Cannabis Legal to Those of Age
"In any civilized society, it is every citizen's responsibility to obey just laws. But at the same time, it is every citizen's responsibility to disobey unjust laws." (21.1) Martin Luther King Jr. said this to the people during one of his many speeches to give them the support needed to overcome the prejudices of man. Now, it is being re-said to those willing to make a change in society once again. Man has been using Cannabis for thousands of years in religious and ceremonial festivals as well as for food, building material and clothing. Since the start of many ancient cultures, cannabis has been used for the aiding of ailments from common headaches to nosebleeds and even as a painkiller, including pain during childbirth. (5.64). Marijuana should not only be legal to all people of the world because it is a free growing plant that has been a productive part of mankind for thousands of years, but also because it serves the people as the all purpose plant; that has medicinal properties as well as spiritual properties that can begin to benefit mankind once again. I will introduce cannabis to you with its scientific studies and information, then I will continue with illustrations of medical and spiritual applications.
"If we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion by education." (21.2) -Thomas Jefferson
Cannabis has been a staple crop for man for thousands of years (3.6). One of the earliest recorded uses shows evidence of inhalation by chard remains found at an ancient burial site in present day Romania (3.6). A leather sack filled with fragments of cannabis leaves and seeds was also found next to a mummified Shaman in the Northwestern Xinjiong Uygur Autonomous Region of China that dated 2500 to 2800 years old (3.7)(3.8). The National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse (NCMD) came to the conclusion that after,
"A careful search of the literature and testimony of the nation's health officials has not revealed a single human fatality in the United States proven to have resulted solely from ingestion of marihuana. Experiments with the drug in monkeys demonstrated that the dose required for overdose death was enormous and for all practical purposes unachievable by humans smoking [marijuana]. This is in marked contrast to other substances in common use, most notably alcohol and barbiturate sleeping pills." (7.1)
The results of a meta-cognitive study on any long-term effects of marijuana use also came up inconclusive, with the exception of occasional forgetfulness. (7.2) John Hopkins University’s research program published an examined effect of a 15 year study of cognition in 1,318 heavy smokers and came to the conclusion that there were no significant difference in cognition between heavy, light, and non smokers of marijuana, which they said, “seem[s] to provide strong evidence of the absence of a long-term residual effect of cannabis use on cognition." (7.3) In a 10-year study period of cannabis use, the expected rise of schizophrenia and psychosis was also non present, disclaiming the popular thought that smoking marijuana causes these ailments, while agreeing with claims that increased cannabis use does not show increase in psychotic ailments. (7.4) Although cannabis can cause health risks in some cases, it is still much less of a health risk than tobacco or alcohol (7.5); a 1998 World Health Organization report parallels these findings saying that there is no evidence smoking marijuana puts a “permanent deleterious effect on the normal cardiovascular system.” (7-6) In a laboratory study, animals were tolerant of 1,000 mg/kg doses of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), equivalent to a 154 lb. person swallowing 70 grams of the chemical compound which happens to be about 5,000 times that one would need to get a “high,” which the physicians then concluded THC to be a “very safe drug.” (7.7) Evidence of cannabis use while driving concludes that those under the influence of marijuana have no correlation in rising accident rates (7-8)(7-9), but what they actually found was that those under the influence of marijuana had a sense of how intoxicated they actually were and were able to make adjustments to their driving making them much more cautious drivers. (7.10) In a review of the effects of marijuana and driving, results found that the decriminalization of marijuana along with reduction in penalty cost lowered the price of cannabis, making it more appealing and affordable for buyers. This resulted in slightly higher numbers of cannabis use while greatly lowering alcoholic consumption, leading to a much lower usage of drinking, entirely resulting in fewer nonfatal accidents. (7.11)(9.1)
Marijuana’s chemical compounds have calming properties on the mind and body that do not lead to addiction or use of other drugs. (7.12)(7.13)(7.14) A common misconception is that marijuana is a “gateway drug”, in that people who consume marijuana, by any means, will be “open” to the use of hard drugs. (7.13)(7.14) According to The Institute of Medicine's 1999 report on marijuana, "Patterns in progression of drug use from adolescence to adulthood are strikingly regular. Because it is the most widely used illicit drug, marijuana is thought to be the first illicit drug people use. In fact, most drug users begin with alcohol and nicotine before marijuana, while under aged. (7.15) This shows that the legal substances of tobacco and alcohol are more of a “gateway” into other substances, not marijuana. Furthermore, studies on marijuana concerning causation of cancer reveal that the tests “found no positive associations between marijuana use and lung or UAT cancers ... Despite several lines of evidence suggesting the biological plausibility of marijuana use being carcinogenic,” it continues on to say, “it is possible that marijuana use does not increase cancer risk, as suggested in the recent commentary by Melamede.” (7.16) Francis Young, the DEA's Administrative Law Judge, stated,
“In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care." (7.17)
Instead of trying to enforce the illegal use of cannabis under prohibition, the government should find a way to regulate its distribution through regulation of the legal market. According to one study, “The contrast between the general welcome for tobacco regulation (including bans on smoking in public places) and the deep suspicion of prohibition policy on cannabis is striking and suggests that a middle course of legalized but limited consumption may find a public consensus." (7.18) This means that there is a near future possibility that the government will be able to regulate, through taxing and distribution methods, the marijuana industry in some form or another, similar to the way they do the cigarette industry. It is something the government will have to come to terms with since the supporting data shows that "Increased funding for cannabis prohibition has increased cannabis seizures and arrests, but the assumption that this reduces cannabis potency, increases price or meaningfully reduces availability or use is inconsistent with surveillance data the US federal government has itself collected.” (7.19) In other words, the governments’ increased support to restrict cannabis use with prohibition is proving to have no decline in its use at all. President Harry S. Truman once said “When even one American who has done nothing wrong is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth, then all Americans are in peril.” (21.7) This can be seen again and again in the statistics shown from countless studies done by private and governmental research groups on the prohibition of the beneficial herb cannabis, and without a doubt, the American people, including the Constitution written on hemp paper itself, are in great peril.
