Weed, grass, pot, indo, ganja, Mary Jane, bud, reefer, hemp, cannabis or however else you know marijuana – it is coming to American society. With Colorado and Washington legalizing recreational marijuana this year and 22 other states allowing legal medical marijuana, marijuana has made its way back into the lives of many Americans. Notice that I said back into the lives of Americans? Marijuana wasn’t always illegal in the United States.
History of Marijuana
Marijuana, much like everything else outlawed and brought back into legalization in the United States, has an incredibly interesting history. In the early days, King James ordered colonists to grow hemp plants specifically for export. At Mount Vernon, hemp was one of president George Washington’s three primary crops. Throughout time hemp has been a valued resource as a replacement crop for fabric, twine, paper and rope. Cannabis was also used in pharmacies across the United States in the 1800s as a vital part of Western medicine. In fact, it is thought that the widespread use of marijuana as a recreational drug only occurred after the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s.
There are many different ideas for what the real reason is for the United States outlawing marijuana throughout the 1900s. One idea is migrant workers during the Great Depression were no longer needed and because they were known to smoke marijuana, outlawing it would encourage them to return to Mexico. Others believe it was banned because hemp was a threat to major industries such as wood and cotton. Regardless, along with the attempt to criminalize and outlaw narcotics, marijuana eventually was roped in with other drugs like opiates, cocaine and heroin. There were large propaganda campaigns to encourage people to not use marijuana for recreational use.
Reintroduction Benefits of Marijuana – Health, Environmental and Economic
There are many potential health, environmental and economic benefits attributed to the reintroduction of medical and recreational marijuana, if it is used and implemented responsibly. For medical benefits there are two distinct parts of marijuana with proven medicinal remedies, cannabinoids– with over one hundred different types can positively affect a person’s health without a high, and tetrahdrocannabinol – whose high has pain relieving affects. There are many different diseases and health conditions that marijuana can be used to treat: Glaucoma, epileptic seizures, Dravet’s Syndrome, cancer, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, affects of veteran’s PTSD and so much more. Health benefits are still being studied in labs, but there are many possibilities to the medicinal value of marijuana.
Along with health, marijuana can also have a positive impact on the environment. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one acre of hemp can produce four times more paper than tress would. With this high yield, many of the forests in the United States could be saved. There are also less toxic chemicals used with the growing and production of hemp paper, which leads to less pollution and pesticides. Most hemp products are nontoxic, biodegradable and renewable. Hemp plants often grow faster and more effective than many of the crops that the United States uses for products. With all of these health and environmental benefits aside, marijuana could drastically improve the United States’ economy.
There are many different economic benefits to legalization of marijuana other than tax revenue. The prohibition of marijuana costs US taxpayers around 41.8 billion dollars every year according to Forbes. The United States currently spends around one billion dollars every year on inmates detained for marijuana-related charges. This is money and space that could be used more efficiently. The industry for illegal marijuana is estimated at 36 billion dollars a year – that could all be taxable to the United States and revenue for American businesses. It is estimated that each weGrow center indirectly creates 75 jobs according to AZBusiness Magazine. Colorado and Washington have made millions off of high tax rates during the first six months of legalization. This money is going to schools and other important areas in each of these states.
Heres all bills relating to Hemp:
Should the Entire United States Legalize Marijuana?
Well that is the million-dollar question. One major issue with marijuana is both its benefits and disadvantages are not well known because it has been illegal to study marijuana and its affects for many years. Just like any drug, too much can be harmful to a person’s wellbeing. Should more states choose to legalize, safe and correct regulations need to be implemented. In the case of marijuana, there are many health, environmental and economic beneficial factors that could improve the lives of many Americans.
Here’s a link to a stakeholder page to see how all the different states are involved with the marijuana issue.
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Cover Photo by CRYSTALWEED cannabis on Unsplash