Image by Spiritual Enlightenment via Flickr
Stephanie Piedrahita | Opinion Director
steph.piedrahita@fiusm.com
I am tired of hearing about another friend of mine getting arrested for a small bag of weed. I’m even more exhausted to hear about the ridiculous sentences weed smokers get that sometimes surpass the jail time of convicted rapists and murders.
It’s time to start talking about marijuana seriously and I am more than willing to start that conversation today.
Comedian and social critic, Bill Hicks, once asked “Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn’t the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit . . . unnatural?”.
This is the same question just about every other American citizen were asking themselves on Monday and for the past 40 years since the “drug” became popular in the 1970’s.
Marijuana is a word that both strikes fear in the unenlightened and joy in those who have firsthand seen and felt the benefits of consuming this product of nature.
If you are still a part of the group that relies on traditional and close minded perspectives in order to prevent an existential crisis from happening, I barely understand but we need to consider how the decriminalization of the plant can help those who need it for a change.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD) are the two chemical components of the marijuana plant. The first produces the psychoactive tendencies the public is familiar with, the second a catalyst for the biggest medical revolution we’ve seen in a long time.
There are going to be people who will deny medical benefits of marijuana but do so out of pure stubbornness because there have been countless occasions and studies that prove otherwise. According to a study published in Journal of the American Medical Association in January 2012, marijuana does not impair lung function and can even increase lung capacity.
Robert J. DeLorenzo of Virginia Commonwealth University proved marijuana extracts can prevent seizures by binding to the brain cells responsible for controlling excitability and regulating relaxation in a 2003 study.
Researchers at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco reported in 2007 that cannabidiol stops cancer by turning off a gene called Id-1 in order to prevent it from spreading to non-cancerous cells.
Harvard professor Lester Grinspoon of recently wrote an open letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell saying the NFL should stop testing players for marijuana, and that the league should start funding research into the plant’s ability to protect the brain since it’s healing properties can speed up recovery from concussions.
There have been other studies that support it’s usage to treat anxiety, PTSD, arthritis, eating disorders, glaucoma…the list expands every year so why should we oppose this miraculous medical discovery?
Underneath the Unites States Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug along with LSD, ecstasy, meth and heroin. The Drug Enforcement Administration states on their official website that Schedule I drugs have no currently accepted medical use and can potentially result in severe psychological or physical dependence and abuse.
With 23 of the 50 states having passed bills or propositions that at least legalized medical marijuana, we can see how inaccurate this definition is.
The scheduling also prevents further medical research from happening due to it being illegal on the federal level, which has also infringed on the sovereignty of individual states. This is not only creating a rift between supportive medical practitioners and our government but also nullifies decisions made by citizens through fair electoral processes.
If saving lives and creating opportunities for people to surpass their health issues isn’t enough of a reason for you to start supporting the legalization of marijuana, then maybe money will. I will not pay you change your mind, but you could potentially become the next multi-millionaire because of this industry should you chose to become involved with it (under legal circumstances of course).
Colorado became the first state to allow people to purchase and sell weed for recreational use and we are seeing the amazing results only one year after the change. Even though economists projected a higher amount, the state has made 53 million in tax revenue and an additional 16 million through the medical sector. A good percentage of that was promised towards renovating and building public schools so this could also positively affect future generations.
If you are more concerned with how this country benefit from the industry right now, the Marijuana Industry Group (MIG) estimates that 10,000 workers in the state are directly involved with cannabis, with 10% to 20% of them joining the industry in the last five months.
There are real jobs that have been created in the past year that help families rise out from unemployment and put food on their table when they would be considered a criminal elsewhere.
Basically if you deny marijuana, you’re denying an individual’s right to choose their medical treatment, preventing growth in our job market and anchoring our country down to out-dated and exaggerated stigmas. There is hope, however, and with proper education and activism, there will be a day where I can tell you to roll up a joint, take a hit and chill out, man.
Until then, enjoy your day and remember that there is now a Taco Bell on campus and that Breezeway Cafe bakes new cookies almost every hour.
About Post Author
