I'll bet you knew this one was coming sooner or later, huh? Yes, it's time for my commentary on Pot.
Marijuana wasn't prohibited until 1937, when good ol' FDR signed a bill passed through congress called the Marijuana Tax Act. If only it had been prohibited a decade before, it would have eventually been repealed such as the prohibition of alcohol did. It was a whole different culture then; people were more interested in how they were gonna feed their families. They didn't need to smoke something that was only gonna make them hungrier. If the rebellious society of the Roaring Twenties had been given illegal marijuana, they would have exploited it, and it would probably be legal today.
Okay, now that my little historic blurb is over, it's time for my practical side to speak out. Marijuana is the only drug that, in it's full strength, is good for medical purposes. Sure, codine is a good, although addictive, treatment for pain. Street cocaine will only get you hooked and then kill you. Honestly I can't think of any more illegal drugs that have a good medical purpose. (If someone can think of some, leave it in my comments section and I'll address it). Thirty five states have acknowledged the usefulness of marijuana for medical purposes. Sadly, only eight patients still survive and receive pre-rolled, packaged U.S. Government joints. They are the leftovers of a program that ended in 1992.
The drug in marijuana that gives you the high is called THC, and unlike nicotine is NOT a carcinogen. (That means it doesn't cause cancer). Tobacco has no medical purpose, and besides, Marijuana has less tar than tobacco. Recently it has come to my attention that Marijuana is more carcinogenic than tobacco. There is a reason for this. Because of the fact that tobacco is legal, there is a larger amount of qualified chemists that can treat tobacco and even genetically enhance tobacco to make it less harmful. Marijuana is grown by pimply-faced teenage boys in their backyards or their closets, and therefore less safe.
Pot doesn't cause brain damage. It is not a "gateway drug". It is not physically adictive ( I know there are some of you who will dispute this. It is mentally adictive; meaning you THINK you need it. But unlike crack, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine, it is not PHYSICALLY addictive. You body doesn't NEED pot... it just wants it.)
The primary active ingredient in Pot, delta-9-THC, does not kill brain cells. Yet another myth dispelled. Furthermore, pot is the most potent anti-eleptic known to man. Yes, I said it and it's true... It stops seizures better than anything else on this entire EARTH. There are studies that show it helps with microviral and bacterial infections, low immunities, glacoma, ulcers, nausea, chronic pain,... the list is endless. If anything, cigarettes should be illegal and pot should be on every shelf in every gas station and in every pharmacy in America.
To address another issue, marijuana is NOT a mind altering drug. Acid is a mind-altering drug. It does not effect the function of the brain any more than cigarettes or alchol.
Frankly, I'm confused. Both President Clinton and Vice-President Gore have admitted to smoking pot, yet drug legislation is tougher under them than any other president, excluding President Bush. Why is that? It makes no sense. We live in a society led by hypocrites where we are allowed to do things that are bad for us and have no medical value, while marijuana is still in the "illegal drug" obscurity. Perhaps the nation had better check it's morals, and it's leaders.
Before I finish, there are two more things that I need to address. A recent visitor to my website painted me as a habitual marijauna smoker. Well, it's kind of hard to smoke pot when you have allergies so bad you can't even sit in the smoking section of local restaurants.
Furthermore, there have been discrepencies and doubts as to the claims I have made in the above mentioned paper. To dispell these doubts, I have included several links that will PROVE that what I have said is true, backed up by medical doctors.
