Today I would like to talk about marijuana, and why it should be legalized.
Where Did Weed Come From?:
I’d like to go back in time to when marijuana was first discovered in 2727 B.C. The oldest known record on marijuana usage comes from the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung. Ancient Greeks and Romans also smoked marijuana. In 1545 cannabis spread to the western hemisphere where Spaniards imported it to Chile for its use as fiber. In North America cannabis, in the form of hemp, was grown on many plantations for use in rope, clothing and paper.
Why Is Weed Illegal?:
Good question. With all the amazing medical benefits, and the wonderful high with no consequences towards health, why would marijuana be illegal? According to Drug Warrant, marijuana has been illegal for 1% of its existence. There are several reasons marijuana is illegal, and the biggest one, in my personal opinion, is a lack of education towards the subject. Society stereotypes weed smokers as lazy slobs who don’t work and leech off of America. I can’t completely debunk this; in my life time, I have definitely met some pathetic potheads. The probably is the only time we ever see people who smoke marijuana is when they’re high, and we assume they are this way all the time. This argument is funny to me, because the same people who are against marijuana are the same ones who support alcohol and tobacco. Arguing that people who use marijuana can’t function in society because they would always be high is like saying everyone who drinks is an alcoholic and people who smoke cigarettes are smoking constantly. If these individuals can hold of for their families and jobs, why can’t marijuana users do the same?
Also, people still believe marijuana is addictive. There are two types of addiction, physical and mental addiction. Physical addictions come from alcoholism, smoking cigarettes, drinking caffeine, and drugs, like meth, coke, or prescription pills. Mental addictions comes from smoking weed, being hooked on adrenalin, eating bad foods, things like that. The difference between physical and mental addiction is fairly simple.
Physical addiction is when your body needs the substance to feel normal. Once you stop giving your body what it’s used to, you go into what is called withdrawal. For example, if you smoke cigarettes, and quit, here are some of the physical withdrawal symptoms: headaches, constipation or diarrhea, difficulty concentrating, and others. If you stop drinking soda or coffee, you go into caffeine withdrawal, and might experience headaches.
Mental addiction is when your body wants something, but doesn’t really need it. There are no physical symptoms from this kind of withdrawal, but there are emotion symptoms, such as: Irritability, depression, anxiety, want, etc. For example, if you smoke weed, and you stop, you may experience depression, constantly thinking about it, and other symptom.
Although mental addiction goes along with physical addiction, mental addiction alone is not physical. If you stop smoking marijuana, you won’t feel any physical pain, unless, of course, you had a pre-existing condition that you were using marijuana to control.
Another reason why marijuana is illegal is because people refuse to believe in its medical benefits. Charlotte Figi was 3 months old when she had her first seizure. She laid on the floor, her eyes flicking, and the seizure continued for 20 minutes. Charlotte’s parents took her to the hospital several times, only to be told doctors had no answer. Soon her seizures were lasting 2 to 4 hours long. Eventually, doctors discovered what was wrong with Charlotte. She was suffering from a rare condition caleld Dravet Syndrome, a severe form of intractable epilespy. This means the seizures cannot be controlled by any medication.
Before this incident, the Figi’s consitently voted against marijuana use, until they tried it for their daughter.
Charlotte was having 300 seziures a week by the age of 2 and half, and could no longer walk. Finally the Figi’s gave in and spent $800 on 2 ounces of marijuana. They extracted the oils and gave a small dose to Charlotte. Almost immediately, she seemed to get better. The seizures were going away, and staying away for weeks.
Now Charlotte, who is 6 years old, can not only walk, but can also ride bicycles and talk!
Charlotte is not the only child to be helped by the use of medical marijuana. As of December 2013, there were a total of 199 individuals under the age of 18 on the state’s medical marijuana registry.
Another reason why marijuana is illegal is because of the common misconception that marijuana is a gateway drug. Anything can be a gateway ‘drug,’ it’s up to you as a part of society to be responsible with what you smoke or drink. Eventually after drinking for years, your tolerance will build up. This does not nessecarily mean that you will immediately smoke meth. Neither does smoking marijuana. In my own personal life, I have met many people who have used marijuana, and now use dangerous drugs, but I also know more people who refuse to use anything besides marijuana, not even alcohol or prescriptions. It all depends on who you are. A stereotype is unfair to those of us who are responsible.
Republicans are the party that is usually most against marijuana use, which, again, is really funny to me, because of their stance on guns. The liberal argument against drugs normally goes like this: “Guns have been used for violence before in the past, so nobody should be allowed to own guns.” (In my own opinion, I support this argument, but that’s not the point) Republicans and gun enthusiasts complain that is it unfair to group all gun owners into one group, that there are responsible gun owners who should not be penalized for the actions of others.
So why do people who smoke marijuana have to be?
There are hundreds of other answers to why marijuana is illegal that I won’t go into, but you should look at! I will link a couple websites below for you to check out.
I would like to state before the end of this article that I am in favor of both medical and recreational marijuana. Some people are only supportive of medical marijuana, which is fantastic as well! I am not saying in any way that it is ok for children to smoke marijuana. Smoking marijuana is for adults, but children who are in pain should be allowed to use marijuana oil to take away their symptoms. I also believe the same laws to alcohol should be applied to marijuana: Only for adults who are 21, you should be arrested if you are caught driving while high, you should not smoke in front of children or in public, and you should have to show a valid ID every time you purchase marijuana. You should have to be 19 to sell and be able to tax marijuana (even though it’s already ridiculously expensive at this point.)
If you are still on the fence about marijuana, or completely on the ‘no way, Jose’ side, please comment questions, and I would be happy to answer them. All I want to do is educate people, and help those who are in need. Thank you so much for reading!
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