From the 1920s until recent day, marijuana has been viewed as a demonic drug. Studies showed that it led to illness, radical addiction and death. Frequently, marijuana was advertised as a drug that entices pre-marital sex or harder drug use in order to deter older generations away from the acceptance of marijuana usage. Slowly, private researches have begun disproving these false advertising accusations and they have begun to spread some light on the benefits of medical marijuana. Americans have observed an overwhelming acceptance of marijuana usage in America over the past 15 years, including a twenty-two percent increase in people who support the legality of marijuana (Motel). This positive opinion of marijuana has been echoed throughout the state governments of America and 4 states have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes, similarly, a total of 23 states plus D.C. have decimalized marijuana within the past fifteen years. As the legality increases, so does the worry in America for the safety of her citizens as a result of marijuana use. Numerous studies are being preformed on marijuana's effects on mental disorders, seizures and other ailments like chemotherapy and HIV/AIDS that it is believed to effect, and a large percentage are coming back positive. However, there are studies coming out in America addressing the negative effects it has on adolescent psychological functions as well as the overall productivity of our nation.  By looking at the studies regarding the health and social consequences of medical marijuana and both the positive and negative responses of the American people and the American government, we can see that legalizing medicinal marijuana opens the door for many alternative treatments for current diseases, ailments and disorders that do not have a solution. However, medical marijuana is currently not seen as a completely stable medication to release to Americans. After looking at the apparent benefit that medicinal marijuana will have on patients in need, it is clear that America needs to fund the research of medicinal marijuana. With funding, legalization becomes more plausible in the eyes of the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Federal Drug Administration and there can be a safer alternative medication for those who are truly in need of it.  

Marijuana, in 1604, became one of the most abundant raw materials in the American colonies. Hemp, a raw material from the marijuana plant, was used as a building material, used to make early currencies, used in our daily papers, used in daily diets, used to make clothing, and used in many other materials like rope and animal beddings. Founding fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew and utilized hemp and saw it as a core material in American society because of it's prevalence in early America's agriculture, and its widely resourceful nature as well as a low cost. Hemp continued to exist as an abundant cash crop in America, controlling a large portion of their agricultural economy alongside tobacco, wheat and cotton. Along with the raw material usage of hemp marijuana, Thomas Jefferson believed "some of [his] finest hours have been spent on my back veranda, smoking hemp and observing as far as the eye can see," (Betts). Since the beginning of American history, marijuana has been a vital key for our prospering nation, and marijuana was never seen as the horror that it is today. The usefulness of marijuana has an extremely long timeline: Starting in 2900 BC, Emperor Fu Hsi, the Emperor credited with bringing the Chinese empire to greatness who credited a portion to his empires greatness to the "yin and yang" that came from the copious consumption marijuana by him and his patrons. Greek historian, Herodotus, writes about the spiritual burial ceremonies that would increase their mood and health that Greeks would have. These ceremonies involved throwing cannabis plants on hot stones and inhaling the fumes to honor their fallen friends. The Chinese, in 200 AD, were the first to explore the medical benefits of marijuana. Hua T'o became the first to ascertain that combining hemp resin and wine to create the medical fields most effective anesthesia (Deitch 9). Many more medical benefits were found through marijuana up until the early twentieth century, including apatite stimulants, anti-inflammatory drugs and counters to mental disabilities like depression and anxiety. Then political institutes, who feared the powers of the drug, began to rise up and combat recreational and medical marijuana. 

In the early 1900s, America had a minor religious revolution where the political officials feared that Americans were leaving their once Christian natures and pursuing more liberal and secular lifestyles. Cocaine, heroin, opium and marijuana, drugs that were imported into America from nations like India and China, as well as many South American and Western African nations, all had minor production and usage increases around those times. Following the psychoactive drug up rise, America put the Harrison Narcotics Tax of 1914 into force. The Harrison Narcotics Tax into action a tax on all production, importation, manufacturing, compounding, dispensary, sales, distribution, of opium or coca leaves, their salts, derivatives, or preparations, and for other purposes (Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914). This law included the tax on any opioids, any hemp product, or any product that involved cocaine or heroin. The federal police arrested any domestic citizens who refused the taxes and cut off any companies importing the products that did not pay the extra taxes. However, the America governments still allowed for medical marijuana to be sold over the counter and for recreational marijuana to be sold at a higher taxed price. Government officials believed that this new tax would put a large stall to drug usage in America. The bill worked as seen in the fact that marijuana consumption because almost taboo by the 1930s because it was being seen as the "killer drug" that led to provocative nature, harder drug abuse, and a sinful secular lifestyle (Schaller). In the years around 1934, marijuana usage skyrocketed because the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act was being slowly less enforced and marijuana became a commonly distributed drug in America both for recreational purposes and in over the counter drugs. 