Since 1969, the United States, England, Canada, Netherlands, and Australia have appointed governmental commissions who concluded that after reviewing the scientific evidence of marijuana, it’s dangers had been exaggerated a great deal, and urged governments to reduce or eliminate penalties drastically for cannabis possession. (7.20) Canada’s Centre on Substance Abuse’s National Working Group on Addictions Policy released document that strongly viewed the severity of punishment for marijuana possession to be too strict, and agreed it should be reduced to a civil violation under the Contraventions Act. (7.21) This document also contributes evidence indicating the “removal of jail as a sentencing option would lead to considerable cost savings without leading to increases in rates of cannabis use." (7.21) In a similar document on marijuana use in decriminalized countries, there is evidence that removal of laws on possession does not increase cannabis use. In Italy and Spain, where possession for all psychoactive drugs has been decriminalized, marijuana is no more used than that of neighboring countries who still have strict cannabis laws in effect. (7.22) Canada also recommends its Government to make small change to “create a criminal exemption scheme” on the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. (7.23) Further reading of the report gives standards in the changes made, some being a license for buying, selling and producing cannabis as well as criminal penalties for illegal trafficking and export, while preserving sentencing of criminal activities outside the exemption scheme range. (7.23) According to a report from the Police Foundation of the United Kingdom, laws on cannabis produce more harm than good; the expense of time and resources of the criminal justice system and police continue to rise, while the criminalization of large numbers of otherwise law-abiding citizens continues to rise as well. (7.24)
"I support decriminalization. People are smoking pot anyway and to make them into criminals is wrong. It's when you're in jail you really become a criminal." (21.5)
-Sir Paul McCartney
California’s Drug Policy Research Center estimated nationally to make one arrest per every 11,000-12,000 joints. (7.25) In 2009, the total marijuana arrests in the United States exceeded 850,000. (7.26) If the government could decriminalize marijuana and regulate its distribution, they could save millions in court costs and resources and make billions a year to refuel the economy. If California can save up to $90 million per year in court costs and arrests after passing the Moscone Act, which stated “individuals apprehended for possession of less than an ounce need not be formally arrested or booked on the misdemeanor charge,” one can apply that to the other 49 states and the savings really add up. (9.1)(19.0) Not only that, but if there are 850,000 arrests a year for cannabis possession or distribution and the Drug Policy Research Center of California says only one person out of every 11,000-12,000 joints is caught, than there is a chance of over a $93.5 billion dollar gain per year. (7.26)(7.25) Step by step, 850,000 arrests, multiplied by 11,000 joints, equals to 9.35 billion joints smoked in one year which when multiplied by the common price for a gram of marijuana ($10) comes out to $93.5 billion dollars in a single year. According to D. Gieringer of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) Cannabis is accounted for 15,000 felony arrests, which tax payers contribute $100 million dollars for court costs and police work while the eradication program of the state destroys over $300 million dollars in marijuana a year. (9.1) The Californians dish out $3-6 billion in marijuana a year representing somewhere around $375 million in lost sale taxes. (9.1) Some sources estimate the yearly cannabis crop to be worth up to $36 billion. (3.1) Not to mention the yearly $4 billion spent on jail sentencing of “low level offenders” that we could save. (8.1) According to Phil Slattery and RAND Corporation, jail sentencing for a marijuana offence is 15 times less effective than treating them for cannabis use and is three times as expensive than it would be to treat them. Slattery also continues to say that hourly, 560 people die from tobacco, yet hundreds of thousands of cannabis users are arrested each year but never any reports of an overdose. (18.0) For tobacco deaths: that is 560 an hour, 13,440 people a day, and 4,905,600 people who die in a single year from tobacco products alone.
