Marijuana: Not As Bad As We Think
...izures and nerve disorders. Currently, there are only nine U.S. states that have legalized the medical use of marijuana including: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. If these medical benefits can increase the quality time in a patient's life, then I feel we should do what we can to help them enjoy their life. America's annual marijuana crop in 1989 was worth $50.7 billion and $41.4 billion in 1988, which was $28 billion greater than corn. Marijuana could become a leading agricultural product, and produce huge tax revenues for the government. Also, marijuana comes from the flowers of the female hemp plant. The fiber from the top can be used to make clothing, paper, rope, and even methanol fuel. These are items we can sell and use. Hemp doesn't need rich soil either, so it wouldn't be taking up agricultural space used for other goods. Also, over a twenty-year period, one acre of hemp can produce four times as much pulp as one acre of trees. This would save a lot of trees that are cut to make paper. The destruction of the rain forest is another big issue, so using hemp can help solve that problem, as well as lowering the cost of paper and paper products. Drug enforcement has used a lot of government money over the years, not to mention the money spent on keeping people in jail for minor offenses such as possession. Drug laws are only causing more people to break the law, such as prohibition did in the 1920's. In 1989, 314,552 arrests where made for possession. Currently, there are 750,000 people in jail for drug related crimes. Seventy-five percent of those 750,000 are there for non-violent crimes such as possession. It cost $20,000 to keep a prisoner for one year. That is a total of 15 billion dollars the government would save with the legalization of marijuana. In addition, the DEA spent about one billion dollars on anti-pot programs and prevention. That is a lot of money the government could be using on other things. Allen St. Pierre, Assistant National Director of the National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said that legalization will wipe out the already 60-billion dollar black market by placing marijuana in the open market. This would reduce drug-related crime and violence. One myth that many people believe is that marijuana causes brain cell damage. This claim is based on a study conducted on monkeys during the 1970's. The study was greatly criticized for its small sample size (four monkeys) and poor practice. The Journal of the American Medical Association conducted did two studies in 1977 that showed no brain damage whatsoever in heavy users of marijuana. In addition, that same year the American Medical Association came out in favor of legalizing marijuana. Another myth is tha...