In today’s society, marjiuana smoking is now so common that it has to be
considered an epidemic. You can’t go anywhere without seeing something that
relates to the plant, but maybe this “epidemic” isn’t as bad as some make it
out to be. In the U.S alone, there about 16 million regular users (“The
Marijuana Epidemic”) of the plant. While being so widely used it’s hard to
understand how it’s so looked down upon or even how it’s called a drug. A study
conducted in California surveyed over 7,500 people to investigate the
prevalence of medical marijuana use. Of these, 92% believed that the plant
helped symptoms of their medical condition. (“The Washington Post”) You may have
your own opinion on the so called “drug” but the proof is in the pudding and
millions of Americans are standing behind it.
History
Marijuana has been used as a pro to
accomplish satisfaction since ancient times; it has been depicted as a Chinese
remedial reference as early as the date from 2737 B.C. Its usage spread from
China to India and after that to Northern Africa and accomplished Europe at any
rate as appropriate on time as A.D. 500 (“Marajuana in America”). In 1545, the
Spanish passed on marijunana to the New World. The English exhibited it in
Jamestown in 1611 where it transformed into a significant business alter near
to tobacco and was produced as a wellspring of fiber. By 1890, hemp had been
supplanted by cotton as a critical exchange alter out southern states. Multiple
brand named medicines in the midst of this period contained marahuana, yet it
was a little rate diverged from the number containing opium or cocaine. By the
1920s, marajuana use was actually very widespread in America. There were many
small businesses that revolved around marajuana, such as jazz clubs, tea shops,
and smoke bars, which all prohibited the use of the “drug.” It wasn’t until the
1930s when people started looking down upon on the plant. The U.S government
passed the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937 which criminalized the possesion of
marijuana(“Frontline Marijuana Timeline”).
All the way up until
the 1960s marijuana use dropped drastically. In the 1960s marijuana use sparked
up again as it was used as a symbol for peace and to stand up to authority.
This era, known as the hippie era, was very well reconized for experimenting
with various “drugs.” In 1970, marijuana was classified as a schedule I drug,
which classified it with more hardcore drugs such a LSD and heroin (“Historical
Timeline”). The so called “war on drugs” played a big part in trying to stop
shipments of marijuana from coming in from southern countries such as Mexico
and Columbia. With most marijuana entering the U.S being seized by law
enforcement, growers turned to indoor growing, which allows for a small size
and high yield. Indoor growing also lead to an increase in potentcy, which
sparked an upward trend in thr 1990s especially among young adults.
Examples
A huge number of individuals turn to the beneficial outcomes
of marijuana with regards to treating gentle to-serious wellbeing
inconveniences. A typical user of marijuana would encounter mood lifts,
increased hunger, and a feeling of prosperity, which suggest that the benefits
completely outway the “side effects.” Users get incitement of hunger and help
from sickness. Marijuana usage diminishes muscle fits and soothes pressure in
the eye for glaucoma patients. Doctors prescirbe it to the user as a medication
and is likewise used as a part of the treatment of wellbeing inconveniences,
for example, epilepsy, AIDS and HIV, sexual brokenness, nervousness and fits of
anxiety, various sclerosis, joint pain, and fibromyalgia. Those who use
marijuana may see that the advantages of medicinal cannabis extend out to even
health dieseases, such as, alcholism, spinal line wounds, malignancy, bipolar
turmoil, melancholy, Alzheimer's ailment, provocative inside ailment, and even
simple headaches. Therapeutic cannabis is also additionally valuable to treating
users posttraumatic stress diesease (PTSD.) Administration of marijuana to PTSD
patients has shwon to decrease anxiety in those with or without clinical
anxiety.
Solutions
A
method to solve one of America’s biggest epidemics is actually taking place
right as we speak. The biggest and most disliked method is the legalization of
marijuana across the United States. This means going from this act being
illegal to free use to all. The idea sounds scary but it actually has a lot
more pros then cons not only for the law and government, but the social aspect
as well. First off the law systems crack down on marijuana users every single
day and the amount of people imprisoned for marijuana is in abundance. Here
explains the reasoning on why this crime should be reduced, “Those who want to
see marijuana become legal claim that the drug war is failing, that people
arrested and imprisoned for marijuana use are not cured of their habit during
time spent in jail. They predict that legalizing and controlling marijuana
would decrease crimes associated with the substance, and lead to safer and more
responsible use of the substance. (Pros and Cons of Legalizing Marijuana)” In
other terms, people are getting their lives taking away for such a harmless
“crime”. The crazy thing is that governments are watching these states that
have legalized marijuana make millions of dollars off taxation but still don’t
change their laws just because of the “crime” they think they are curing. “Legal marijuana would raise tax revenues to
benefit society and community. Legal marijuana removes the cost of arresting,
prosecution, and monitoring on parole and probation and, by definition,
eliminates crime. (Pros and Cons of Legalizing Marijuana)” Legalizing marijuana
could lower a state’s crime rate and higher its tax income all in one. Besides
the Government and its workers, legalizing marijuana could change the social
side of things too. The streets would be less rowdy, peoples day to day
problems would be solved, and medical problems would become medical miracles.
