How America Will Benefit from Legal Marijuana
Anthony Milici
Professor Heil How America Will Benefit From Legal Marijuana
English 110
11/26/12
The first recorded use of the marijuana plant dates back to the before Christ era, however it wasn’t until the early twentieth century when the plant became a topic of controversy in the United States. Today, marijuana is found in the spotlight with more and more states becoming ‘medicinalized’, and the drug became completely legal in two states as of the 2012 election. Our society would benefit as a whole if the production of hemp, and the recreational use of marijuana were to be legalized. The medical benefit of marijuana is the most popular argument for pro cannabis, however there are a plethora of benefits for our nation that are superior to the medical benefits alone. These benefits include: weakening the gruesome and powerful Central and South American drug cartels, financial benefits through legal taxing of the drug, and a significant decrease in prisoners in a very cramped and expensive prison system. If marijuana were to become legal solely for medicinal purposes, our society would not receive these benefits as effectively compared to the full legalization, and production of hemp. The earliest recorded use of hemp took place in 2700 BC, by the Chinese ‘father of medicine’ Shen Nung. It wasn’t until 1150 AD when hemp started being produced for paper by Muslims, and in 1494, England began producing hemp paper. The English introduced marijuana to the thirteen colonies in 1611, it was grown in Virginia (Christopher n.p.). Marijuana flew under the radar in America until the early twentieth century and the emergence of big time timber companies such as The Hearst Corporation. William Randolph Hearst made a cheaper paper product out of timber that began to replace the more expensive hemp paper in the late nineteenth century. Hearst’s cheap timber made paper would disintegrate after short periods of time, and the product was beginning to
Professor Heil How America Will Benefit From Legal Marijuana
English 110
11/26/12
The first recorded use of the marijuana plant dates back to the before Christ era, however it wasn’t until the early twentieth century when the plant became a topic of controversy in the United States. Today, marijuana is found in the spotlight with more and more states becoming ‘medicinalized’, and the drug became completely legal in two states as of the 2012 election. Our society would benefit as a whole if the production of hemp, and the recreational use of marijuana were to be legalized. The medical benefit of marijuana is the most popular argument for pro cannabis, however there are a plethora of benefits for our nation that are superior to the medical benefits alone. These benefits include: weakening the gruesome and powerful Central and South American drug cartels, financial benefits through legal taxing of the drug, and a significant decrease in prisoners in a very cramped and expensive prison system. If marijuana were to become legal solely for medicinal purposes, our society would not receive these benefits as effectively compared to the full legalization, and production of hemp. The earliest recorded use of hemp took place in 2700 BC, by the Chinese ‘father of medicine’ Shen Nung. It wasn’t until 1150 AD when hemp started being produced for paper by Muslims, and in 1494, England began producing hemp paper. The English introduced marijuana to the thirteen colonies in 1611, it was grown in Virginia (Christopher n.p.). Marijuana flew under the radar in America until the early twentieth century and the emergence of big time timber companies such as The Hearst Corporation. William Randolph Hearst made a cheaper paper product out of timber that began to replace the more expensive hemp paper in the late nineteenth century. Hearst’s cheap timber made paper would disintegrate after short periods of time, and the product was beginning to