Marijuana comes from a strand of plant species known as hemp, or Cannabis Sativa, as it is scientifically known. Hemp grown for industrial purposes is very low in THC (the psychoactive chemical in marijuana), making it a normal textile like cotton and not a drug. Hemp can be used to produce products such as paper, textiles, building materials, food, medicine, paint, detergent, varnish, oil, ink, and fuel. Although the mentioning of marijuana can be taboo, marijuana is being used today as an alternative to painful medical treatments such as chemotherapy, for terminal illness patients who seek quality of life over painful days and nights. Marijuana was officially banned by the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, due to outrageous lies created by the media. Marijuana should be re-legalized for the purposes of medical, industrial, and restricted recreational use.
When marijuana was banned in 1937, one of the main arguing points for its illegality was "Marijuana is the most violence causing drug in the history of mankind. Most marijuana smokers are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes" (Federal Bureau of Narcotics director Harry J. Anslinger). Today these accusations would be laughed out of court. Americans now consider jazz and swing to be an important piece of American culture, and the other "reasons- have no proof to back them up. Because these blatantly outrageous lies went unchallenged, marijuana had no chance of survival.
Marijuana is known only for its supposedly harmful effects and the crowd associated with it. Yes, marijuana can cause a person to wreck a car, or make misjudgments, but so can alcohol. The effects of marijuana can be categorized into three types; the physiological effects, psychological effects, and the subjective effects.