"The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this." (21.4)
-Albert Einstein
In 1937, The Marijuana Transfer Act was passed, prohibiting all growth of marijuana, including hemp, which some speculate was purposely attributed by Andrew Mellon, Randolph Hearst and the Du Pont Family as a business move to throw hemp out of the running for industrial applications. (3.0) Hemp became the substitute for paper pulp in newspaper industries which threatened Randolph Hearst’s extensive timber holdings. (3.2)(3.3)(3.4)(3.5) The same goes for Secretary of Treasury Andrew Mellon’s deep investment in the Du Pont family synthetic fiber, nylon. (3.2)(3.3)(3.4)(3.5) As one can tell, hemp is a very resourceful plant. The seeds consist essential amino acids and are full of super nutritious fatty acids, which contribute greatly in maintaining a healthy life. (11.1) The hemp seeds are gluten and soy free and can be eaten in any form; raw, sprouted, ground up in to a meal or even made into hemp milk. (11.0) They can be steeped as in tea or used for baking. The seeds can also be made into different cereals, tofu, butter or oil, as well as protein powders and ice cream. (11.2) Hemp fiber is also a very valuable part of the plant. Dating as far back as 10,000 years ago, recorded use of hemp fiber has been found in Taiwan. (5.58) Around the Industrial revolution, hemp was a popular plant because, acre to acre, it produced 10% more fiber than cotton and flax. (11.0) Hemp can also be made into paper, canvas, rope, burlap sacks, wood pulp and many other things. A mixture of concrete blocks made of hemp and lime are used as insulation material in construction. A mixture of flax, fiberglass, hemp fiber and kenaf is used to make composite panels for automobiles (11.3)(11.4) Hemp has also been used in paper production since the Western Chinese Han Dynasty, 2000 years ago. (11.5) Knotting hemp twine in a macramé fashion will give you hemp jewelry. Hemp jewelry can include anklets, necklaces, bracelets, watches or any other accessory one wishes to make. Clothing and shoes can also be made out of hemp fiber. When a farmer’s crop is contaminated with floodwater, animal feces or some other unwanted substance, hemp can be planted to absorb the impurities out of the ground and leave behind clean nutritious soil. (11.6) The hemp plant’s high, dense foliage and planting density is also very effective in killing tough weeds by minimizing the weed growth in the soil. (11.7) If farmers used hemp to clean crops it would reduce the need of harmful herbicides, allowing the farmer an organic certification while contributing to the benefits of crop rotation. (11.0) The problem of using up fossil fuels is another easily averted ability of hemp through the production of hemp bio-fuels. The fermentation of Hemp and extracted oils can be made into alcohol fuels or bio-diesel fuels as a substitute for rising gas prices that also burns cleanly and is non-toxic. (11.8)(11.0)
"The greatest service that can be rendered to any country is to add a useful plant to its culture." (21.6)
-Thomas Jefferson
Hemp and Marijuana have been a part of American heritage since before the writing of the Declaration of Independence. According to Chris Conrad of “Hemp: Lifeline to the Future”, President George Washington wrote a letter containing a reference to what may have been a specially prepared form of marijuana called hashish. In his letter, he said, "The artificial preparation of hemp, from Silesia, is really a curiosity." (12.1) Washington wrote specific references of an Indian strain of marijuana called Cannabis Indica, that he hoped to "have disseminated the seed to others. " (12.2) On August 7, 1765 he wrote in his diary that he had "began to separate the male from the female plants," which describes a technique used to enhance the potency of THC in cannabis. (12.3) Thomas Jefferson was also a hemp farmer and Ben Franklin owned a printing shop and made his own paper, possibly out of the ever-popular hemp plant. Both were ambassadors to France during the start of hashish popularity. Because of their celebrity status, accompanied with their progressive revolutionary reputation, there were many occasions to try new adventurous things like marijuana.
Thomas Jefferson had smuggled Chinese hemp seeds to America and is given tribute for the phrase in the Declaration of Independence, "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." (12.0) In Chris Conrad’s book “Hemp: Lifetime to the Future”, he continues to say “Dr. Burke, president of the American Historical Reference Society and a consultant for the Smithsonian Institute, counted seven early presidents as cannabis smokers: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor and Franklin Pierce.” (12.4) Than he continues on to say, “Early letters from our founding fathers refer to the pleasures of hemp smoking,” Pierce, Taylor and Jackson, all of whom served in the military, smoked it with their troops. (12.0) And according to Chris Conrad, Cannabis was twice as popular among American soldiers in the Mexican War than it was in the Vietnam War. (12.0) Conrad also says Pierce wrote his family that smoking cannabis during the war was "about the only good thing." (12.0) Dr. Burke was also stated saying, “Washington & Jefferson were said to exchange smoking blends as personal gifts.” (12.4) Washington reportedly preferred a pipe full of "the leaves of hemp" to alcohol, and wrote diary entries declaring his enjoyment of the cannabis flowers fragrance. (12.4) Madison also remarked that hemp gave him insight to create a new & democratic nation. (12.4) President James Monroe, creator of the Monroe Doctrine, started smoking marijuana during his ambassadorship to France and continued to smoke until the age of 73. (12.4) More recently, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was asked if he “took dope,” he replied with, “Yes, grass and hash - no hard drugs. But the point is that I do what I feel like doing.” (13.0) He was also quoted saying, “That is not a drug. It’s a leaf.” (22.0) Even after President Bill Clinton returned