In 1934, Harry Anslinger was put in charge as the Commissioner of Narcotics, a position that is similar to present day's President of the Drug Enforcement Agency. Anslinger was an ultra conservative man who believed that opiates and marijuana were catastrophic for our nation. Anslinger had a belief that marijuana was specifically to blame for "civic corruption," and got rid of the nation's previous "Protestant ethics." (Schaller), but this claim had empty reasoning and background with its logos come from fear. Anslinger revolutionized America's views on marijuana with facetious articles that spoke of false horrors of marijuana with no evidence to support his negative arguments. Releasing articles with titles including, "Assassination of Youth," "Marihuana the Killer," "Tea for a Viper," and "Sex Craze Drug Menace," that suggested that marijuana is a drug that will turn the average American Christian teenager into a drug abusing killer, but had little to no evidence besides Anslinger's fear. Slowly, the American government began to fear the "Reefer Madness" and sided with Anslinger and his opinion that "Marijuana is more dangerous than opium," and that "opium has all the good of Dr. Jekyll and all the bad of Mr. Hyde. [Marijuana] is entirely Mr. Hyde," (Scheller). The American government also sided strongly with Anslinger's view that marijuana would cause our nation to regress back to a third world nation like India or countries from South America and West Africa, because that is where marijuana was imported from, however there was never any evidence provided to prove that American regression was actually happening and if there was, that it was due to marijuana usage. 

Almost all of Anslinger's articles and research were based strictly off of his personal morality and never featured evidence from medicine, psychology, or sociology. Despite this fact, the American government decided to put a prohibition on all marijuana sales, both recreation and medical, in order to keep to traditional Christian American morals. Government leaders, due to Anslinger's research, were lying to the American people about marijuana's safety. However, throughout America's psychoactive drug revolution, drug users who saw past Anslinger's propaganda that warned of making people evil and causing severe addiction, and continued to consume marijuana for their recreational or medical needs. Arrests for marijuana started becoming frequent and American jails slowly began to fill with marijuana users. All of these arrested were based on fear and false information instead of keeping America's citizens safe, like our law enforcement swore to do once they joined the force. These incarcerated marijuana users, who were supposed to be drug addicted scum, were tested and not one was scientifically proved to be addicted and almost every time they were just average Americans, not evil criminals (Scheller). By 1970, the Controlled Substance Act of 1970, which classified marijuana as a stage one drug that has "no medical use and the highest risk for abuse," (Benson), was passed. This act led to the highest marijuana incarceration rates as well as more government bans on marijuana like the "War on Drugs." Marijuana's fate seemed to be ended by this time in American history in the eyes of the government, however many Americans still used and embraced marijuana.  

Studies over the past thirty years have revolutionized the way the world looks at marijuana. Nations are legalizing medicinal marijuana because thousands of studies are being done that show how the cannabinoids in marijuana, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD), offer a large amount of benefits in the medical world. CBD specifically offers aid for HIV/AIDS patients who are in immense pain due to their illness, as well as providing pain relief from chemotherapy. THC, which is the cannabinoid that creates the feeling of being "high" that many people crave, also helps patients with severe pain, often dealing with Glaucoma, Crohn's Disease, it also helps with PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, Insomnia, Asthma, and as an apatite stimulant for those patients in chemotherapy or other treatments that take away apatite, ("7 Proven Medical Benefits of THC"). Dr. Hill PhD, a Multiple Sclerosis doctor, often prescribes this to his patients who are responding well enough to his primary medications, and he sees that his patients have always responded well. He released a case study where he outlined the results of an elderly man who suffered from MS. No over-the-counter medicine was able to alleviate the man from pain, so he was prescribed a THC/CBD supplement, and saw instant improvement in pain relief, apatite, physical recovery and mood (Hill KP).

