Legalization of Marijuana

 When deciding if Marijuana should or should not be legalized we must first look at the terminology “Legalization” and for those who might not have ever heard the Maxim of Law that states “legality is not reality” therefore the term legalization of Marijuana can be considered a fictional made up reality that has no bases in truth. Marijuana is legalese terminology that represents a belief system. Just because everybody believes that legality is reality does not make it a truth. A truth based on fraud is still a fraud. Marijuana is a legal term used to give the public a negative view of this most basic natural resource which scientifically has been named Cannabis Sativa or Hemp. We now have 23 states including the District of Columbia already legalizing Cannabis/Hemp for medical and personal use. Marijuana or Cannabis/Hemp is quite possibly the way for the United States of America to resolve its financial problems by accessing this vital resource with many societal benefits that include medicine, industrial production and agriculture.The uneducated public has been manipulated through propaganda to believe that “Marijuana is a gateway drug” when really it has more benefits than we can count. Marijuana or Cannabis Sativa has been used for thousands of years it is only in the last 70 years that it has been removed from pharmacopeia. In the argument that Cannabis or Marijuana is addictive, studies have shown that it is only as addictive as caffeine where opiates have been found to be extremely toxic and highly addictive, Cannabis to the contrary is not. Studies have proven Cannabis to be as effective for pain management and anti-inflammatory, without the toxic effects of opiates. Cannabis is a highly effective medication that can be used to treat many different diseases from Alzheimer’s disease to glaucoma, clinical depression, insomnia, weight gain, Chhorn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, arthritis, traditional cancer treatment side effects, and AIDs the list goes on and on. Cannabis has the ability to replace many different medications into just one solution Cannabis as medicine. This can be done without interactive toxic complications that can happen and often does happen with traditional synthetic chemicals that pharmacology call drugs. The Chemical components in cannabis are called cannabinoids that activate specific receptors throughout the body to produce a pharmacologic effects,particularly in the central nervous system and the immune system. The human body already has endocannabinoid receptors and cannabinoids in Cannabis are a natural match to them and this is why the Cannabis is so effective. By Legalization of Marijuana there is a miracle cure all that can replace big pharma and they take that as a threat. By simply following the money trail from these giant global conglomerates whose bottom line is the almighty buck, it is plan to see who is behind the veil making Marijuana illegal.In November 2012 Colorado voters approved amendment 64 to the states constitution. Colorado faced challenges and overcame them and now Marijuana is legal for medical and personal use. Colorado is showing by a leading example that success can be achieved by legalizing Marijuana. Some of the challenges it does face are in the areas of public policy. They have introduced a new tax framework HB-13-1318 it outlines the 2.9% sales tax on medical and retail and 15% tax on unprocessed Marijuana and with a special 10% tax on point of sale purchases. What Colorado has done is funneled these funds through a Marijuana Tax Cash Fund with the first 40 Million dollars going into substance abuse treatment, Public Health Education, Schools and Law Enforcement. So with this example of success and fundraising through taxation we can see the benefits of making cannabis available without negative consequences (i.e. being locked up in jail for possession) but rather controlling the finances and taxing the whole process from production to point of sale.Hemp/ Cannabis Stavia is indigenous to temperate regions and is cultivated for its fiber and oil rich seeds. It is one of the oldest sources of textile fiber and the use for its cloth can be traced back as far as 8000 BCE in China and the Middle East. Cannabis Sativa or Hemp was the third largest crop in America by the 1850’s and all parts of the plant can be used for a myriad of purposes that include industrial uses for construction in the form of Hempcrete (a concrete type of material used in construction that is biodegradable), essential oils, food, medicine, molded plastics, paper products(eliminating deforestation), textiles, hemp seed also has a high biomass and can be processed into energy in the form of ethanol and biodiesel fuels that are renewable.In 2015 an act was introduced titled The Industrial Hemp Farming Act This act if passed will distinguish Hemp from Marijuana thus taking Marijuana off the Schedule 1 list of illegal substances. In the end it is common sense to legalize Marijuana and just might save America. ReferencesHudak, J. (2015). COLORADO’S ROLLOUT OF LEGAL MARIJUANA IS SUCCEEDING: A REPORT ON THE STATE’S IMPLEMENTATION OF LEGALIZATION. Case Western Reserve Law Review,65(3), 649-687. Zheng, M. Y. (2015). Hemp fiber. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science, Gustafson, C. (2013). Donald Abrams, MD: Evidence-based Efficacy of Medical Use of Cannabis. Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal, 12(5), 24-27 4p.