Decriminalization of Marijuana essays

Decriminalization of Marijuana essays The word marijuana means different things to different people. To doctors and pharmacists, it means a medication that can be used to treat pain and ease sickness. To police officers, it means an illegal substance that alters a persons mood, feelings, and personality. And to most law-abiding citizens, marijuana means something that will get them into trouble. It has not always been this way in America. Not until the early twentieth century did marijuana receive its bad reputation. Marijuana cultivation in the United States can trace its lineage some 400 years. (Stroup 1) For most of our nations history, farmers grew marijuana {then known exclusively as hemp} for its fiber content. Colonialists planted the first American hemp crop in 1611 near Jamestown, Virginia. (Stroup 2) Marijuana cultivation continued as an agricultural staple in America through the turn of the 20th century. (Stroup 2) Marijuana first earned recognition as an intoxicant in the 1920s and 1930s. Recreational use of the drug became associated primarily with the Mexican-American immigrant workers and African-American jazz musician community. During this time, hemp was renamed marihuana and the plants longstanding history as a cash crop was replaced with a new image: The Devils Weed. (Stroup 2) In 1930, the federal government founded the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), headed by Commissioner Harry Anslinger. The group launched a misinformation campaign against the drug and enrolled the services of Hollywood and several tabloid newspapers. Headlines across the nation began publicizing alleged reports of marijuana-induced insanity and violence. Exaggerated accounts of violent crimes committed by immigrants reportedly intoxicated by marijuana became widespread. (Stroup 2) Once under the influence of the drug, criminals knew no fear and lost all inhibitions. (Stroup 2) For example, a news bul...