Marijuana: Cause and Effect
Stephen Tracey
Professor Curran
English 101
10 November 2011
Marijuana: Cause and Effect Today in America, millions of American citizens are both confused and outraged by the fact that there are still laws that are preventing people from using one of the most popular and controversial, illegal substances in the world: marijuana. According to recent polls, fifty percent of Americans want marijuana to be completely legal and decriminalized (Blodget), and a whopping eighty percent of Americans want it to be at least legalized for medical use (RangelMD). So why do so many Americans want marijuana to be legalized? To some this question can be easily answered, but to others, it’s not so simple. There are way too many reasons to count why people think marijuana should or should not be legal or illegal. However, one cannot deny the many effects decriminalizing marijuana would have on our rights, our safety, and our economy. It is more than likely that one is asking themselves; why is marijuana illegal in the first place? The answer is complex, shocking, and a great tale of greed. For the first 162 years of America’s existence, marijuana was totally legal. Hemp, which comes from the same plant as marijuana, was a very common crop and in the early 1900’s was well on its way to becoming one of the most profitable crops America had ever seen (Marijuana). Hemp was used to make paper, fiber, clothing, food, rope, birdseed, oil, medicine, plastics, and fuel (Is Cannabis). As hemp kept growing more and more into the lives of American people, the amount of enemies the plant had grew as well, such as the timber industry who knew hemp would rival them in making paper (Marijuana). Those who wished to see marijuana banned and made illegal knew that congress would never ban it, because of the economic benefits it presented. So, rivals of the hemp industry started using the slang word used in Mexico for cannabis; marijuana. They thought it would sound exotic and foreign. After
Professor Curran
English 101
10 November 2011
Marijuana: Cause and Effect Today in America, millions of American citizens are both confused and outraged by the fact that there are still laws that are preventing people from using one of the most popular and controversial, illegal substances in the world: marijuana. According to recent polls, fifty percent of Americans want marijuana to be completely legal and decriminalized (Blodget), and a whopping eighty percent of Americans want it to be at least legalized for medical use (RangelMD). So why do so many Americans want marijuana to be legalized? To some this question can be easily answered, but to others, it’s not so simple. There are way too many reasons to count why people think marijuana should or should not be legal or illegal. However, one cannot deny the many effects decriminalizing marijuana would have on our rights, our safety, and our economy. It is more than likely that one is asking themselves; why is marijuana illegal in the first place? The answer is complex, shocking, and a great tale of greed. For the first 162 years of America’s existence, marijuana was totally legal. Hemp, which comes from the same plant as marijuana, was a very common crop and in the early 1900’s was well on its way to becoming one of the most profitable crops America had ever seen (Marijuana). Hemp was used to make paper, fiber, clothing, food, rope, birdseed, oil, medicine, plastics, and fuel (Is Cannabis). As hemp kept growing more and more into the lives of American people, the amount of enemies the plant had grew as well, such as the timber industry who knew hemp would rival them in making paper (Marijuana). Those who wished to see marijuana banned and made illegal knew that congress would never ban it, because of the economic benefits it presented. So, rivals of the hemp industry started using the slang word used in Mexico for cannabis; marijuana. They thought it would sound exotic and foreign. After