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 itleads 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 aterrible 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 marijuanaimpairs short-term memory is true, but misleading. Any
signs of short-term memory impairment vanish once the user isno longer
intoxicated. Mainly the reason we think marijuana is bad is because that is what
the Partnership for aDrug-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 fromlegalizing marijuana.
For example, the medicinal uses, and the textile and construction uses. It is
very likely thatlegalizing marijuana would decrease the crime rate, and by
legalizing marijuana we will save a lot of money becausewe won't have to spend
it on fighting marijuana as part of the War on Drugs. There are many habits much
worsethan 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 onecause of preventable death in the US.
Tobacco smokers have 10 times the lung cancer of nonsmokers, twice theheart
disease, and are three times more likely to die of heart disease if they develop
it. Does it make sense thattobacco is legal and marijuana is not, when so many
people die from tobacco smoking each year and there is not onereported case of
anyone ever dying from marijuana use in its 10,000 years of consumption? You
have probably heardthat one joint is that same as 10 cigarettes, but this
statement is misleading. ALthough marijuana contains the sameamount of
carcinogens as an equal amount of tobacco and more tar, tobacco is still worse.
Every yr 350,000Americans die from tobacco-related disease according to the
American Lung Association.
A tobacco smokerconsumes much more tobacco than a marijuana smoker consumes
marijuana. This is probably because tobaccohas a 90% addiction rate while
marijuana is less addictive than caffeine. Also, tobacco contains nicotine that
mayharden the arteries and may be responsible for much of the heart diseases
caused by cigarette smoking. Marijuana onthe other hand contains the chemical
THC which opens up the lungs and aids in the clearance of smoke and dirt. Ithink
it is safe to say that tobacco smoking is much more dangerous than marijuana
smoking.
Another bad habit isalcohol, which in my opinion is the worst of all. 8,000
American teenagers are killed each year and 40,000maimed from driving under the
influence. The mortality figures for alcohol use are 100,000 annually, compared
to thezero marijuana deaths. The amount of marijuana needed to kill someone is 1
to 40,000, while the ratio for alcoholfluctuates between 1 to 4 and 1 to 10. Not
only do many people die each year from alcohol poisoning, but alcoholhas caused
thousands of fatal car accidents.
Although, marijuana, when used to the point of intoxication, impairsjudgement
and reaction time, actual studies suggest that the effect alcohol has on one's
driving ability is muchgreater than that of marijuana. In fact, it is found that
85% of marijuana related car accidents also involved alcohol. It issad to think
that a legal drug like alcohol, the drug of choice for most teens, causes so
many fatalities on ourhighways each year, yet marijuana is the drug that is
illegal.
I personally feel that marijuana is an amazing plant, andit should be being
utilized today. The problem is that most people don't know the benefits that can
come frommarijuana. There are many different beneficial ways for which marijuana
can be used. Marijuana can be used formedical and textile uses, for food, for
fuels, and for the economy. First of all, marijuana could be used for food. It
isbelieved that enough food is grown worldwide to feed everyone and that famine
exists because there are not sufficientmeans of distribution. So why not let
people grow their own marijuana?
