| Facts And Opinion on Marijuana |
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| Written by Brenda Shoop | |
| Wednesday, 19 March 2008 | |
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My Opinion On Marijuana by Joshua Giesegh Why do I want it legalized? There are many reasons. Also, no one has been able to give me a reason for illegalization that seemed logical and true to me. First, I would really like to see gas around $1 a gallon again. But let’s go into the biggest push others want it for. Everyone should have the right to make the safer choice. Cannabis can save the world - do the research . Looking at the marijuana medically, marijuana is a drug that is less harmful than OTC ibuprofen. There have been 0 reports of anyone overdosing on marijuana. It is possible to overdose on water, milk, vitamins, raw potatoes, but not weed. It also has been found effective in studies covering 17 different medical areas.
Marijuana also has the potential to take effect within seconds when inhaled. The government says that inhaling marijuana makes it difficult to regulate dosing, however, without the fear of overdosing deaths regulating is much less of a concern. On top of this, the drug they already have prescribed with THC in it, Marinol, is a pill that must be swallowed. This means the drug takes time to feel the affect and many patients complain that they are way to high when on this drug. Also the drug is made for different problems, but one is nausea and many patients complain of throwing the pill up and therefore not getting the drug into it.  The other amazing thing about marijuana is that it is not chemically addictive. Addictions to marijuana are due to habit formed addictions. A similar addiction to this would be the way people are addicted to video games. When looking at marijuana compared to the substances the government allows, such as alcohol, caffeine and tobacco; marijuana is less harmful to the individual who is using it and to others around the individual. Tobacco causes many different kinds of damage to the body. Caffeine causes the heart to race and is possible to overdose on. All OTC medicines, including Advil, can lead to overdose as well. Alcohol can kill a person by overdose or over time. 'Alcohol use contributes to more than 3 million violent crimes in the US each year, whereas there is no evidence that marijuana use contributes to many - or any - violent crimes.' - US Department of Justice. The federal government is willing to admit that marijuana works and prescribes marijuana (the cannabis bud itself, not a pill) to a small number of individuals. Each receive 300 joints a month. The government is willing to admit it works by prescribing it, however, they tell the rest of America is isn't medicinal and refuses to even declassify marijuana from a schedule 1 drug, which 'have no medicinal purpose'. Marijuana used to be the world's largest cash crop. Everything was made from hemp fibers or hemp oil: bibles, flags, rope, canvas (named from cannabis), clothing, textiles, paper, etc. The US Department of Agriculture says that an acre of hemp can produce 4x the amount of paper from an acre of trees at 1/4 the cost and 1/5 the pollution. Also, unlike forests which have stumps, marijuana can be replanted and a new crop formed every year or two. You can get at least four times the amount of cellulose to make methanol from hemp stems as you can from corn. The first laws in America about marijuana were that you must grow it because of all of the uses (yes, our founding fathers grew and smoked marijuana). It was even considered legal tender until the 1800s. The USDA also says you can get more protein from hemp seeds than you can from soybeans and at a lower cost. During WWII farmers were even forced to grow the then illegal drug to help make uniforms, parachutes, and other war effort items. Prohibition also leads to violence, as was shown with the creation of gangs in America from the prohibition on alcohol. Legalizing marijuana is an excellent way to shut down the black market and the violence around it. The drug war on marijuana does nothing but cost us money and cost people their lives. In 2006 there were 738,916 arrests for mere possession of marijuana and only 90,711 for trafficking and selling. In 2000 it cost us $58.64 a day per inmate. If those arrests weren't there, we would be saving a lot of money. Not to mention the billions of dollars spent on fighting the 'war'. The government would also be able to tax marijuana as it already does with tobacco and alcohol which would earn the government more money. Regulation also decreases teen use studies have shown overseas. This makes complete and total sense if you think about it. It is a lot easier to get weed than it is to get alcohol or tobacco as a minor. Age doesn't matter to a dealer, and there are dealers everywhere in school. Marijuana also has been allowed at different events, including soccer games in other countries and attempted at the CSU vs. CU game in Colorado, while alcohol was not. These events which had been known for rioting from years past had gone on without incident. Driving with marijuana will make you drive more carefully due