Summary: The Legalization Of Marijuana

Englishmen introduced this plant to the New World in 1611. The colonists used it to build rope, clothing, paper, and even to waterproof their ships. Farmers were encouraged to produce this crop, because it provided numerous uses for the colonists. Other countries had been aware of cannabis’ medical uses for centuries, but it was not until the late 1800’s that Americans began recognizing this aspect of the plant. In fact, there were no objections to the legality of cannabis until nearly the middle of the 1900s (“Marijuana History”). Following the Mexican Revolution, cannabis received the nickname “marijuana” and the idea of smoking it for recreational use was introduced to Americans. However, the Great Depression caused people to desire someone, or something, to blame. Marijuana then became associated with immigrants and minorities, who were then painted as violent and satanic degenerates. This idea resulted in the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 which made it nearly impossible to manufacture cannabis in the America. Eventually the plant became completely criminalized. Cannabis has been utilized throughout the world for centuries for its countless purposes. It was simply the fear of …show more content…
The plant is said to be a gateway drug, but this is simply incorrect. In an article that Dave Levitan wrote, he explains:
The “gateway hypothesis” or theory refers to the idea that one substance — marijuana, in this case — leads users to subsequently use and/or abuse other drugs… Though studies of large populations of people have indeed found that those who smoke marijuana are more likely to use other drugs, these studies show a correlation without showing causation — a commonly misunderstood phenomenon in science. In short, just became marijuana smokers might be more likely to later use, say, cocaine, does not imply that using marijuana causes one to use cocaine.