One_Last_Dance_with_Mary-Jane

Taylor Farrington Eng. 101, 17 Assignment 4 11-11-10 One Last Dance with Mary-Jane Hemp is a very useful plant. My claims to marijuana and hemp are that the pros definitely outweigh the cons and that we need to embrace and utilize the wondrous miracle that is Cannabis. The reason why it is illegal today seems an easy question to answer, right' Because of the effects that it causes on the brain and body. Right' Wrong! The reasons why hemp was made illegal were reasons that the public were never exposed to. Before 1883 about seventy-five to ninety percent of the world's paper was manufactured from hemp based fiber. The United States Department of Agriculture first proposed making paper from hemp pulp in the early 1930's. Although production had to wait until someone invented a machine that would separate the hemp pulp from the fiber cheaply. Meanwhile, Timber companies had just developed a new way to make whiter paper out of trees. Just when they got all their patents and business going in 1936, someone invented the hemp 'decorticating' machine. This threatened to put all the tree companies out of business, because of the fact that hemp paper is cheaper to make.(The Union) Hemp has been used since ancient times. Industrial hemp, the parts of the cannabis sativa plant which contains less than 1% tetrahydrocannabinols (THC), can be grown as a profitable, high-quality fiber crop. Do not confuse industrial hemp with marijuana. Marijuana comes from the flowers of the cannabis sativa plant and contains more than 1% THC. Marijuana is a mixture of brown and green leaves, flower, seeds and stems, that can be smoked or eaten in bake goods and food. Marijuana floods its user with a feeling of euphoria called a “high.” But marijuana has more than just agricultural and social uses. Marijuana as medicine has been studied for many years. In some cultures, it is already used as medicine, and it stems back from many generations. There are many good reasons for marijuana to be used as medicine.. The problem is that in order to be used in America as medicine, marijuana must be legalized. Marijuana has a long history of medical use. It is one of the oldest living plants and was used as various forms of medicine through ingestion of the plant. The first recorded use of marijuana as medicine was in China. It was reported in Pen Tspoo Ching in first or second century A.D. Its reported that ma-fe-san(boiled hemp compound) was used as an anesthetic for surgical patients. Ma fen (the fruit of hemp) had many uses such as clearing blood and cooling temperature, relieving fluxes, undoing rheumatism, and discharging pus for patients. (The Union) China is not the only country to use the drug in early times. It was introduced to southeast Asia around sixteenth century A.D. Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam are reported to have current uses of marijuana as medicine. In Cambodia, they have an enormous list of uses, but to name a few are: to treat malaria, to relieve asthma and calm the nerves, regulate the function of the heart, and treats paralysis. (The Union) As you can see, there are many different uses for marijuana as medicine, and many are unexplored. There are probably many other uses that have not been found because of the lack of experimentation on the drug as a whole. If the drug is legalized, there will be much more research done, and hopefully it will begin to be approved for use. There are many people in this world that feel that marijuana is an evil and sinful drug. They argue several points against marijuana that would support their position. Most of these have no relevance as to what in general and they can be easily disputed. Many might say that marijuana is a bad thing because it causes cancer. But there has never been any case of lung cancer (or any other forms of cancer for that matter) caused directly by marijuana use. Cigarettes have been link to absolutely causing lung cancer, but they have yet to prove any cancer caused by marijuana. Well, what about brain cells' Marijuana kills brain cells. There has never been a study done on marijuana yielding the result that when ingested marijuana kills brain cells. In fact, many scientist believe that marijuana actually stimulates brain cells rather than kills them. Others arguments have more basis, and they can be considered as actual valid arguments. One such argument, and the major point of view for most anti-drug supporters, is that marijuana is a gateway drug. This means that marijuana leads to other more harmful drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, meth, etc.. Although this is the case in some situations, there are many people in the world that view all other drugs as being bad while, at the same time, smoke marijuana on a daily basis. One such group is Rastafarians. To Rastafarians, marijuana is a substance placed on earth by God. They believe that it is a way of being closer to God. At the same time, they view other narcotics as being man-made, unnatural, and altogether evil. While it is true that the use of marijuana could eventually lead to the use of other narcotics, this is not always the case, and at the same time, the same could be said about tobacco and alcohol. However, the facts remain that the positive aspects of marijuana far outweigh the negative aspects. Marijuana can be used to make many different things from fibers for make clothing and high-quality rope to pulp as a cheap, efficient, and environment friendly way to produce paper. It can be utilized as a medicine and an as a pain reliever and nausea alleviant. Marijuana should be legalized, it would benefit all. The revenue produced by a taxed and regulated Marijuana Market would single handedly provide the money boost our economy so desperately needs. It would at least present options to solving several current problems in today’s world. And, lets face it, if everyone would just lay back and smoke a fat one in the mid-day sun, the world would be a whole lot happier place.