The Legality of Marijuana

No matter how many times I attempt to avoid partaking in the discussion, the concept of legalizing marijuana tends to resurface. Hearing the concept of legalization of marijuana brought up, regardless of whether or not I agree with what’s being said, sets me off. It seems ridiculous that in this day and age, people can still find reasons to bash the substance. The product was marked as an illegal substance back in 1937, when the Marijuana Tax Act was implemented. As time progressed, the government felt the need to “protect” society from the herb, and eventually outlawed the possession, growing, and selling of it entirely. Now, society has finally begun to question the legitimacy of the claim that the plant is as evil as it’s made out to be.

I must say that it’s truly baffling at how ignorant mankind can be at times. For almost a century, marijuana was said to be evil. It was determined that due to the rising stereotype that African Americans and Mexicans were the primary smokers of the herb, as well as the negative stereotypes associated with those particular ethnicities at the time that associatively, marijuana was bad. These claims are blatantly racist, yet in modern times, it seems as though the herb has come to be associated with negativity. There is little supporting reason behind it as well; in my eyes, it’s almost as though the “middle man” was cut from the story. While racism is a large contributing factor to the illegality of the plant, let’s not overlook another major cause of its prohibition: marketing. As a democratic society, our nation is entitled to certain freedoms, namely freedom of choice. When it came time to discuss the legality of marijuana, various industries stood up to fight against it. A prominent example of this is the nylon industry, which had started booming at that time. Despite nylon being a useful product in this day and age, back then there was a great uncertainty as to whether or not it would truly take off. Hemp was notably a cheap substitute for multiple products (rope and paper, to name a few). If hemp was removed as competition, the market for nylon and timber products would be much more successful. As such, the illegalization of marijuana had gained more than enough support.

I severely doubt that most Americans have ever reviewed the causes behind the illegalization of marijuana. If anyone ever had taken the time to look them up, they would have found exactly what I’ve stated above: marijuana was primarily prohibited because of personal interests and racist remarks. Numerous studies performed over the last few decades have proven that the substance is less harmful than nearly every other illegal drug, as well as multiple legalized substances (alcohol and caffeine, for example). When used in clinical trials, it has shown noticeably positive results on patients with social disorders, suffering from depression, and who are experiencing physical discomfort (severe injuries or health conditions). As my professor brought up in one of my in-class discussions, it seems utterly moronic for cigarettes and tobacco in general, with incredibly high addiction rates and multiple negative effects, to be legal while marijuana is not.

Marijuana has an incredibly low "lethal dosage" quantity. Lower than caffeine,
 which the majority of American's consume daily

The fight against the illegality of marijuana has taken a turn for the better. It seems as though people have become more aware, while the government has become much more ignorant. More and more states are starting to legalize medicinal marijuana, something which has proven to be beneficial. Additionally, in a recent public interview with the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), the head of the department proved to know little to nothing about marijuana, or drugs in general. When asked for her opinion on heroine’s effects in comparison to marijuana, she simply stated that “All illegal drugs are bad”. By this statement, our government is claiming that because something is illegal, it is bad. As far as ignorance goes, this takes the cake.


It seems that society is starting to develop opinions different from those of our government. This can only mean that change is coming to our nation. Of course, I can agree that some conditions call for marijuana to remain illegal (such as driving under the influence of the plant). However, I really believe it’s about time that we realize that the media has had too much influence over us. We need to open our eyes, look deep down, and ask ourselves: what influence are we really under here? Marijuana? Or our government's?