Legalize It

            
             Contrary to popular belief the cannabis family of plants is suited for other purposes other than their euphoric effect. Until 1937, marijuana (Cannabis sativa) was legal in the United States for all purposes. Although I will attempt to debate the subject, legalizing marijuana is social debate whose outcome couldn't possibly please everyone. Hemp has been successfully utilized for many years to make thousands of diverse, environmentally friendly products like textiles, paper, oil, rope and canvas. We know that people smoke marijuana not because they are driven by an uncontrollable "Reefer Madness" craving, as some propaganda would lead us to accept as true, but because they have learned its value from personal experience. Yet almost all of the research, writing, political activity, and legislation devoted to marijuana has been concerned only with the question of whether it is harmful and how much harm it does. There has never been a fatal reaction to marijuana in thousands of years and countless doses.
             The fact that medical marijuana has assisted patients suffering from the symptoms of cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma can no longer be denied. In the context of the medical marijuana debate, we are often told that marijuana must be proven "safe effective" by the FDA. The FDA approves many drugs each year, but they kill tens of thousands of people every year as abnormal drug reactions occur. Cannabis is usually ranked among the top medicines, called "panaceas", a word which means "cure-all". The therapeutic potential of cannabis includes: treating asthma & breathing difficulties, alcoholism, glaucoma, AIDS, epilepsy, migraine headaches & severe pain, as well as being an anti-arthritic, antidepressant and anticonvulsant. It can be used to control inflammation, and for relief of nausea in cancer treatment patients. This is just a sampling of the medicinal properties this plant has to offer.