from England, he was asked if he had used cannabis, he replied with, “...I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn’t like it, and I didn’t inhale, and I never tried again.” (13.0)(22.0) According to a BBC News report, Jesus Christ and his apostles were reported of using “cannabis-based anointing oil to help cure people with crippling diseases,” the news report continues to say that the cannabis extract of the oil is a strand under the title Kaneh-Bosem. (15.0) Dana Larsen’s research of scientific minds who used marijuana came up with many surprising findings. Stephen Jay Gould, a respected scientist and Harvard Professor attributed marijuana to saving his life from a rare and incurable cancer: Abdominal mesothelioma. (16.0) Also, the renowned scientist, author, and visionary Carl Sagon was quoted saying after being invited to smoke with Lester Grinspoon, “Lester, I know you’ve got only one [bud] left, but could I have it? I’ve got serious work to do tomorrow and I could really use it.” (16.0) Carl Sagon also viewed the illegality of marijuana to be “outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world.” (22.0) Richard Feynman, a physicist and joint recipient for the Nobel Prize in physics in 1965 for his work on Quantum Electrodynamics also helped design the atomic bomb and claimed to learn from the mind-expanding experience of smoking marijuana. (16.0) Kary Mullins also smoked cannabis and in 1993 won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing the “polymerase chain reaction”, which allows DNA segments to be scientifically duplicated quickly and easily. (16.0) Andrew Well, Sigmund Freud, Ralph Abraham, and Timothy Leary are all prominent scientists in differentiating fields who have also used or currently do use marijuana. (16.0) These people and so many more have made excruciating contributions to science and the development of mankind and the numbers are only going to rise. As a civilization, we should respect the contributions marijuana has given to the human thought process and rightfully so, respect the Cannabis plant for what it really is: The Gateway Drug. But not the gateway drug that tainted politicians have tarnished the name with and associated other harmful substances with. The “gateway drug” I am referring to is in its ability to open the mind to new possibilities - creative problem thinking and deep insight – giving answers to universal questions. The use of Cannabis is much more than getting high; it holds the opportunity to contribute great things to the civilization of man. Who is to say one can or cannot do something that shows favorable value? What happened to the American dream: to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness?
The base layout of Cannabis has been shown to be of value for mankind. The medical applications are also staggering and continual studies of the Cannabis plant precede identification of new, very useful, medical applications that are proven to have a great effect on disease, cancer, and other common ailments. In a testimony before the Judiciary Subcommittee of Crime, Harvard Medical Professor Lester Grinspoon, M.D. stated, “Cannabis is remarkably safe. Although not harmless, it is surely less toxic than most of the conventional medicines it could replace if it were legally available. Despite its use by millions of people over thousands of years, cannabis has never caused an overdose death.” (21.8) This statement coincides with ancient recorded uses dating back as long ago as 2737 BCE. (5.1) In a review of medical literature in 2002, medical cannabis had established effects in treating unintentional weight loss, vomiting, lack of appetite, nausea and pre-menstrual syndrome. (5.2) Other effects were shown in treatment of cell spasticity, glaucoma, conditional pain like neurogenic pain, asthma and movement disorders. (5.2) There is also promise that cannabis could be useful in treating related conditions to fibromyalgia, inflammatory bowel disease, migraines and certain symptoms of spinal cored injuries and multiple sclerosis from the muscle-relaxant, antispasmodic and appetite stimulating properties of the cannabis plant. (5.3)(5.4)(5.5)(5.6) Cannabis and cannabiniods show promise in treating at least 20 other ailments: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (5.7)(5.13), alcohol abuse (5.8), asthma (5.9), collegen-induced arthritis (5.10), bipolar disorder (5.11)(5.12), atherosclerosis (5.14), depression (5.15)(5.16)(5.17)(5.18), colorectal cancer (5.19), epilepsy (5.20)(5.22), dystonia (5.21), gliomas (5.23)(5.24), digestive diseases (5.25), hepatitis C (5.26), leukemia (5.27) Huntington’s disease (5.28) skin tumors (5.29), Parkinson’s disease (5.30), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (5.31), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (5.32), pruritus (5.33)(5.34), sickle-cell disease (5.35), anorexia nervosa syndrome (5.36), and sleep apnea (5.37). California’s Scripps Research Institute found evidence that marijuana’s active chemical compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) prevents deposits that form in the brain after the formation of Alzheimer’s disease. (5.38) THC prevents the enzyme acetycholinesterase from speeding the process of “Alzheimer plaques” in more effective ways than commercial drugs. Molecular Pharmaceutics also found that THC blocks clumps of protein that inhibit memory and cognition in Alzheimer’s patients better than marketed drugs. (5.38) After extensive research, it has also been found that smoking cannabis alone does not contribute to the increased risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or lung cancer among those who do not smoke tobacco. (5.39) Even The United States Surgeon General, Jocelyn Elders, stated in one of her reports that, “marijuana is beneficial to many patients.” (21.9)
