One question that has haunted Americans for a long time is: " Should the use of marijuana be legalized?" Some say, "Yes", while others say, "No". Marijuana usage has many medical benefits. Legalizing the use of marijuana has many economical benefits and would also decrease the crime rate. Despite marijuana being illegal, the drug is still somewhat commonly used. Here we are years later after marijuana was made illegal, still without a satisfactory answer to the question. I think that legalizing the use of marijuana would have many medical benefits, economical benefits, and would decrease the incidence of crime.
Most marijuana smokers are quick to mention that marijuana grows wild in the U.S. and that Native Americans used the weed for religious ceremonies, as a medicinal herb for various ailments and as a pre-battle smoke to calm the nerves and possibly provide added ferocity.
Native Americans weren't concerned with the natural aspect at all and quickly found that marijuana could alleviate pain, stimulate the appetite and provide some small comfort in a harsh environment. They used it in their religious ceremonies to open passages to the spirit world. It was used in peace pipes along with tobacco as a means of sealing treaties with warring tribes.
Hemp was an important crop for the early colonists as early as 1629 and remained so until Eli Whitney introduced the cotton gin. It was one of the first crops our forefathers produced and was used to produce paper, clothing and rope. It was so important in those early days of America that Virginia introduced legislation in 1762 that exacted penalties on farms that didn't produce it.
George Washington was an early hemp farmer and made notes in his diary about the quality of the hemp . There is nothing to indicate that George Washington smoked marijuana but the myth is prevalent among marijuana advocates.
In 1793 the invention of the cotton gin made the separation cotton fiber from the hull easier and far less expensive.