"Have You Met Mary Jane?"

Canada recently made international headlines by legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes. Many people around the world are possibly under the influence of marijuana as you read this. When marijuana is around, people are always hushing and making sure others don’t see them smoking it, but what would happen if it were legalized?

Many people use marijuana as a medicine to help treat certain illnesses. A law was recently passed in Canada and several states in the U.S. to specifically allow sick people to use marijuana for medical purposes. Marijuana can help protect people from cancer. Marijuana can serve as an effective pain management. It can provide relief from the pain itself, as well as the nausea, vomiting and dizziness that often accompany severe, prolonged pain. Marijuana stimulates appetite in AIDS patients and reducing intraocular pressure in people with glaucoma. There is also evidence that smoking marijuana reduces muscle spasticity in patients with neurological disorders. Many people are prescribed marijuana for medical purposes.

Accoring to http://www.soop.ca/potfacts/bible.html. The bible says that God created hemp for people to use “as meat,” meaning to consume, that it’s seed oil to be used as an ointment and that cannabis is “to be received with thanks-giving of them which believe and know the truth”. Paul also warned that some people would “speak lies in hypocrisy” and prohibit people from using it. God has given us life. He created certain herbs and plants for eating and healing. “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.” (Gen 9:3). The hemp plant or otherwise known as marijuana is one of the many useful herbs created and blessed by God on the third day of creation. “and God saw that it was good” (Gen 1:12). He gave hemp for people to use with free will. The bible also predicts some herb’s prohibition. “Now that the Spirt speaketh expressly, that in the later times, some shall … speak lies in hypocrisy … commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth” (Paul: 1, Timothy 4:1-3). The bible also speaks of a special plant. “I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more” (Ezekiel 34:29). A healing plant. On either side of the river, was there a tree of life, which bare 12 manner of fruits, and yielding her fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.( Revelations 22:1-2) A gift from God.

Thanks to http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/1732 we now know that Government experts admit that marijuana does not kill brain cells. This myth came from experiments done on animals in which structural changes were observed in brain cells of animals exposed to high does of marijuana. Studies of heavy users found no evidence of abnormalities in brain physiology. It is worth noting that other drugs, including alcohol, are known to cause brain damage. No study has ever demonstrated cell damage, stupidity, mental impairment or insanity brought on by marijuana use, even heavy marijuana use. Studies done by the National Academy of Sciences suggested "that marijuana does not break chromosomes. Cannabinoids in themselves are neither mutagenic or carcinogenic." Being “stoned” is a state of mind, and there are only so many areas that our brain uses. There would be a psychological disease that is the result of an altered action of certain areas of the brain.

It has been shown in studies that using marijuana often progresses to the use of harder drugs, in other words smoking marijuana is the gateway to more harmful drugs such as LSD, cocaine, heroin, etc. This is a problem since most people will not directly start abusing the harder drugs that are generally understood to be harmful. This is irrelevant, as it implies that someone or a small group of people has the right to dictate what someone else does to their own body. It is a basic fundamental human right that your own body is your own body. It’s your choice how you chose to use it or abuse it.

Legalization of marijuana would benefit the federal budget in two ways, the revenues would increase because marijuana cigarettes could be taxed at the point of sale. In return, the companies that make the marijuana cigarettes would also pay income taxes. Also there would be a reduction on the amount spent on law enforcement efforts to prosecute users and sellers marijuana. The drug enforcement authorities might reduce their budget requests and focus more intensely on hard drugs and violent crimes. The most important gain of the legalization of marijuana would be the quality in government. The illogical pattern of law enforcement, which now treats marijuana as more dangerous then alcohol, would end. Like Gore Vidal said in his essay Drugs, “It is possible to stop most drug addiction in the United States and Canada within a very short time. Simply make all drugs available and sell them at cost.”