California’s Pacific Medical Center Research Institute conducted a study on cannabidol’s (CBD) effect on breast cancer and found that cannabidol may be able to hinder breast cancer cells from spreading. (5.40) The findings may hint towards a non-toxic form of chemotherapy for patients without diminishing the effectiveness of the treatment. (5.40) According to the study, cannabidol blocks the activity of the gene known as “ld-1”, which is believed to be the reason for the aggressive spread of cancer cells from the original tumor site. (5.40) Columbia University also published data on a clinical trial in 2007 that provided evidence of HIV/AIDS patients who smoked marijuana experiencing a great increase in food intake compared to not smoking with no signs of cognitive impairment or discomfort, coming to the conclusion that there are clear medical benefits of inhaling cannabis in HIV/AIDS patients. (5.41)(5.42) Another study by the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine found that patients who were infected with HIV/AIDS had a significant reduction in neuropathic pain after using marijuana while physical disability, quality of life, and mood had all improved during treatment. (5.43) In a study on the effects that marijuana has on brain cancer cells, The Complutense University of Madrid found that when they gave mice human brain cancer cells, the THC in marijuana shrank the tumor after just one month while leaving the healthy cells intact. (5.44) There were also no toxic effects found in the treatment, yet the function THC plays on tumor-cell’s killing actions are still not known. (5.44) Canada’s Health and Welfare Director of Bureau of Human Drugs also stated that, “The drug is really quite a remarkably safe one for humans, although it is really quite a dangerous one for mice and they should not use it.” (21.11) Marijuana has also been found to eliminate the amount of dependence opiates play on rats, showing promising results for dependency in humans as well. (5.45) In one study on spasticity in multiple sclerosis, findings concluded that a combination of THC and CBD played a role in the reduction of spasticity, providing “a nuero-protective and anti-inflammatory benefit for multiple sclerosis.” (5.46) There are over 300 chemical compounds in the cannabis plant, 66 of them being cannabinoids that are the foundation for medical and scientific use. (5.47)(5.48) The five most studied chemical compounds in marijuana are Cannabidiol, Tetrahydrocannabinol, B-Caryophyllene, Cannabigerol and Cannabinol. (5.49) Cannabidiol, or CBD, consists of up to 40% of medical cannabis and is the reason cancer cell growth stops while relieving anxiety, convulsions, congestion, cough, inflammation, and nausea. (5.50)(5.51) THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is responsible for psychoactive effects of marijuana that also has antioxidant qualities. (5.52) B-Caryophyllene is a chemical in marijuana that reduces inflammatory in human and animal tissues. (5.53) Cannabigerol has been shown to reduce blood pressure even more effectively than Cannabinol. (5.54) Medications have also been created from the extracts of chemical compounds in the cannabis plant. These medications, Nabilone, Marinol, and Sativex were created to aid patients of cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis and several disorders. (5.55)(5.56) Health concerns of inhaling marijuana smoke have been minimized with the use of vaporizers, that heat the chemical compounds for inhalation without most of the carcinogens, or by means of ingestion of the drug. (5.57) Ancient Chinese scripts, like the “50 Fundimental Herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine,” report the use of marijuana for many ailments. In the text is the explination of how every part of the cannabis plant is put to use. The flowers of the cannabis plant are recommended in atleast 120 diseases; the seeds are used in tonics, laxatives and diuretics. (5.59) It is also mentioned in the book that if one eats the seeds their skin will become more firm and give a younger look. And both the seeds and the oils of the plant can help reduce hairloss, help against poisonings, fix constipation and stop vomiting. It continues on to say that when the leaves or roots are juiced, they serve as a diuretic and can aid in scropion stings and help prevent hairloss or graying hair. (5.59) The Ancient Egyptains have several documents from 1700 BC to 1300 BC that intell the use of medical marijuana for relieving hemorrhoid pain with the use of suppositories and even planting the cannabis plant for medical marijuana. (5.60)(5.61)(5.62)(5.63) Ancient Indians took advantage of the psychoactive effects of cannabis and used it to treat many ailments; including headaches, pain often associated with childbirth, insomnia, and many gastriointestinal disorders. (5.64) Ancient Africans used cannabis to relieve hemorrhoid pain and restore appetite, as well as an antiseptic, to treat infantile confulsions, tetanus, nervous disorders, asthma, skin disease, hay fever and many other sicknesses. (4.1) Ancient Greeks used cannabis to treat nosebleads, expel tapeworms and to make a tonic with anti inflamatory effects; even for dressing their horses wounds. (5.65) In Medieval Islam, physicians used cannabis as an antiepileptic, antipyretic, antiemetic, diuretic, anti-inflammatory and as a pain killer.(5.66) Later, in the 1830’s, William Brooke O’Shaughnessy, an Irish physician, introduced the western world to cannabis as a therapeutic medicine. (5.67) Then, in 2003, The United States Department of Health and Human Services was awarded a patent titled “Cannabinoids as Antioxidants and Neuroprotectants,” that had its fundamental research done at the National Institute of Nuerologican Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) that claims cannabinoids to be:
“..useful in the treatment and prophlyaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated disease, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune disease. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as nueroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinsln’s disease and HIV dementia..” (5.69)
This is an important finding, which if looked into more closely, could be a beneficial reason to make marijuana available even to those who are not in medical need of it.
