Political Science

Marijuana which over the years had acquired different names such as hemp plant, weed, and cannabis happens to be one of oldest psychoactive plant which is known in the human era. Over the years, it has become one of the most diversified and widespread plant. In some parts of the world, it grows as weed while it is cultivated in others. However, it exists in practically all the parts of the world. Due to this fact, it can be said to do well in a good number of different climates in the whole world. Over a long period of time, this plant has been used as remedies in some parts of the world and in others it has been used to tackle a number of different medical conditions. (www.concept420.com)

From this, we can say that cannabis has been in use for quite some time throughout history. This has been grown and used by different cultures so as to change perception, mood, and consciousness. The effect of the drug is known to increase creativity so as to provoke mystical experiences, heighten the capacity to share, sense, and feel. After students complete their schooling, this drug happened to be the most popular of what is referred to as the recreational drug. From this, it is a clear indication that people previously had a positive attitude towards marijuana. It also means that marijuana was legal and to use it, one would not find a big deal or end up in jail. This is not the case in current times as marijuana is termed as an illegal drug in most parts of the world. Then a question comes on how marijuana which is also known as cannabis did become illegal This calls for a brief history of marijuana and the way it has grown to become what it is today. (Guither)

Most of the people in the world assume or rather think that marijuana became illegal through a process which would involve medical, scientific and government hearings. In addition, some think that the main reason for making marijuana illegal was to protect the citizens from what can be referred to as the dangerous effects of this drug. This may not be the case and these reasons may not the actual reasons as to why marijuana was made illegal. It can therefore be argued that there is a chance that all those people who actually voted for the legal fate of cannabis did not have the facts. Instead, they can be said to have been depending on some information that was supplied by some few people who had an agenda of deceiving the law makers. These were the few people who knew the truth and did not want to put it in practice. The truth is that the very first vote that was casted concerning the prohibitions of marijuana was based on some documents that had some false information. These documents can be said to present the lies to the senate which passed it basing it on falsehood. (www.concept420.com)

In most parts of the world and in most of the human history, this plant had been used as a legal plant. It is clear that out its lifetime, marijuana has only been illegal for less than one percent of its lifetime. This is because it is said to have been in used for the first time at around 7,000 B.C. From this time, it has been legal up to some recent time, which is estimated to be the time when the former president of the United States Ronald Reagan was a boy. (www.concept420.com)

This plant is said to have a number of uses starting from the earliest use of weaving fabrics and later uses as food over a couple of centuries. Later on, the plant was used as rope, incense and much more as the years goes by. These uses are known to add to the already existing confusion concerning how the plant was introduced in the United States. It is believed that marijuana was in use in the United States in as early as the 17th century but it was not that open to the public awareness. The public only came to know about it and also to use it as a recreational drug in the 20th century. (www.concept420.com)

When such an activity or rather a plant comes into being with so many uses and so many effects on the users, it calls for some law to be enacted so as to control the usage and the effects of the drug. It is due this reason that there was a need for the law that would control the usage of marijuana. Therefore the very first law in the United States that concerned the use of marijuana was enacted at Jamestown Colony which is located in Virginia in the year 1619. This law is said to order all the farmers during that time to grow marijuana seed that had originated from India. Later on, there were some other must grow laws that had to be in effect for the next two centuries in the United States. This was a serious case as by 18th century one would be jailed for refusing to grow the plant especially during the time of shortage. This crop was so important that one would use it to pay the taxes. These were the laws that allowed growing of marijuana. (www.concept420.com)

In the beginning of the twentieth century there was an influx of the Mexicans into the United States. This is known to cause a lot of dispute between the large farms which were known to use labor from Mexico and the small farms which did not use it. It is during this time that the great depression came and this caused even more tension as there were no jobs. In addition, the welfare resources are said to become scarce. Another main dispute of the between the farmers was the fact that most of the Mexicans smoked the weed and they would carry it along. It is due to this reason that the Government of California passed the first law that prohibited the use of marijuana. (Abramson)

This is not the only reason as to why the very first law that outlawed the use of marijuana may have been passed the main reason may also have been the fact that the Mormons also used the drug. All those Mormons who traveled to the Mexico at around 1910 are said to come back with marijuana. In addition, there were some sharp reactions from the church and this may have played a part in the formation of the first law on marijuana. It is after this that a good number of states followed suit with the laws that prohibited the use of marijuana. The laws were specifically targeting the Mexican American population. It was believed that if the Americans stop growing the plant, they will prevent the increasing population of Mexicans who were migrating into America. (Brainz.org)

