Cannabis has benefited humans for centuries. Sails of hemp enabled explorers to cross the seas. Hemp seed was part of the cargo of the Mayflower. The herb enabled settlers to cross the United States in wagons covered with hemp. Hemp paper was used in the drafting of the U.S. Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence, yet, by 1937 it was prohibited by the United States government. At this time, William Randolph Hearst and Lammont Du Pont, both industrial tycoons, recognized cannabis to be a threat to their respective pulp-paper and petrochemical industries, and used their powerful positions to lobby for prohibition of cannabis. The hands of the clock must be put back. The Government must re-legalize the growth and use of this ancient herb because of its benefits to the sick, to commerce, and to the environment.
For over 3500 years cannabis, also known as marijuana, has been one of civilizations most widely used medicinal plants. Cannabis is well recognized by many in the medical profession for its therapeutic uses. In August 1997, a panel of experts urged the National Institute of Health to support more and better studies of its uses. The panel contended there is sufficient evidence that cannabis could help in the treatment of glaucoma, nausea associated with chemotherapy, and severe weight loss. It is also well known to benefit those suffering muscle spasticity, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and spinal cord injury.. Dr. Marcus Conant, a doctor and teacher at U.C. San Francisco, maintains cannabis excels at relieving nausea and stimulating appetite in AIDS and cancer patients. In a 1991 Harvard Medical School survey, one half the oncologists acknowledged the therapeutic properties of cannabis, and intimated they would prescribe it if it were legal; indeed, most had already recommended it to their patients.
In addition to helping in the treatment of these debilitating diseases, cannabis is beneficial in treating many other medical problems. According to Dr. L. Vachon, THC in a microaerosol has proved to be up to sixty percent effective as a bronchodilator, with minimal side effects. Surely 14.3 million American asthma sufferers are entitled to this treatment. Sufferers of arthritis should also be able to benefit from cannabis. The well-respected New England Journal of Medicine reports that delta-9-THC, the active ingredient of cannabis, may relieve arthritis pain. Likewise, migraine sufferers can benefit from the use of marijuana. In 1890 Dr. J. Reynolds wrote an article for "Lancet" in which he noted the positive effects of cannabis in treating migraine sufferers. This belief is still being upheld by many doctors today. As long as there are patients, and doctors who prefer the natural substance, they should not be penalized for using or recommending the herb.
It is paradoxical that the Federal Drug Administration has approved the use of a man-made drug, Marinol, which contains the active ingredients of cannabis, THC , but outlaws the use of the natural plant. According to Dr. Marcus Conant, Marinol is far less effective than cannabis. Chuck Thomas, an advocate for Medicinal Marijuana Law Reform, states that Marinol is ten to twenty times more expensive than the naturally grown cannabis.
Pain relief through cannabis, however, is denied to patients in every state except Arizona and California; and, even in these states, where voters supported propositions legalizing cannabis for medical use, authorities are making life difficult for patients and their primary care-givers. Within the last few weeks cannabis clubs in San Francisco and San Jose have been closed by the police as a result of allegedly selling to unauthorized people. These closures have left hundreds of people bereft of their entitlements. Throughout America, tens of thousands of sick people risk arrest and jail in their pursuit of relief. In September 1988, after hearing two years of testimony, the Drug Enforcement Administration�s chief administrative law judge, Francis Young, ruled: "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known. It would be unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious for the DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance �." Interestingly, in 1998, Attorney General Janet Reno still urges authorities to make arrests and prosecute physicians who recommend marijuana to their patients. The government must recognize the therapeutic benefits of cannabis. It must allow patients the option of using what is available naturally and economically, thereby providing affordable health care for Americans. The value of cannabis is not limited to medicinal applications however, cannabis has versatile industrial, and commercial uses.
By continuing to outlaw cannabis, the government is depriving Americans of a plant with a myriad of uses. Cannabis provides a dioxin-free pulp for the manufacturing of paper. Cannabis fiber is spun into thread and yarn for the manufacture of canvas, rope and fabrics. It has many applications for the construction industry, and, if legalized, would provide cheap building materials, including composite board. Boards made from cannabis cellulose are stronger than composite boards made from timber. Moreover cannabis composites are more resistance to fire, fungus, rodents, termites and other pests.
Additionally, and more importantly, cannabis cellulose can be turned into fuel. Before prohibition, the Ford Motor Company was creating fuel derived from hemp, as well as investigating the possibility of using hemp in the manufacturing of cars. The company was so convinced of this possibility, it actually cultivated a two hundred acre crop with the view to making a plastic body consisting of seventy percent hemp. Ironically, in 1937, the year of the cannabis industry�s demise, " Mechanical Engineering" magazine hailed it as "The most profitable crop that can be grown."
The clothing industry would be revolutionized if cannabis was a ready source of fiber. Designers such as Ralph Lauren, and Calvin Klein already use hemp in their clothing. It has been used as fabric for centuries. Hemp is eight times stronger than cotton and four times more durable. Industrial textiles and clothing account for fifty-nine percent of U.S. imports and twenty-one percent of the trade deficit. Consumers should be given the right to purchase hemp merchandise at a reasonable price, rather than the exorbitant prices that are currently demanded due to its importation.
