In recent years the debate about the validity of marijuana as a form of legitimate treatment for certain types of illnesses has been heating up. Although it is a very controversial issue, it seems that more and more information is being published supporting marijuana as a practical treatment. There are many myths that surround marijuana, many of which are responsible for its being prohibited. After thorough research it was found that marijuana, although currently illegal, has many positive effects in the treatment of certain illnesses, such as: cancer, AIDS, glaucoma and arthritis.
Many newspapers that were misinformed about marijuana began running stories accusing marijuana as being an "Assassin of Youth." Marijuana was also associated with horrible car crashes in which teens had perished. As history has taught us, the 1930's were not a racially tolerant time. Sadly, marijuana was also cited as "causing white women to associate with black men." There were many such accusations during this period; almost all of them were entirely untrue. Perhaps the most popular piece of propaganda used to try to ban marijuana was a film called "Reefer Madness." This movie along with many articles titled "Marijuana: Assassin of Youth," were all produced while Arry J. Anslinger was the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. "Anslinger had hoped to make marijuana seem so awful and so terrifying that young people would be afraid to try it even once". Many of the propaganda films portrayed users as "homicidal, suicidal, and insane". Anslinger at one point "managed to get Congress to swallow that 50% of all violent crimes in America were committed by individuals under the influence of Marijuana" (www.theatlantic.com). Based on these fictitious pieces of propaganda, marijuana was made illegal.
After interviewing a man by the name of Gary Coleman, who is currently Cardiologist in Houston, Texas, it was found that his views on marijuana were quite controversial.