Since the emergency of these laws that prohibits the use of marijuana, there have been a lot of controversies concerning its use. It has therefore appeared or rather happened that most of the places in the whole of the United States have decriminalized non medical marijuana. This has made marijuana which is also known as cannabis to be illegal. This is clearly presented in the Federal Laws Act. In the case of Raich vs Gonzales which was in the court in the year 2005, there were a 6-3 decision that one of the commercial clause that is found in the constitution of the United States gave powers to the federal governments to ban all forms of the use of marijuana. This included the use of cannabis for medical purposes no matter the fact that the local laws allowed it. (Brainz.org)

There has been some form of punishment or corrections that has been associated with this. Among the different forms of punishment or correction that have been associated with this are the civil fines, drug treatment or drug education especially in those places of incarceration. In other places, there are criminal charges that are attached to all those people that are found in possession of marijuana, or even those who have made a number of offenses which are linked to the use marijuana. (Brainz.org)

All these were enabled by the fact that there was a mass ballot initiative that succeeded concerning the decriminalization of marijuana. For instance, Massachusetts voters were said to pass a ballot initiative which decriminalized all forms of possession of very small amount of cannabis. The ballot that was passed postulated that if a person will be caught in possession of marijuana that is less than one ounce, he or she will face a fine of one hundred dollars. In addition, this initiative was expected to maintain the current penalties concerning the growing and the subsequent selling of marijuana. The initiative was also meant to keep in place the current penalties concerning the trafficking of cannabis and also keeps the law that prohibits driving while one is under the influence of the drug. (Abramson)

This initiative was just a proposition which was proposed by the federal government of Massachusetts. However, this proposition was expected to become a law thirty days after it was passed. In addition, it was expected to go through the Governors Council which is known to ordinarily meet in November. In addition, the legislature is known to amend or even repeal the law as it had done in the past with the other laws. The Boston Globe proposed that the proposition required all the persons that are under the age of eighteen to complete a program on drug awareness and then attend a program on community service.  The agency also proposed that all those people who will not want to complete this program will have to be fined in court with a fine that will go up to a thousand dollars. (www.concept420.com)

It is not all places where marijuana can be termed as having very negative effects to the nation. Other places for instance California can be said to benefit from the use of marijuana. It is due to this reason that California is fighting to have marijuana legalized because it believes that if marijuana is legalized, the state may yield the taxpayers over 1.2 billion dollars in a year. This may be helpful to this state which is currently having a swelling budget deficit. It therefore turns out that the legalization of marijuana in this state stands as a very attractive form of raising the ever needed money.  (The Health Risks  Benefits Marijuana)

The reason behind this is that, if marijuana is legalized in this state, it will fetch about 50 dollars in one ounce of marijuana in form of excise tax. In addition, the state may be in a position to save over a hundred million dollars that is currently used on prisons, prosecutions and arrests of people with cases concerning marijuana. There would also be increased spinoff industries and increased employment opportunities. This is said to have a very positive impact as the marijuana total retail sales may be the order of between three and five billion dollars which has a total impact on the economy of about twelve and fifteen billion dollars. This value includes spinoff industries such as tourism, coffeehouses and some industrial hemp. (Abramson)

Despite all these, there are some health effects or rather risk factors that are associated with marijuana. There are some short term physical effects which are known to vary from one person to the next depending on the qualities of the marijuana that was inhaled or ingested. Some of the common effects are muscle relaxation, euphoria, altered state of consciousness and increased appetite. Some of the medical benefits that are associated with the use of marijuana are the treatment of various diseases which include treatment of nausea which in most cases is associated with cancer, reducing the pressure in eyes especially on people with glaucoma which is the main reason for blindness in the United States, relief of some pain that is associated with cancer and nerves protection from damages caused by multiple sclerosis. (The Health Risks  Benefits Marijuana)

There are also some risks factors that are closely associated with the use of marijuana such as the impaired memory and thinking, increased chances of having heart attack, respiratory tract cancer, lung cancer, and mouth cancer, diminished coordination and balance, possible hallucination. Another negative effect is that there exists a possible connection between the use of marijuana and fatal accidents. Other than these, marijuana is known to be addictive in most cases. (Abramson)

In conclusion, having said all these and analyzed the history of marijuana, it can be said that no matter the number of benefits that the drug may have, it should be illegal and illegal it should remain. Even though the hemp industry looks at it as the only hope for states such as California, there are some other ways in which it should gain the much needed income. This should not be the reason to put the lives of very many people at risk as it is clear that marijuana has more negative effects those positive effects. However, it should be used for medical services and there should be some system that would make sure that it is used for only that purpose.