is time for people to see Cannabis as what it really is and not as what manipulative advertisements have shown it to be. Cannabis was used in Ancient China for medical purposes and in Ancient India for pleasure. In the Ancient Indian religion the God Shiva said that the Cannabis plant was placed on earth as a pleasurable pastime for human beings. Soon Cannabis spread to the European region. In Europe, Napoleon Bonaparte introduced Cannabis to his soldiers. He preferred it to alcohol because it did not leave hangovers. Queen Victoria used Cannabis to cure fevers, insomnia, and menstrual cramps. The Cannabis plant was introduced to North America when Abdul Hammid, the Sultan of Turkey, gave the American government an assortment of Turkish delicacies, which included smokable Cannabis. Since then Cannabis has been widely used in the United States. However, alcohol continued to be the preferred drug of the American people. Once the Prohibition Act was put into effect, despite the back alley bars, Cannabis became an alternative to drinking alcohol. In New Orleans, known as the party center of the country, Cannabis became frequently used. It was here, after Cannabis assisted in the emergence of jazz, that people began to look down upon Cannabis. William Herst was ... ... middle of paper ... ... advancement to our medical field, economy, and agriculture. Works Cited www.abovetheinfluence.com/facts/drugsmarijuana www.testcountry.org/advantages-of-legalizing-marijuana.htm www.heroinonline.org/HOL www.davidbearmanmd.com/docs/ADHD1.pdf Advances in Hemp Research, by: Paulo Ranalli The Benefits of Marijuana:Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual, by: Joan Bello www.ncn.org/issues/43.12/ganjanomics-bringing-humbolts-shadow-economy-into-the-light?gclid=CMuurevRxaz.CFQ1U7 www.legalizationofmarijuana.com www.norml.org/news/2011 www.pbs.org www.ncjrs.gov/app/abstractdb/AbstractDBDetails.aspx?id=125676 Cannabis Dependence; it’s nature, consequences and treatment, by: Roger A. Hoffman www.norml.org/pdf_files/NORML_Economics_Cannabis_Legalization.pdf www.skeptically.org/recdrugs/id8.html www.cga.ct.gov/2008/rpt/2008-r-0455.htm www.timemagazine.com
According to Grinspoon (2005) marijuana, may have been a crop farmed as many as 10,000 years ago. The first evidence discovered that attests to the use of medicinal cannabis dates back to the Chinese Emperor, Chen Nung, who lived five-thousand years ago when this plant was recommended for malaria, constipation, and rheumatic pains, as well as, the inability to concentrate and pains in relation to the female body (Grinspoon, 2005; Guterman 2000). Even Queen Victoria had a physician recommend that she use marijuana as medicine for ailments such as “insomnia, migraines, menstrual cramps, and muscle spasms” (Guterman, 2000, p. A21). Evidence of the power of marijuana as a medicine can be found in almost any culture on Earth. For example, some tribes in Africa use marijuana to treat snake bites and to reduced the intense pain of child-birth and in India, cannabis is used to “quicken the mind, lower fevers, induce sleep, cure dysentery, stimulate appetite, improve digestion, relieve headaches, and cure venereal disease” (Grinspoon, 2005, p. 1). Marijuana has been proven as a powerful medicine by people of many ethnic backgrounds and countries over the entire world, time and time again.
“Marijuana.” Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpointsnin Context. Web. 9 June 2011
Before Americans can make accusations that marijuana can only be used for the sole purpose of euphoric pleasure, they should first become knowledgeable of cannabis’s original and highly valuable uses that gave the plant its primary popularity. The herbal plant was actually a food source around 6000 BC, and it was used as a fiber two thousand years later. Another couple thousand years later was when cannabis obtained its first medical record in China and soon traveled to India and North Africa where cannabis began its use as a “recreational hallucinogen.” When Europe greeted marijuana at about 500 BC, users began classifying in what methods the plant can treat various medical conditions. The Americas were first introduced t...