to your fear factor (i.e., it makes you careful, like when you first started driving [but with experience this time]. Ed.), however, if you look at the studies about marijuana and driving (ex. http://norml.org/ index.cfm?Group_ID=5449 ) you will learn the effects on driving are not that severe (however, never drive a vehicle under the influence of any substances). (You can learn to discern if you are impaired or not, by being more "in tune" with your body and its signals. Ed.) Marijuana can be grown in almost any environment. Records show people have been using it since at least 5,000 BC. Marijuana grew across the world like a weed before it was eradicated. God put the plant on the Earth and we can benefit from it without altering it at all. In fact, the human brain has receptors for the sole purpose of processing THC, if God put those in us, then why does the government not let us consume it? The problem with current studies from the government are that they are using low quality (often freeze dried, killing THC crystals) buds that are mixed with stems and seeds. They also use low sample sizes and are often inconclusive. Many first reports were thrown out by the government, the first governmentally funded analysis from Anslinger for example. The governmental studies show a marijuana joint has 5x the amount of tar that a tobacco cigarette does, however, independent studies and overseas studies using just the bud have shown that marijuana has 33% of the amount of tar. There has also never been a lung cancer case that has been blamed on marijuana. This could also be because marijuana smokers often smoke less than tobacco smokers, because of the THC. Cannabis, unlike tobacco, also does not cause any narrowing of the small air passageways in the lungs. Studies show no long term harmful effects from marijuana, only ways it helps. Marijuana can be consumed through low heat carcinogen free vaporizing, water filtering, food, teas, alcohol tinctures, or simple burning. The only harms found from marijuana is from the flame caused by burning, any of the other techniques prevent the release of the carcinogens (which are fought by the many different cannabinoids in the marijuana). The government also says that marijuana use leads to the use of harder drugs. The reason they say that is because __% who use marijuana go on to use harder drugs. This study can be taken back further to say that __% of people who use caffeine go on to use harder drugs. Just because an individual uses it, doesn't mean they will use a harder drug. The other current argument against marijuana is that it wastes your life because you become unmotivated and do nothing. This is simply a case of responsibility, people do the same with alcohol and other drugs. It's not the marijuana, it's the person. Also certain strands of marijuana are used to motivate people. They have two main type, sativa and indica. One is a body high that relaxes and one is a mental high that motivates. Blending of these two has different effects. The government sends lies about Marijuana to the public. These are the lies from the first drug czar: "Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality, and death." "You smoke a joint and you're likely to kill your brother." "Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind." These lies did nothing but send fear into people. And the reasons behind telling people all of this were partly racial. Here are some more quotes: "Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men." "Marihuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing" "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." "...the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races." At the same time, the alcohol industry, paper industry, cotton industry, tobacco industry, and lumber industries all lobbied against marijuana. "In 1936 Popular Mechanics magazine hailed the invention of a new machine to process hemp, predicting that marijuana/hemp would once again become the world's largest cash crop. This did not at all sit well with people like Hearst Paper Manufacturing or Kimberly-Clark or other cutthroat multinationals who happen to have large timber holdings. It didn't sit to well with tobacco barons for obvious reasons, and it sure as hell didn't sit too well with old buddies DuPont. Hemp processing uses only one-fifth the chemicals need to process wood pulp, and DuPont had just patented a new wood pulp sulfide process, and DuPont's patented plastic fibers had just passed up hemp as the No. 2 fiber, next to cotton, and they wanted to keep it that way! " If the many ways we could benefit from this plant weren't even considered, Americans should have the right to the 'safer alternative for enjoyable recreation.' Sorry it's so long, but this is something I am very passionate about. It was hard compiling everything into one area and I am sure I forgot things but I think you understand that I have many reasons. Original Article Here>> ----- Genesis 1:11 "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed... and it was so." |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 19 March 2008 ) |
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