Although medical marijuana lack the needed resources and legality for proper scientific studies, spiritual applications can be found all over the world without the need of scientific evaluation. According to Joseph Needham, a historian and Sinologist, the psychoactive properties of hemp have been known to Chinese Toast circles for at least 2,000 years. (4.2) Shennong Bencaojing, a Chinese pharmacopeia, described cannabis flowers and seeds as a way to help people face and control demons, and if taken over a long period of time will be able to communicate with spirits with their body becoming lighter. (4.3)(4.4)(4.8) There is also a dietary therapy book titled “Shiliao Bencao” (Nutrition Materia Medica) that prescribes the daily use of cannabis for up to 100 days. (4.0) There are also Taoist texts that mention the use of marijuana in ritual incense (4.5) and if consumed with ginseng will create “preternatural knowledge of events in the future.” (4.6)(4.7) There is also evidence that cultures in Central Asia had used cannabis about 2,500 years ago. Records of Scythians using cannabis in steam baths by throwing hemp flowers and seeds onto red-hot stones, creating an ancient “vaporizer”, that the ones in the festive steam bath “delightfully shout for joy” from the rising vapors. (4.9)
Indian use of cannabis dates as early as 3000 BCE, and could even further back to a primitive society that predates Vedic India, or before the oldest holy scriptures of the Indian religion: The Vedas. (4.13)(4.14) Bhang, or the leaves and plant tops of cannabis, is prepared in a beverage form and the most common form used in religious festivals. (4.0) Ganja is leaves and buds collected for smoking and hashish is the extracted resin from marijuana leaves or buds. Cannabis is strongly associated with the worship of the Hindu god Shiva, who is believed by many to have a close relationship to the hemp plant. (4.15) Smoking cannabis represents an offering to Shiva, as a gift to aid in sadhana, or enlightenment. (4.15)(4.16) It is considered a ceremonial offering for people to consume bhang, which contains the cannabis flowers, during the Holi festival. (4.15)(4.17) The Elixir of Life is believed to come from the “Churning of the Ocean” by the Asuras and the Devas, where “Shiva created cannabis from his own body to purify the elixir,” A second story tells of the creation of cannabis after a drop of elixir dropped to the ground, touching the earth sprouting out a plant in correlation to Shiva and his elixir. (4.18) Drinking of Bhang, called wise drinking, is associated with Shiva, so in respect it is thought to cleanse one of sins while simultaneously uniting them with Shiva so they may avoid the hellish miseries of afterlife. (4.18) Drinking bhang without religious rites is called foolish drinking, and is considered a sin. (4.18) Cannabis is also associated with the Ancient European Norse Love Goddess, Freya, and the “erotic high festival” that came with harvesting the cannabis plant. (4.10)(4.11) The Norse believed Freya to live within the plant’s feminine flowers as a “fertile force”, that when ingested, caused an influence by the divine force of Freya. (4.12)
Ancient Hebraic use, according to the Torah, says that cannabis is an ingredient of Holy Anointing Oil, mentioned in many sacred texts. (4.19) Marijuana is also mentioned in the Hebrew Bible to be an ingredient in the Holy Anointing Oil used for kings, prophets, and other temple ministers, as well as incense and a material for bartering. (4.0)
Cannabis use among the Sufi Islam religion is used spiritually by mostly lower classes whose origins of use is said to come from Arab legend that,
“Haydar, the Persian founder of the religious order of Sufi, came across the cannabis plant while wandering in the Persian mountains. Usually a reserved and silent man, when he returned to his monastery after eating some cannabis leaves, his disciples were amazed at how talkative and animated (full of spirit) he seemed. After cajoling Haydar into telling them what he had done to make him feel so happy, his disciples went out into the mountains and tried the cannabis for themselves. So it was, according to the legend, the Sufis came to know the pleasures of hashish.” (4.20)
The Quran is also noted to mention, in the Sura Ar-Rahman and Sura Al-Waqiah writings, a “Heaven Flower” that also makes reference to a “mythical Lote Tree” (4.0)
Marijuana is also a very large part of the Rastafari movement founded in Jamaica in the 1930’s. (4.0) Cannabis to the Rastafari is a deeply sacred plant that is the beneficial Tree of Life, mentioned in Revelation: 22:2 of the Bible,
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (4.0)(20.0)
And also in Genesis 1:29,
"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." (21.3)
The Rastafari use cannabis as a part of worship to god, as well as a tool to study the bible and meditation. (4.0) They believe the cannabis plant to be the "They hold reasoning sessions where members come together to discuss life according to Rastafari perspective. Cannabis is viewed as a way to bring the physical self closer to the spiritual god, or Jah, to penetrate truth like “wool pulled from one’s eyes.” (4.0) Rastafari smoke marijuana together to discuss truth through reasoning over many sessions. (4.0) It is not a requirement to smoke cannabis, but some feel it brings them closer to faith, while pipes with cannabis are always dedicated to His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassiel before smoking. The Rastafari believe the cannabis herb to be “The key to new understanding of self, the universe and god.” (4.0) They also believe the cannabis plant to be the “vehicle” to “cosmic consciousness,” that is believed to “burn the corruption out of the human heart.” Rubbing the cannabis ashes is also considered to be a healthy practice. (4.21)(4.22) Maybe there are health benefits in the ashes of cannabis, like some of the health benefits in volcanic ash used for cosmetic purposes. (17.0)
Dr. Alexander Shulgin once said, “I, as a responsible adult human being, will never concede the power to anyone to regulate my choice of what I put into my body, or where I go with my mind. From the skin inwards is my jurisdiction, is it not? I choose what may or may not cross that border. Here I am the Customs Agent. I am the Coast guard. I am the sole legal and spiritual government of this territory, and only the laws I choose to enact within myself are applicable.” (21.10) People have given up their right to free thought and self-actualization. They lost their inborn spontaneity, the ability to focus on problems other than themselves, and the acceptance of what is, rather than what should be. When we realize what is, is, we will be able to change what it is to what it should be; throwing away prejudices and allowing acceptance to rain over the world. The human race will then have peace on earth, bringing forth the next era of man.