Marijuana was used since 8,000 BCE as hemp cord in what is now modern day Taiwan. Seeds were used as hemp oil in China during the BCE times. The first person recorded ever using marijuana was Emporer Shen Neng of China in 2,737 BCE and he used it medicinally. Shortly after, cannabis cultivated for food and for fibers such as hemp cloth and hemp rope. Between 2000 BCE to the year 570 the use of cannabis spread to Russia, modern day Khazakstan, Persia, England, and in European countries such as Greece. The first hemp paper was created in China and in the years 850 to 1532 cannabis was taken to Iceland by the Vikings and also spread to Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Africa and
100–1000s A.D. — Cannabis was a popular folk medicine in Europe. It was used to treat coughs, tumours, and jaundice.
Cannabis is indigenous to central and south Asia. In ancient China, there are writings praising the plant for its medicinal uses. Additionally
The history of marijuana appeared in the early 2700 B.C. in a Chinese manuscript. Explorers to the new world first observed it in 1545. It was considered to be a very useful crop and that the Jamestown settlers in 1607 began its cultivation. Later, Virginia, farmers were actually fined for not growing this plant. From the 17th to the mid 20th century marijuana was considered a household drug used from treating headaches, menstrual cramps, and toothaches. Between the years 1919-1938 a stronger plant was born by American drug companies it was called Cannabis Americana. Marijuana now being a, drug soon became popular among musicians who maintained that smoking gave them the inspiration they needed to play there music. Others began to get addicted to marijuana, it spread world wide to major cities such as Chicago, New York, Paris, and London.
Cannabis has been known to man since as early as 7000 B.C. (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). In 1619, the colony of Jamestown in Virginia passed the first cannabis-related law, stating that it is required for all farmers to grow cannabis sativa or hemp plant because of its strong fiber that they used to make rope, sails and clothing (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). During the 1800s, cannabis extract medicines were produced by American pharmaceutical companies such as Eli Lilly, Parke-Davis and Squibb (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). In 1910, in the Southwestern United States, Mexican immigrants introduced recreational use of cannabis, in which the immigrants referred to as “marihuana” (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). In 1915, Utah was the first state to pass an anti-marijuana law, then twenty-nine other states followed (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). In 1922, the Narcotic Drug Import and Export Act was enforced to control any cannabis going in or out of the U.S. (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). In 1930, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics was created (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). In the 1960s, “hippies” smoke marijuana, which symbolized rebellion (Marijuana Legalization Timeline). In 1968, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and the Bureau of Dangerous Drugs merged into the Bureau...
Marijuana has been illegal for less than 1% of the time that it’s been in use (Guither, 2014). Going back to 1619, the Virginia Assembly passed legislation requiring every farmer to grow hemp. Hemp was allowed to be exchanged as legal tender in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland (Block, 2014). It was actually a crime in some states to refuse to grow hemp in the 1700's. In the late 19th century, marijuana was a popular ingredient in many medicinal products and was sold openly in public pharmacies (PBS, 2014). However, in the early 1900’s things changed, a prejudice and fear began to develop around marijuana because it was being used and associated with Mexican immigrants. In the 1930’s, the massive unemployment rates increased public resentment and disgust of Mexican immigrants, which escalated public and governmental concern (PBS, 2014). In 1930 a new federal law enforcement agency, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) was created. Harry J. Anslinger was appointed the first commissioner of the FBN in 1930 (...
The use of the cannabis plant has been studied and has been proven effective when used for medical purposes. Medical marijuana can be used because it contains molecules called cannabinoids. The human body has cannabinoid receptors that will activate and deactivate through certain biological events.( "Medical Use of Cannabis") The most common type of cannabinoid used is Cannabis indica. This specific species of the plant has higher levels of THC, which can be used in medicine. While we have recently discovered the medical purposes, marijuana has been used from as early as 2737 B.C.E. An emperor of China, Shen Neng, used marijuana tea to treat memory loss, gout, and malaria. In India, medical marijuana was used as a remedy for anxiety. Throughout the 1900s, use of marijuana was seen as an offense, and was banned in twenty three states by 1937. By 1996, the laws had been withdrawn in several states, and California became the first state to legalize marijuana. (Stack and Suddath) Marijuana had been proven effective with the treatment of nausea, tuberculosis, epilepsy, glaucoma, an...
