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Koa Takeo
Ms.Robberson
Junior Seminar Block 3 Even
24 January 2013
Cannabis: The Miracle Plant
There is not one documented case of death caused by the use of marijuana, ever
in history. On the other hand, in the United States, alcohol kills over 85,000 people each
year and tobacco kills an average of 430,000 people per year (Harvey). Many people in
this society have been brainwashed to think that marijuana is a dangerous, harmful drug.
What they do not know is that cannabis has many benefits. From health benefits to
clothing and materials, cannabis has it. So far, two states have regulated the
recreational use of marijuana and eighteen states allow for marijuana to be used
medicinally. Just look at what that says. Even doctors rely on this miracle plant. This is
why the recreational and medicinal use of marijuana should be legalized in all fifty
states due to the positive benefits to society.
When used medicinally, marijuana has so many benefits. Marijuana helps to aid
over two hundred medical conditions. There is no product out there that provides as
many medical benefits as cannabis. Some medical conditions that marijuana is used for
include glaucoma, epilepsy, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, nausea, depression, anxiety,
hepatitis C, cancer, chemo therapy radiation, AIDS and much more. When people use
marijuana they usually get something called “the munchies”,and that is when users
have a major craving for food. This effect would be the perfect remedy for people with
eating disorders. Another effect of marijuana is sleepiness and this would also be a

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natural remedy for people with sleeping disorders like insomnia. In America, medicine is
the most profitable industry. Every year, people spend hundreds to thousands of dollars
on their medications. If marijuana was made legal, people would be able to save so
much money by not spending money on medications and being able to grow a plant in
their own yard.And If it is the side effects of marijuana that are preventing the
pharmaceutical world from accepting cannabis as a reliable medicine, then they should
consider the products that they have been marketing for years.Every year, prescription
medications kill over 100,000 people and over the counter pain relievers like Aspirin kill
over 7,000 people every year. Those are some scary statistics knowing that the
medicine doctors prescribe people can actually kill them. Marijuana, in its natural form,
is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man and it is a foolish
decision by the government by not making use of this plant and putting it to its full
potential.
When talking about the recreational use of marijuana, it is a completely different
topic from the medicinal use. Regulating marijuana for recreational use would make this
society a better place. Marijuana dates back to thousands of years before the United
States was even started. If the government thinks that prohibition is working, then they
are wrong. Prohibition has never worked. The goals of prohibition are to reduce the
amount of drugs available and to reduce the demand for these drugs. In both instances,
cannabis is an utter failure. Prohibition has not reduced the demand for marijuana and
certainly has not reduced the supply.In 1937, there were estimated to be 55,000
marijuana users and now it is estimated to be fifty million marijuana users. That is a
100,000% increase.Whether it is criminalized or decriminalized, it does not affect the

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rates of marijuana use. For the last ten years, minors have said that it is easier to
purchase illegal drugs than it is to buy beer and cigarettes. Most drug dealers do not
care about the age of their customers. If marijuana was legal, the sales of the product
could be controlled and kept out of the hands of minors.
Opponents say that marijuana is a gateway drug. Marijuana is not a gateway
drug. One in every 104 marijuana users admitted to using cocaine, and less than one in
every 104 users admitted to using heroin. Because of the black market and prohibition,
people are more susceptible to seeing and using other, harder drugs.
Another theory is that marijuana is an addictive drug. Marijuana is less addictive
than caffeine, alcohol, and cigarettes.Only three percent of people in rehabilitation
treatment for marijuana are there voluntarily. The other 97% were told by a guardian or
by a judge (Harvey). If someone was given the choice of jail or treatment, most people
would choose treatment.
Marijuana poses no more of a threat than the substances the U.S. government
already regulates. Tobacco is the number one killer in the country. It beats out AIDS,
heroin, crack, cocaine, alcohol, car accidents, fire and murder combined with an
average of 430,000 deaths per year, yet it is legal.The tobacco industry is supported by
the government and tobacco is grown with radioactive fertilizer.Cigarettes contain over
4,000 chemicals and at least 69 of those chemicals are known to cause cancer. Alcohol
is the number two killer in the country with well over 85,000 deaths per year. Even
caffeine shows up on the death list with 1,000 to 10,000 deaths per year. Where does
marijuana show up on the death list? There is not one documented case of death
caused by the use of marijuana alone. Tetrahydrocannabinol(THC) is the natural

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ingredient in marijuana that gives users the high. In order for someone to get a toxic
amount oftetrahydrocannabinol, someone would have to smoke an equivalent of 15,000
joints in twenty minutes or less. It would be impossible to try and smoke that much
marijuana in that short amount of time. The only harmful effects of marijuana are the
properties of smoke and taking in heated plant matter. Those effects come nowhere
near the damage caused by alcohol and tobacco. Marijuana causes less respiratory
damage than tobacco and does not even cause cancer.There is not one documented
case that shows marijuana causes cancer. It is actually used as a remedy for cancer
patients. In some cases, marijuana was believed to have cured the cancer in some
patients. Also, when people say that marijuana kills brain cells, they do not know that
that is false. The government has lied to make people believe something that cannot
even be proven true. Marijuana does not kill brain cells. In 2005, new research showed
that marijuana could possibly stimulate brain cell growth. They also say marijuana
causes people to commit crimes.There are more violent crimes relating to alcohol then
there are relating to marijuana and 88% of marijuana arrests are for simple possession.
People say marijuana causes laziness and makes people useless to society, but
over fifty million people in America use marijuana and more than half of the population
of Canada has used marijuana. Both societies flourish more than anyone else. Steve
Jobs developed Apple Computers while smoking marijuana. Ted Turner developed
CNN News while smoking pot, and still smokes a joint every day. Many successful
musicians use marijuana. These statistics show that marijuana obviously does not
dumb down American society.