It is clear that the legislations and prohibition of Cannabis are out dated and in need of serious change. People have a chance to have a good life, physically and spiritually, and the information shows not only for this to be true, but also that people are taking that chance. Marijuana is too much of a health benefit to mankind to be wasted on petty laws that hinder the chance to a better life for all people of the world. Whether Cannabis is legal or not, the use of it will never be stopped. Hopefully the governments will all agree in the near future that marijuana is a beneficial herb, not a dangerous drug.
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7.8 Jones, Craig; Donnelly, Neil; Swift, Wendy; Weatherburn, Don, "Driving under the influence of cannabis: The problem and potential countermeasures," Crime and Justice Bulletin, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (Syndey, Australia: September 2005). p. 11.
http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/CJB87.pdf/$file/CJB87.pdf
7.9 Department for Transport, "Cannabis and driving: a review of the literature and commentary (No.12)," (London, United Kingdom: May 2000).
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/research/rsrr/theme3/cannabisanddri...
7.10 Laberge, Jason C., Nicholas J. Ward, "Research Note: Cannabis and Driving -- Research Needs and Issues for Transportation Policy," Journal of Drug Issues, Dec. 2004, pp. 980.
7.11 Laberge, Jason C., Nicholas J. Ward, "Research Note: Cannabis and Driving -- Research Needs and Issues for Transportation Policy," Journal of Drug Issues, Dec. 2004, pp. 980-1.
7.12 Shafer, Raymond P., et al, Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding, Ch. III, (Washington DC: National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, 1972).
http://druglibrary.net/schaffer/Library/studies/nc/ncc3.htm
7.13 EMCDDA (2008), "A cannabis reader: global issues and local experiences," Monograph series 8, Volume 1, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, p. 108.
http://eldd.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_60586_EN_Monograph-ch7...
7.14 Janet E. Joy, Stanley J. Watson, Jr., and John A Benson, Jr., "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, Institute of Medicine (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1999), p. 6.
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309071550&page=6
7.15 Janet E. Joy, Stanley J. Watson, Jr., and John A Benson, Jr., "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, Institute of Medicine (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1999), p. 99.
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=6376&page=99
7.16 Mia Hashibe, Hal Morgenstern, Yan Cui, Donald P. Tashkin, Zuo-Feng Zhang, Wendy Cozen, Thomas M. Mack, and Sander Greenland, "Marijuana Use and the Risk of Lung and Upper Aerodigestive Tract Cancers: Results of a Population-Based Case-Control Study," Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention (October 2006), p. 1833.
http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/15/10/1829.full.pdf
7.17 US Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, "In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition," [Docket #86-22], (September 6, 1988), p. 57.
http://www.iowamedicalmarijuana.org/pdfs/young.pdf
7.18 "Pudney, Stephen, "Drugs Policy – What Should We Do About Cannabis?" Centre for Economic Policy Research (London, United Kingdom: April 2009), p. 23.
http://www.cepr.org/meets/wkcn/9/976/papers/pudney.pdf
7.19 International Centre for Science in Drug Policy, "Tools for Debate: US Federal Government Data on Cannabis Prohibition" (Vancouver, British Columbia: 2010), p. 21
http://www.icsdp.org/docs/ICSDP-2.pdf
7.20 Advisory Committee on Drug Dependence, Cannabis (London, England: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1969); Canadian Government Commission of Inquiry, The Non-Medical Use of Drugs (Ottawa, Canada: Information Canada, 1970); The National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding, (Nixon-Shafer Report) (Washington, DC: USGPO, 1972); Werkgroep Verdovende Middelen, Background and Risks of Drug Use (The Hague, The Netherlands: Staatsuigeverij, 1972); Senate Standing Committee on Social Welfare, Drug Problems in Australia-An Intoxicated Society (Canberra, Australia: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1977); Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, "The classification of cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971" (London, England, UK: Home Office, March 2002), available on the web from http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication-search/acmd/cannabis-class-mi... ; House of Commons Home Affairs Committee Third Report, "The Government's Drugs Policy: Is It Working?" (London, England, UK: Parliament, May 9, 2002), from the web at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmhaff/318/31... and "Cannabis: Our Position for a Canadian Public Policy," report of the Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs (Ottawa, Canada: Senate of Canada, September 2002).
7.21 Single, Eric, Cannabis Control in Canada: Options Regarding Possession (Ottawa, Canada: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, May 1998).
http://www.druglibrary.net/schaffer/Library/studies/canfinal2.htm
7.22 MacCoun, Robert and Reuter, Peter, "Evaluating alternative cannabis regimes," British Journal of Psychiatry (London, United Kingdom: American Royal College of Psychiatrists, February, 2001) Vol. 178, p. 127.
http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/reprint/178/2/123.pdf
7.23 "Cannabis: Our Position for a Canadian Public Policy," report of the Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs (Ottawa, Canada: Senate of Canada, September 2002), p. 46.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/ille-e/rep-e/sum...