Currently the trade in industrialized cannabis is exploding, but American companies have to import all their raw products at a greater expense. Billions of dollars would be generated in the United States if farmers could legally grow this important cash crop. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were both farmers and keen promoters of cannabis. Jefferson described it as being "of first necessity �. to the wealth and protection of the country." Prior to prohibition, the Department of Agriculture developed hybrid seeds that produced greater yields of hemp than anywhere else. However, these hybrid seeds were never allow to propagate. Chris Conrad points out that countries of the European Economic Community, Canada, China and the former Soviet Union have developed seed lines, new technologies and markets, while the United States continues to outlaw the crop, thereby depriving its citizens of an enormously lucrative crop. Even though the industrial and commercial uses of cannabis are impressive, its impact on the environment is even more important.
As we accelerate into the next century, pumping pollution into the atmosphere, creating acid rain, destroying rainforests, and creating ever-increasing holes in the ozone layer, we must consider all methods that will lead to a healthier environment. Cannabis is a plant with the ability to replace environmentally damaging fossil fuels. It is one of the fastest growing plants known, with enormous potential as an energy crop. Fuels derived from vegetable matter are known as biofuels, and according the University of Hawaii study in 1990, biofuels could provide up to ninety percent of their state�s energy. So, as cannabis is one of the fastest growing plants, it therefore stands to reason that it has significant potential as an environmentally safe fuel.
Cannabis has the distinct advantage of not requiring intensive use of pesticides and fertilizers. With fifteen thousand lakes in the U.S. so contaminated that they sustain no life at all, whatever man can do to stop pesticide runoff should be implemented. Cotton is grown on only three percent of the world�s best arable land, but uses twenty-six percent of the world�s pesticides. Cannabis, with few enemies, is a much safer alternative.
Since European settlement, North America has lost ninety-seven percent of its forests. In the last twenty years alone, two hundred and ninety-six million acres have been destroyed. Currently ninety-three percent of the world�s paper is made from trees. However, by using cannabis as paper pulp, not only would our endangered creatures be saved, soils be conserved, trees be saved, but our air would be more oxygenated. Importantly, cannabis paper pulp is dioxin free, and only uses ten to twenty percent of toxic chemicals. Also, paper made from cannabis lasts longer than paper made from trees. Furthermore, each ton of paper made from cannabis saves twelve mature trees. Cannabis farming would reduce deforestation.
It is time, when our environment is so threatened, to forget about the greed of corporations and work towards a healthier world. Cannabis has an amazing range of environmentally-friendly uses, from paper, fuels, textiles, oils, cosmetics to medicine. It is a plant rooted in nature. It is a perfect rotation and companion crop. It is a hardy, drought resistant plant, with roots that anchor and aerate the soil to control erosion and mudslides. Cannabis offers a solution to deforestation, a solution to the demise of many endangered species, a solution to abuses of the petrochemical industry, and a solution to the destruction of our top soils. The government must recognize that cannabis gives us hope for a healthier environment, and must, once again, permit its growth.
Cannabis was prohibited by the government which blamed it for creating a crime wave and for corrupting young people. The "American Magazine" in July, 1937 ran an article titled "Marihuana: Assassin of Youth". Likewise, rock and roll in the 1950�s was regarded as the music of the devil and would lead teenagers into moral decline. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that marijuana damages short-term memory, distorts perception, impairs judgment and complex motor skills, alters the heart rate, can lead to severe anxiety, and can cause paranoia and lethargy. However, even though the government has made these finding known, and has campaigned against the use of marijuana, the percentage of teenagers using marijuana continues to rise. According to Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services, the 1995 teen usage increased from 35.8 to 39 percent in one year. She also states that during the first half of this decade there was a consistent increase in tenth and twelfth grade users. Although the government has spent billions of dollars in marijuana prevention, Shelala�s figures prove it is failing to halt the usage of marijuana. Teenage years are often years of rebellion, experimenting, and searching for independence from parents.
By re-legalizing cannabis, the criminal element will be taken away and true education can commence. Teenagers are unlikely to admit to carrying out a crime. However, if cannabis use were legal, they would be free to seek counsel without the threat of parental judgment, and the possible threat of arrest. Teenagers must be able to talk about their use of cannabis in an open manner, just as they can talk about their use of legal substances like cigarettes and alcohol. What is the point in filling jails with marijuana users? The Boston Globe released a study in which it was found that first-time cannabis offenders accounted for twenty-six percent of the 1994 prison population. In 1994, San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey complained of lack of prison accommodation for violent offenders due to the drug user prison population. Locking young people in jails is not the answer. This presents the very real danger of these young marijuana users being exposed to "hard drugs", violent criminals, and forever carrying the stigma of a prison record.
The Government claims marijuana leads to the use of hard drugs. However, according to many national surveys and experts, including Jonathon Shedler, professor psychology at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, this is not the case. Shedler claims the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia, which supports this contention, is without hard evidence and therefore, scientifically unfounded.
The ineptitude of the U.S. government is so great that it approves alcohol and tobacco which cause immense numbers of deaths, but eschews the use of cannabis which has profound benefits and few ill effects. The banning of cannabis reflects the corruption of good government by vested interests and the time is ripe for this unhappy situation to be cured immediately.
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