Here we go...
Marijuana is originally from Asia. It has been used there since at least 3000 BC. It eventually made its way to the Greeks. It has also been found in regions of China dating back 2,500 years. The coolest part of the history of Cannabis is its connection to Shakespeare. "Pipes dug up from the garden of Shakespeare's home in Stratford upon Avon contain traces of cannabis." They decided to research his estate after it was hypothesized that 'noted weed' from Sonnet 76 and 'journey in my head' from Sonnet 72 are references to pot. Even though pot has a long history of use, it became illegal in the United States in 1937.
Theories abound as to why Marijuana eventually became illegal. One is that the paper and chemical companies did their best lobbying to make it illegal for fear that they would be run out of business by the affects of marijuana and the benefits of hemp. Another theory criticizes the theories about economics for not taking into account the social aspect. This theory states that it became illegal because of a deep seeded racist attitude toward African Americans and Mexicans.
But this 1937 Act did not make the possession or use of marijuana illegal. All it did was levy a tax on anyone who dealt with it. This act, though, was the first step toward illegalization. The second step was the 1964 Convention on Narcotics. And the third step was the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. The 1964 Convention basically was a treaty of countries to regulate and stop drug abuse. The 1970 act was the United States implementing that treaty.
The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 created five Schedules or classifications of the various drugs. The DEA and FDA were in charge of placing each drug into the appropriate schedule. Schedule 1 drugs are drugs that "have a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision." Marijuana falls into this schedule. As you go down each schedule, you get drugs that are less and less controlled. By the time you get to IV and V, you are dealing with drugs like cough suppressants, Xanax, Valium, and Ambien. This is the first joke of all. Drugs that are highly addictive and regularly abused are at the very bottom of the list. And, to make matters worse, alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine are NOT ON THE LIST ANYWHERE. The chart below shows some startling facts...
In 1968, Nixon was preparing to start enforcing the Convention of 1964. He hired the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse to study the affects of marijuana.
After the study, It's chairman, Raymond Shafer, said "The criminal law is too harsh a tool to apply to personal possession even in the effort to discourage use. It implies an overwhelming indictment of the behavior which we believe is not appropriate. The actual and potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior, a step which our society takes only 'with the greatest reluctance'". President Nixon signed the Controlled Substances Act anyway.
Since then, the violence on the borders of US and Mexico has been deadly. There are hundreds of people killed each year in the drug trafficking scene. There is so much money at stake, it has to be kept tight by the drug lords. They have semi-automatic weapons and they have millions of dollars. When there is a drug user, there is a drug dealer. The United States government has spent billions of dollars trying to stop something that simply cannot be stopped. How is this rational? Does it make sense to let the money being made off of marijuana go to Mexico and Mexican drug dealers instead of the United States government? A few days ago, President Barack Obama eased regulations of medical marijuana stores. He has told federal authorities not to target medical marijuana suppliers or users. This is the first step toward legalization. The public opinion on pot has gone from 25% in favor of legalization in the 1970s to 44% today.
Pros versus Cons. The pros of the drug are obvious. It can prevent nausea and vomiting, stimulate hunger for chemotherapy, lower intraocular pressure in the treatment of glaucoma. It has also been shown to stop schizophrenia, help with multiple sclerosis and depression.
Putting money in the hands of the taxpayer and not in the hands of drug cartels is a pro. Ending violence on the border is a pro. Not wasting money trying to stop the cultivation and distribution is a pro.
The cons are not so obvious. The most obvious, though, is the effect it can have on the respiratory system. It is smoke going into your lungs, just like tobacco smoke from a cigarette. With the drug being illegal, adulterants are bound to happen. With the legalization of marijuana, this would not happen.
What about the Gateway drug theory? This is a major con. Or is it? According to a 2005 study in the "Drug and Alcohol Review", "pre-existing traits may predispose users to addiction in general... the availability of multiple drugs in a given setting." The study says that there are many other factors, aside from the actual cannabis that contributes to the use of other harder drugs.
It seems that rational minds can conclude that the pros heavily outweigh the cons. It would be a good thing to let patients who need marijuana have easy access. It would a good thing to stop Mexican drug cartels. It would be a good thing to tax marijuana and make money. It would be a good thing to stop wasting taxpayer money in an effort to stop a drug that is not harmful. The DEA would be better utilized stopping the trafficking of many other drugs. It would be a good thing for marijuana to become legal in the United States.
Sources:
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/09595230500126698
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/77339/?page=entire
http://www.world-mysteries.com/marijuana1.htm
http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/UK/03/01/shakespeare.cannabis/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1195939.stm
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200612/23/eng20061223_335258.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marijuana
http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/20/govt%E2%80%99s-latest-action-on-medical-marijuana-first-step-in-legalizing-pot/
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673607604644/fulltext
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_cannabis_from_Schedule_I_of_the_Controlled_Substances_Act