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Marijuana prohibition is a gift of revenue for organized crime. Because marijuana
remains illegal, many people own what is called a grow operation, also known as grow-
ops. In these grow operations, people can manage multiple plants in hidden places
such as underground basements, secluded areas and warehouses. There are so many
illegal grow operations in the United States and Canada. If the government was to bust
one grow operation every day for a year, they would still be nowhere near ending grow
operations. Depending on how many plants someone has, someone can make tens to
hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. Marijuana has become a multi-billion dollar
business in both Canada and the United States.In British Columbia alone, it is
speculated that the illegal marijuana trade brings in seven billion dollars annually and up
to 85% of that product heads south to the United StatesThe illegal marijuana industry in
British Columbia alone employs 90,000 to 150,000 people. If the marijuana industry was
legal in the United States, so many job opportunities would open up to Americans. As a
result of legalization, the government could place taxation on the cannabis and with that,
it is estimated that the profit from taxation would be ten to fourteen billion dollars per
year.Marijuana is worth more by the ounce than any other crop in the world. It is even
worth more than gold. Legalization would also take stress off the law enforcement
industry. The government spends more money on law enforcement than it does on
education and law enforcement relies on taxpayers’ money.
One very important part of cannabis is hemp. And what exactly is hemp? Hemp
is the most robust, durable, natural soft fiber in the world.Hemp can produce more than
5,000 textile products from its threadlike fiber and more than 25,000 products from its
cellulose.Hemp was once legal and one of the largest agricultural crops in the world,

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including the United States.Up until 1883 and thousands of years before, hemp was the
largest agricultural crop in the world. The first marijuana law in the United States was a
law that ordered farmers to grow hemp.The majority of fabric, lighting oils, medicines,
paper and fiber came from hemp. Hemp also has cultural value in the United States.
The first two copies of the Declaration of Independence were written on hemp
paper.People cannot get high from industrial hemp.Hemp opens a whole new market on
every level and America is the only country in the world that does not grow industrial
hemp.Why is this not up for debate more?Fuel and biodiesel can be made from hemp.
Hemp paper is far more superior than paper made from wood and industrial hempcould
solve the deforestation problem.The main ingredient for paper is cellulose and trees
only contain about 30% cellulose, while hemp contains about 85% cellulose. Cannabis
can be grown almost anywhere.Hemp stalks take about four months to mature, while
trees can take up to eighty years.One acre of hemp could produce as much paper as
four to ten acres of trees over a twenty year cycle.Clothes made from hemp are three
times stronger, four times warmer, and up to seven times more durable and flame
retardant than cotton clothes.
Cannabis is a very beneficial plant and should be regulated for medicinal and
recreational use everywhere in the United States. A lot of people’s views are shaped by
the mainstream media nowadays. This society has taught many people to think that
marijuana is such a dangerous and harmful drug, but in reality, it is one of the safest
drugs out there. People should not believe everything they see on television and in the
newspaper. If people took the time to educate themselves on certain subjects many
would not even consider marijuana a drug. It is a plant put on this earth by the one and

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only God Almighty. Marijuana has so many health benefits and there is nothing out
there with as many health benefits as marijuana. The effects of marijuana are uplifting
and can improve the wellbeing of humans. People use alcohol, tobacco and other legal
substances in the pursuit of pleasure, but in reality, these legal substances can be really
damaging to the human body and to society. People can use marijuana for medical
benefits and for the pursuit of pleasure at the same time.Cannabis can do much more
than just get people high; it can make society a better place.

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Works Cited
Carrol, Jamuna. “Marijuana: Opposing Viewpoints.” Detroit, MI: Greenhaven, 2006.
Print.
Geluardi, John.” Cannabiz: The Explosive Rise of the Medical Marijuana Industry.”
Sausalito, CA: PoliPoint, 2010. Print.
Goldstein, Margaret J. “Legalizing Drugs: Crime Stopper or Social Risk.” Minneapolis:
Lerning Publishing Group, 2010. Print.
Gorodetzky, Charles W. “Marijuana.” Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Online,
2013. Web. 10 Jan. 2013.
Jaffe, Jerome H. “Marijuana.” Encyclopedia Americana.Grolier Online, 2013.Web. 10
Jan. 2013.
Naluai, Nicholas, Marijuana Legalization Advocate. Personal Interview. 5 Jan. 2003.
Williams, Mary E. “Marijuana.” San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 2003. Print.
Wingate, Isabel B. “Hemp.” Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia.Grolier Online, 2013.Web.
10 Jan. 2013.