7.24 Police Foundation of the United Kingdom, "Drugs and the Law: Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971", April 4, 2000. The Police Foundation, based in London, England, is a nonprofit organization presided over by Charles, Crown Prince of Wales, which promotes research, debate and publication to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of policing in the UK.
7.25 Kilmer, Beau; Caulkins, Jonathan P.; Pacula, Rosalie Liccardo; MacCoun, Robert J.; Reuter, Peter H., "Altered State? Assessing How Marijuana Legalization in California Could Influence Marijuana Consumption and Public Budgets" Drug Policy Research Center (Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2010), p. 8.
http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/2010/RAND_OP315.pdf
7.26 "Crime in the United States 2009," FBI Uniform Crime Report (Washington, DC: US Dept. of Justice, September 2010), Table 29, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/data/table_29.html and Arrest Table: Arrests for Drug Abuse Violations, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/arrests/index.html.
8.0) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/03/AR2005050301638.html
Marijuana Becomes Focus of Drug War Less Emphasis on Heroin and Cocaine. Dan Eggen Washington Post Writer. Wednesday, May 4, 2005
9.0) http://www.druglibrary.org/think/~jnr/mjecon.htm
D. Gieringer, Coordinator, California NORML, July 1993. National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, NORML San Francisco CA 94114
10.0) http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/marijuana/marijuana5.html
11.0) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp
11.1 http://www.ratical.org/renewables/hempseed1.html
11.2 "Living Harvest - The Official Website & Online Store - Hemp Seed Nutrition - Unearthing the Benefits of Hemp Seed". www.worldpantry.com. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
11-3 a b "CNBC Special Report".
11-4 Thermoformable Composite Panels. Composites World. 2006.
11-5 "Cai Lun Improved the Papermaking Technology". chinaculture.org.
11-6 Phytoremediation: Using Plants to Clean Soil
11-7 "Hemp As Weed Control". www.gametec.com. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
11-8 "COOLFUEL Episode: Sugarcane and Hempoline". Retrieved 2009-10-16.
12.0) http://www.marijuanalibrary.org/7_presidents.html
Hemp: Lifeline to the Future, by Chris Conrad, 1994, pp. 192-193, part of Chapter 16, "A World of Cannabis Cultures." Creative Xpressions Publications, Los Angeles, ISBN 0-9639754-1-2
Burke. "Pot & Presidents." in Green Egg. CA. June 21, 1975
12.1) A region now shared by Germany & Poland. Letter to Dr. James Anderson, May 26, 1794. in Writings of George Washington. Washington DC. vol. 33. p. 384.
12.2) Ibid. vol. 35. p. 72
12.3) Such as creating more space for females to flower for seed production, or to take advantage of the male fiber before it overmatures in the field.
12.4) Burke asserted that Washington & Jefferson were said to exchange smoking blends as personal gifts. Washington reportedly preferred a pipe full of "the leaves of hemp" to alcohol, & wrote in his diaries that he enjoyed the fragrance of hemp flowers. Madison once remarked that hemp gave him insight to create a new & democratic nation. Monroe, creator of the Monroe Doctrine, began smoking it as Ambassador to France & continued to the age of 73. Burke. "Pot & Presidents." in Green Egg. CA. June 21, 1975
12.5) "That might explain some cultural differences." Aldrich, Michael, Ph.D. 'On use of marijuana by slaves in colonial times.' in Best of High Times. vol. 10. 1991. p. 61
12.6) Hakluyt, Divers voyages touching the discoverie of America. London 1582
13.0) http://politicalhumor.about.com/cs/quotethis/a/clintonquotes.htm
14.0) http://www.talkingdrugs.org/arnold-schwarzenegger-smoking-weed
15.0) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2633187.stm
16.0) http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2783.html
17.0) http://www.volcanicearth.com/volcanicash.html
18.0) http://www.slatts.ukfsn.org/
19.0) http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/moscone/chap6.htm
20.0) “The Holy Bible,” containing the old and new testaments, Translated out of the Original Tongues and with the Former Translation diligently compared. Authorized (king James) Version. Self-Pronounced Edition. The National Bible Press, Philadelphia, PA. USA. Copyright 1963, The National Publishing Co.
21.0) http://www.rollitup.org/stonable-quotables/290516-famous-marijuana-quotes.html
21.1) #23 – Martin Luther King Jr.
21.2) #10 – Thomas Jefferson
21.3) #13 – Genesis 1:29 – Biblical Quotation
21.4) #17 – Albert Einstein, 1921, on “My First Impression of the USA”
21.5) #56 – Sir Paul McCartney, Independent. Sunday, 28th of Sept. 1997
21.6) #22 – Thomas Jefferson
21.7) #11 – Former U.S.A. President Harry S. Truman
21.8) #34 – Testimony of Prefessor Lester Grinspoon, M.D. Associate Prefessor of psychiatry, Harverd Medical School, before the Crime Subcommittee of the Judiciary committee, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., October 1, 1997.
21.9) #35 – Jocelyn Elders, USA Surgeon General
21.10) #55 – Alexander Shulgin, PhD, Chemist and author, at the DPF conference, November 1996.
21.11) #16 – J.W.D. Henderson Director of the Bureau of Human Drugs, Health and Welfare, Canada.
22.0) http://eazysmoke.com/marijuana-quotes.htm
