To Be Legal :: essays research papers

To Be Legal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Marijuana smokers are generally mildly intoxicated, giggle, laugh, bother no one, and have a good time. They do not stagger or fall, and wouldn’t ordinarily attempt to harm anyone. It has not been proven that smoking marijuana leads to crimes of a violent nature or to crimes of a sexual nature. Smoking marijuana has no unpleasant after-affects, no dependence is developed on the drug, and the practice can easily be stopped at any time. So why is marijuana illegal? Although marijuana usage is frowned upon by society, marijuana can be used for industrial, recreational, and even medical purposes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The industry could certainly benefit from marijuana. Hemp (processed marijuana) is among the oldest of industries on the planet, going back more than 10,000 years to the beginning of pottery. Surprisingly, Hemp can replace many of the elements used in products today. One acre of hemp in annual rotation will produce as much pulp for paper as 4.1 acres of trees during the same twenty-year period. Hemp can be grown and harvested every year, unlike trees that take a lasting fifty to one hundred years to grow back. Also, making paper from trees creates over five times more pollution than making paper from hemp. Hemp could also have an effect on the clothing industry producing three times as much fiber per acre as cotton. While cotton is grown on only 3% of the world’s farmland, it uses a devastating 26% of the world’s pesticides per year. Hemp requires no pesticides or herbicides to grow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In regards to recreational use, marijuana is about as benign as you can get. It is not addictive. It does not cause violence. It creates no hangovers and no one has ever died from an overdose. Marijuana serves as a natural relaxant, unlike alcohol, which produces more hyper emotions. Personally, I noticed that people attending college parties based around the consumption of alcohol tend to be more aggressive than those under the influence of marijuana. Marijuana users tend to be more jovial in a social atmosphere such as a party/club and do not pursue things that involve large amounts of energy. Although there are some that claim marijuana usage is harmful to the body, impairing the normal flow of thought, causing loss of coordination, and even brain damage, it can also be a way of enjoying yourself, socializing with friends, and escaping the troubled reality of the world.