There are many cases where people have solved or beat a disease or a disorder
through the use of marijuana and even try and explain their success to but get shot
down because so many people view marijuana as illegal or a negative, “Rick
Simpson is known for inventing hemp-oil medicine that he claims treated his own
skin cancer after he was a ‘chemical zombie’ from all the drugs he had taken as
a cancer sufferer. After curing himself
and hundreds of others with his cannabis oil, Rick tried to take his medicine
to Canadian authorities. However, the move backfired and the authorities tried
to prosecute him” (Jodie Bummow). In all the reform of marijuana laws would not
cure the drug use but regulate it just like tobacco and alcohol which would
save time and money for the government and police. So to not cure the drug use,
but to regulate it would have to start with making marijuana legal. Due to
twenty states already legalizing, marijuana has been the topic of conversation
and if a state isn’t legalizing it then they are easing up on the laws. For
example, some counties in Texas have allowed for those who get caught with a
certain amount to not face jail time or a large amount of taxes. This is their
efforts to decriminalize the subject, “The policy, set to begin March 1, means
that misdemeanor offenders with less than four ounces of marijuana will not be
arrested, ticketed or required to appear in court if they agree to take a
four-hour drug education class (rogers, Bryan),” This act alone is improving
the efforts towards legalizing marijuana and has saved the government plentiful
of money, "We have spent in excess of $250 million, over a quarter-billion
dollars, prosecuting a crime that has produced no tangible evidence of improved
public safety,…(Rogers, Bryan)" she said. "We have disqualified,
unnecessarily, thousands of people from greater job, housing and educational
opportunities by giving them a criminal record for what is, in effect, a minor
law violation. (Rogers, Bryan)" There is no way to stop a drug epidemic
because there will always be a way around the method, but marijuana isn’t an
epidemic that needs to be stopped. Instead of trying to end the impossible, the
government should legalize marijuana which would help them save and earn money,
abandon criminal records for such a small violation, and help day to day lives.
Camus
and Absurdity
Albert
Camus’s beliefs are very black and white just like people’s views on marijuana;
either people like it or hate it. Camus was a spiritual being and believed that
things happened for a reason. Marijuana was put on the earth for a reason, it
grows naturally. This quote by Camus describes this “epidemic”, “Man is the only
creature that refuses to be what he is (Albert Camus Quotes)”. This relates to
this epidemic because marijuana is here for a reason, its natural medicine that
has been used for centuries and its benefits are absurd to the normal eye.
Those who ingest marijuana are looked at as failures or lazy people to the
normal eye, normal eye meaning those who work 9-5 jobs, but some of the most
successful people in this world have used marijuana before. Barack Obama,
retired athletes, doctors, famous musicians have used the natural plant and
they did just fine. If Camus was here to discuss this topic, he would agree,
Marijuana is absurd to the average man but if the background knowledge is put
forward it doesn’t sound so out there.
Conclusion
With
16 million regular users in the U.S. alone, marijuana smoking is so common that
it has to be considered an epidemic. Studies have shown that the use of
marijuana treats a wide range of chronic illnesses. The next big economic
business is upon us and millions of Americans are here to stand up for what
they believe in.
Works Cited
v Jones,
Jacob. "Marijuana History." Narconon International. Narconon, 5 Dec.
2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
v Jarskowkus,
Michael A. "Marijuana Timeline." PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, 25
Apr. 2012. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
v Butler,
Stuart. "The Marijuana Epidemic." The Heritage Foundation. Heritage
Foundation, July-Aug. 2015. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
v Ramirez,
Angel. "Historical Timeline - Medical Marijuana - ProCon.org." Should
Marijuana Be a Medical Option? ProCon, 04 May 2011. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.
v Minute,
Jackson. "Medical Marijuana for Painkiller and Opioid Epidemic."
Time. Time, 28 July 2016. Web. 19 Mar. 2017
v Cox,
Samuel. "PTSD: National Center for PTSD." Marijuana Use and PTSD
among Veterans - PTSD: National Center for PTSD. U.S Department of Veteran
Affairs, 17 Dec. 2014. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.
v "Albert
Camus Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.
v Jodie
Gummow / AlterNet. "8 Miraculous Medical Marijuana Survival Stories."
Alternet. N.p., 29 Nov. 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.
v "Pros
and Cons of Legalizing Marijuana." Treatment Solutions. N.p., 24 Dec.
2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.
v Rogers,
Brian. "New Policy to Decriminalize Marijuana in Harris County Will save
Time, Money, DA's Office Says." Houston Chronicle. N.p., 16 Feb. 2017.
Web. 26 Apr. 2017.
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