medicine, "Herbal," in the 2nd century B.C., and was used in China as an anesthetic 5,000 years ago. The ancient Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and East Indians used the drug to control muscle spasms, reduce pain, and to treat indigestion. It was commonly used in folk medicines in Africa and Asia. As early as 1611, marijuana was cultivated for its fiber in Jamestown, Virginia. In 19th century America, marijuana was used by the medical profession for treating spastic conditions, headaches, labor pains, insomnia, and menstrual cramps. It is still used as a medicine in the Middle East and in Asia (9).
In 1925, H. L. Mencken wrote "Prohibition has not only failed in its promises but actually created additional serious and disturbing social problems throughout society. There is not less drunkenness in the Republic but more. There is not less crime, but more. ... The cost of government is not smaller, but vastly greater. Respect for law has not increased, but diminished." Prohibition didn’t work in the 1930’s and i don’t think it’ll work now. Prohibition against alcohol caused an increase in the consumption of hard liquor, organized crime and mob bosses taking over production profound disrespect towards local law officers and loathing of the federal government. The same connections can be made in modern day America with the laws against marijuana. Drug cartels are sneaking marijuana and other illegal drugs in the states and has cost the U.S. government and it’s citizens a large amount of money. The cartels often spur gang violence and brutal murders with innocent people caught in the middle. If the drug lords are captured then it’s up to the taxpayer to keep them locked up in a prison while a new drug lord takes the empty spot
An academic article explains that, “It is an ancient plant in terms of use, having been known in central Asia and China as early as 3000 BCE and in India and the Middle East shortly thereafter”(“Drug Use”). The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) derived from the marijuana plant is responsible for its hallucinogenic effect. The strains and potency of the cannabis plant vary widely. In addition, research has shown that cannabis “has been regarded as having medicinal value, and it was used as a folk medicine prior to the 1900’s”(“Drug Use”). Marijuana has varying affects on the body which include: “analgesic, topical anesthetic, antispasmodic, antidepressant, appetite suppressant, appetite stimulant, anti-asthmatic, and antibiotic”(“Drug Use”). Consequently, these medicinal values were not taken into consideration when enacting government laws that ban recreational and even medicinal marijuana
To the AIDS or cancer patient, marijuana is the plant that fights nausea and appetite loss. To the nutritionist, its seed is second only to the soybean in nutritional value and is a source of cooking oil and vitamins. To the paper or cloth manufacturer, it is the plant that provided much of our paper and clothing for hundreds of years and produces four times more fiber per acre than trees. To the environmentalist, it is the plant that could greatly slow deforestation, restore robbed nutrients by other crops, and help prevent erosion. Preliminary findings show the drug may prove effective against glaucoma and asthma, and control such side nausea in cancer treatment. I concretely believe that marijuana should be legalized in the United States, primarily for the use of medicinal purposes. In technical or for the average American, marijuana, it is used only for recreational purposes. I think marijuana is a plant that could save many lives if it was made legal. My goal is to reverse prejudices, relieve ignorance, and inform people of the known and potential therapeutic uses of this remarkable plant.
While marijuana is illegal today, it was not always a bad thing in the US. American production of hemp, where marijuana comes from, was actually encouraged by the US government for farmers to grow. In 1619 the Virginia Assembly actually passed a law requiring all farmers to grow hemp. Recreational use was not thought of until the 1920s. Recreational use of marijuana was introduced by Mexican immigrants. Marijuana use became associated with the immigrants, and fear of Spanish speaking people. During the Great depression, the towering amount of unemployment increased the fear of the immigrants, and led to higher concerns of marijuana. Then by 1931 29 states had made the use of marijuana illegal. Despite how many helpful qualities it has.