At some point early in the history of man or his predecessors, the plant was discovered for its mood-altering and medicinal effects. Ancient China and India provide the earliest records of its use. At the turn of the 20th century, as many as two thirds of the world's cultures used marijuana for pain relief and its euphoric qualities.
In 1937, the U.S. legislated marijuana illegal with the passing of the Marijuana Tax Act. Although doctors had been prescribing cannabis for a hundred years, the bill was rushed through Congress with no testimony by the American Medical Association. A clique of wealthy individuals and corporations employing and controlling the influence of newspaper and banking interests along with friends and relatives at high levels of government were able to manipulate views of the American public. This scheming would reap billions in personal and corporate income for the parties involved because there would be no competition from the hemp plant.
When I was in my teens and going to school in Columbia Falls, alcohol was, as it still is today, the drug of choice for the community; it was only natural that consumption would find its way into the social scene of the youth. Binge drinking has probably been inherent with alcohol use since fermentation was discovered. My first contact with marijuana occurred when I was 18. Older friends returning from Vietnam brought their observations of war, and they told me about the enjoyable and relaxing effects of marijuana. Some brought samples smuggled in their duty-free stereos. We were compatriots in life and another taboo. I tried the stuff and I liked it. It didn't make me ill, I wasn't obnoxious when using it, and my friends and I weren't drunkenly racing our cars and forgetting what we had done on a previous evening.
Throughout history, warriors have been returning to their homelands with different ideas . . . and plunder. The introduction of cannabis to western civilization is believed to have occurred when Napoleon's troops invaded Egypt. This is the way of people. This is the way of the world.
The primary argument for marijuana's illegal status is the belief that it provides a gateway to more harmful drugs. It is a gateway. Alcohol and tobacco are also gateways and have killed millions of people. Which gateways are most harmful and which are less harmful? And, if in living, we walk through a gate into a dangerous situation but can find our way back to the relative safety of the gate -- are we always to be condemned?
Lurking in a dark area well beyond this "gate" is a frightfully addictive drug called methamphetamine. If the increasing use of meth, a poison made from poisons, could be reduced by offering de-criminalized, and in this light, medical use of marijuana, wouldn't we benefit from the experiment? If the hemp plant could help our society decrease its dependence on foreign oil and forests of timber while providing farmers a durable, fast-growing, drought-resistant crop and offering industry a widely useable product, wouldn't we benefit from the experiment?
The reason most people move from alcohol to marijuana is because an herb gives them a safer and more interesting experience than booze. Marijuana doesn't put its user over a toilet in the morning vomiting their guts out with a headache. Most people find marijuana more pleasurable than alcohol and easier on their lives. While under the influence of marijuana, an individual rarely loses control of his or her actions, or becomes obnoxious, mean, or violent. These undesirable behaviors are common with the consumption of alcohol or methamphetamine. The reason people move from alcohol or marijuana to methamphetamine is because meth has more kick than either and is more readily accessible; it can be made from easily obtainable ingredients in the basement. But the methamphetamine users I interviewed while incarcerated with them said a big reason for their use of meth is because a product they prefer -- marijuana -- is illegal. Many people who try meth would be delighted if they could legally return to the relative safety of marijuana use. The reason the government of the United States continues to wage a war on marijuana is shrouded in hypocrisy, deception, and lies.
Study the issue. A good place to start is a book by Jack Herrer called The Emperor Wears No Clothes. It tells the tragic story of how a few greedy, self-serving individuals managed to outlaw a plant that threatened their foreseeable wealth and their personal "moral values." A plant that had been prescribed by doctors for years and utilized by our nation and the world for paper, fabric, and food was demonized. William Randolph Hearst ran the smear with yellow journalism in his newspapers. The Dupont Corporation discovered how to make a resilient plastic fiber and fabric with petroleum. Until then, the country and military were reliant upon hemp for durable rope and fabric. The oil-based process was patented and called nylon.
A combined effort of several key players organized the blacklisting and outlawing of marijuana and hemp. There was Hearst's media smear along with the racially motivated ranting of Harry Anslinger, basically our nation's first drug czar. Anslinger had been appointed to head the newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs by Andrew Mellon. Mellon was Herbert Hoover's Secretary of the Treasury, and the Mellon Bank was the banking choice for the Dupont family. This self-serving pack of opportunists presented their information to Congress and convinced the government to outlaw marijuana and hemp. They all profited immensely.
Another illuminating book about marijuana and its effects was the result of a study commissioned by Richard Nixon and his administration. They got a bunch of scientists and doctors together to realistically analyze the entire spectrum of information and fact surrounding the marijuana issue that had emerged in the 60s. The book from this study is Marihuana, A Signal of Misunderstanding, likely the most comprehensive study of the plant and its effects in history. The 1972 report summarized: "The evils of marihuana," they spelled it with the harsher h, "are the result of 30 years of instilled fear," and that the plant was "incorrectly classified as a narcotic and should have fallen into the same category as alcohol and tobacco." One simple but poignant comment from the study said a reason for people to experiment with drugs is because America's social system "no longer inspires in people a feeling of purpose and meaningfulness." They concluded that the plant was not a significant problem and that the government should consider regulating the product like alcohol and re-evaluate the process of criminalizing people and destroying lives because of its use. Nixon and his group didn't like what they heard, and the study never saw the light of day. A follow-up report was also overlooked. Americans certainly weren't going to vote for a politician promoting decriminalization of a drug, and the tobacco, alcohol, and pharmaceutical interests wouldn't be donating to political war chests if their incomes were challenged.
