Legalization of Marijuana
The Legalization of Marijuana
The dispute between the legalization of marijuana has been around for hundreds of years. The history of marijuana dates back to the third millennium BC. Cannabis, which is marijuana, has many different uses. Some of these uses include a recreational drug, as a religious rite, as a spiritual rite and even medical uses. So why is cannabis illegal? Cannabis was once legal and was one of the largest agricultural crops in the world. It was once one of the largest agricultural crops because cannabis can also be hemp. What is hemp? Hemp is the most durable, natural, soft fibre in the world. Until 1883 and hundreds of years before that, cannabis hemp was the largest agricultural crop in the world. Cannabis hemp had thousands of uses and products. The majority of fabrics, lighting oils, medicines, paper and fibre came from hemp. The first marijuana law to exist in the United States was the law ordering farmers to grow hemp. It was even used to start one of the first paper mills by Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the US. Even the first two copies of the Declaration of Independence were written on cannabis hemp paper. Most of the textiles in the US were made of hemp, up until the 1800’s. Fifty percent of medicine in the last half of the 19th century was made from cannabis. Although you cannot get the ‘high’ that you get from marijuana with hemp, it was still tied into the “Reefer Madness”. In the early 20th century articles in journalism depicted blacks and hispanics as frenzy beasts that smoked marijuana and listen to the devil’s music. This “Reefer Madness” led to the downfall of all types of cannabis. In 1938, Popular Mechanics magazine made an article entitled “New Billion-Dollar Crop”. It stated that hemp was able to produce five thousand textile products from its thread-like fibre and twenty-five thousand products from its cellulose. Hemp paper was superior and very well known. With the “Reefer Madness” came a tax
The dispute between the legalization of marijuana has been around for hundreds of years. The history of marijuana dates back to the third millennium BC. Cannabis, which is marijuana, has many different uses. Some of these uses include a recreational drug, as a religious rite, as a spiritual rite and even medical uses. So why is cannabis illegal? Cannabis was once legal and was one of the largest agricultural crops in the world. It was once one of the largest agricultural crops because cannabis can also be hemp. What is hemp? Hemp is the most durable, natural, soft fibre in the world. Until 1883 and hundreds of years before that, cannabis hemp was the largest agricultural crop in the world. Cannabis hemp had thousands of uses and products. The majority of fabrics, lighting oils, medicines, paper and fibre came from hemp. The first marijuana law to exist in the United States was the law ordering farmers to grow hemp. It was even used to start one of the first paper mills by Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the US. Even the first two copies of the Declaration of Independence were written on cannabis hemp paper. Most of the textiles in the US were made of hemp, up until the 1800’s. Fifty percent of medicine in the last half of the 19th century was made from cannabis. Although you cannot get the ‘high’ that you get from marijuana with hemp, it was still tied into the “Reefer Madness”. In the early 20th century articles in journalism depicted blacks and hispanics as frenzy beasts that smoked marijuana and listen to the devil’s music. This “Reefer Madness” led to the downfall of all types of cannabis. In 1938, Popular Mechanics magazine made an article entitled “New Billion-Dollar Crop”. It stated that hemp was able to produce five thousand textile products from its thread-like fibre and twenty-five thousand products from its cellulose. Hemp paper was superior and very well known. With the “Reefer Madness” came a tax