Legalizing Mariuana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Legalizing Mariuana - Essay Example Within every culture there are differences however. In every part of the world religion was used as a tool to explain things that science could not, and religion's view on mind-altering substances like marijuana, alcohol and mushrooms has traditional been negative. Early western religious leaders looked skeptically on people in an inebriated state, perhaps thinking that they were possessed. This might explain the inherent distrust of any mind-altering substance; early science was too primitive to explain the inebriated state so religious leader's denounced users as demon possessed. In the west especially, where religion was not so much of a spiritual nature but a kind of penance were substances seen as evil. Unlike other, more primitive religions of the world, where its practitioners wanted to elevate the soul to communicate with God, western Christianity seemed to want to make every person live as plainly as possible. It taught that suffering was a good thing and if the common perso n questioned why they were told by their religious leaders that it was because that was how God wanted it to be. It's easy to see now how the modern western world developed its bias against substances. Today in the United States and most parts of the western world (like Britain, Canada, and France) marijuana is illegal to possess or distribute (although in Canada possession has been decriminalized). Penalties in the United States for possessing marijuana differ from state to state but are generally severe: a hefty fine at the least to several months or even years in prison, depending on the amount of marijuana found. (Schwartz 2000) Some states have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes: relief of chronic pain and post-traumatic stress. It has been shown in every study that the large majority of the American population (around 70 percent always) agrees with marijuana use for medicinal purposes. However, federal law in many cases clashes with state law when government officials do raids on houses of known medicinal marijuana users that have been sanctioned by the state. In every case federal law supersedes that of the state law and the patient is fined or imprisoned and the ma rijuana, usually no more than a few plants for personal use, is taken from the patient. (Grinspoon and Bakalar 2002) Arguments abound over the legality of this. Should federal law supersede state law Those true to the founding fathers ideals of the sovereign state say no, while federalists say yes, that the government should have the power to restrict state laws. The arguments on both sides are long and equally compelling. Marijuana has been discovered to be very useful in the field of medicine. Effects of marijuana have been known to cause pain relief. Marijuana was used as an anesthetic in many countries. Marijuana smokers reported that marijuana ad relieved pain while smoking and a much higher tolerance to pain after smoking. In particular, marijuana helps relieve the tension in a headache because of it effect on the brain. (Doblin and Kleiman 2003) It also helps with anxiety because it can be used as a sedative. Studies have shown that marijuana can also be used as a Bronchodilator. It can help relieve feelings of suffocation during an asthma attack. Many