Josiah Arroyo
Mrs. Nelson
ENGL 1A
10/15/2014
Research Essay

Legalization of Cannabis

By far the most popular illegal drug of choice is Cannabis. Cannabis (also known as Marijuana, Weed, Grass, Maryjane, Pot, and Dope) comes from the naturally, earth grown plant knows as Cannabis Sativa. Today in America cannabis is allowed in a few states for medicinal purposes only and 2 states fully allow recreational use of marijuana. Unfortunately, even though your state law allows this, federally you can still be convicted of just the possession of cannabis. Despite that, cannabis is all around us. Music, movies, and television shows don’t even try to hide it anymore. Now that I am older and have experiences with it, I wonder why it’s still federally illegal. The debate to legalize weed has been an ongoing debate since people started smoking it. Marijuana has proven to be a positive effect to the economy, crime, health of people. It can help America thrive in the future and that is why I believe it should be legalized in the United States.
Marijuana dates back to 3000 B.C when Chinese people used the seeds for food, according to Cannabissearch.com. Through the next 8,000 years people used it for a variety of reasons. Despite the Cannabis Sativa plant producing Marijuana it also produces hemp, which is a very useful cash crop that can produce several textile materials. Aside from hemp, Marijuana was used in America up until 1937, when it was banned by 47 states as a result of increased usage due to the 1920 amendment that outlawed alcohol. People no longer having access to alcohol went elsewhere for a recreational substance. Since the introduction of weed to our country, our government has relentlessly tried to persuade their citizens that this drug is terrible for your overall health. In 1934 the anti-cannabis propaganda movie “Reefer Madness” used ridiculous dramatizations of the effect of cannabis to discourage the youth to consume marijuana. It implied that if you smoke weed you will go crazy, which in fact is total nonsense. In 1965 President Johnson passed an amendment against drugs and in 1969 Nixon declared the “War on Drugs” which is the war we see today. Today Marijuana is classified as a schedule I drug alongside Heroin, Cocaine, and Morphine, (Which has not been changed since the 1960s). It was classified as a schedule I drug despite the fact that it was recommended by the CSA task force to not place it in this class. In the late 60s and early 70s the drug began to gain popularity nationally. More research was surfacing and even a DEA judge recommended reclassifying the drug. “DEA administrative law Judge Francis Young finds after thorough hearings that marijuana has clearly established medical use and should be reclassified as a prescriptive drug. His recommendation is ignored”, according to Concept420.com. Despite the efforts of the government to get rid of cannabis, states began to allow the use of medical marijuana under state law. Today, 21 states allow medical use and 2 states allow recreational use of marijuana.
Knowing the history of cannabis is an essential part of understanding why it should be legalized here in the United States. One of the reasons why I believe it should be legalized is the health benefits for sick citizens. Yes, it is allowed in about half the states for medicinal purposes, but a fraction of the people who would benefit from this medicine are too afraid of being prosecuted and being labeled a criminal. If you think there aren’t real medical benefits to using this drug, you are mistaken. Research has proven various benefits regarding the usage cannabis. It has been proven that cannabis can be used to help medical conditions such as: Glaucoma, cancer, PMS, migraines, ADD, and ACD. It can relieve and prevent conditions as: chronic diseases, Alzheimer’s, seizures, and calm people with OCD and Tourette’s, according to Herbalmission.org. Cannabis also has been proven through research to