Slowly but surely, America is beginning to accept marijuana in the medical field. Currently twenty-three states plus the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana. Research, however, has not been able to grow and allow for more knowledge to be revealed about the marvels of medical marijuana because of restrictions from the federal government. Alexander Campbell defines this Catch-22 in his peer-reviewed journal "The Medical Marijuana Catch-22: How The Federal Monopoly On Marijuana Research Unfairly Handicaps The Rescheduling Movement." In this journal, he talks about how the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), along with their funding companies have started using federal oversight to eliminate the research of marijuana (Campbell). Although states have legalized medical marijuana, the federal government still has it illegal to possess. Whenever private companies decide they want to research the medical benefits of marijuana, the federal government almost immediately shuts them down because the research is still seen as illegal. The FDA and the DEA's largest funders include police unions, who do not want research and possible legalization to happen because of the amount of marijuana possessors that they incarcerate annually. In 2006, one eighth of our prisons inmates were convicted of marijuana possession, and those inmates resulted in around $1 billion in taxpayer's money to keep them incarcerated (St.Pierre).  Police unions fund the FDA and DEA so they do not lose money, not because they believe that marijuana is not a viable option for medical benefit or recreational use. Pharmaceutical companies are the second largest private funders of the FDA and DEA. Many pharmaceutical companies place large price tags on the medications that are needed for HIV/AIDS patients, as well as many medications for other diseases that medical marijuana would replace. For example, HIV/AIDS medication costs on average around $1000 per one type of medicine. Doctors often like to have a combination of three to four medications. If an HIV/AIDS patient were in need of, for example, Truvada, Reyataz, and Slezentry, they would be charged $6,204 per prescription (Holland). However, medical marijuana presents a replacement for at least one drug in the combination of three, with that replacement, it would drop around $2,000 off of the price. Pharmaceutical companies who are funding the DEA and FDA are the same ones who preference making money over making prescriptions more reasonable for people who are in need. Lastly, alcohol companies are funding the FDA and DEA because in the states where recreational marijuana has been legalized, alcohol sales have dropped by over 5% as stated by the PEW research center (Motel).  Overall, the main reason that the FDA and DEA is stepping in on research programs in America is not because they are concerned for the safety of the users, it's because of greed. The heads of the FDA and DEA see that if they suppress research projects in states that it is both legal and illegal, they will get more and more money from the funding companies (Campbell). 

The American pharmaceutical industry needs to look at the possibilities of THC and CBD as viable options for new medications. Recently, there have been many private ventures that have revolutionized the medical industry. One prevalent study on CBD, done by Hugh Hempel, a father of two kids who have a disease known as "Childhood Alzheimer's" that caused over 15 seizures a day. He invested his money into a CBD remedy, and now his two daughters have lived three years past their expected lifespan. Along with that, their seizures have been limited to less than 7 a week (Hempel). His research is now used by patients whose seizures, due to many diseases like severe epilepsy, cannot be stopped, now have a real cure and can continue with their lives not being by the seizures that were once such a predominant part of their lives. More and more studies like Hempel's are being released; however, America is not listening to the medical advice the private industries are listening to. 

The American government has released studies that state the negative consequences of THC/CBD medication, and they state that the main reasons that medical marijuana is not an option because of its addictive qualities, its effects on the patient's lungs, and it's effects on minor's brain development. These studies have been the foundation for the argument that marijuana should be illegal both recreationally and medically since the 1930s. Slowly, they are being disproven. 

Studies have been done on addictive qualities of marijuana, and it is proven to have no physically addictive qualities, unlike alcohol and cigarettes, which are sold in America. Time Magazine, in 2010 released a study where "Former Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders [said] while declaring her support for legalization: "Marijuana is not addictive, not physically addictive anyway,"" (Szalavitz). She later explains that anything can be non physically addictive just because a body gets used to it. Someone who eats a bar of chocolate everyday for a year will not be able to stop eating that without withdrawals, however, there is no element in chocolate that psychologically causes the consumer to need it after use. This example is synonymous to how Elders describes marijuana, thus disproving the studies that try and prove that marijuana is addictive like cigarettes or alcohol.  

The studies regarding patient's lungs now have a counter because marijuana is no longer just a smoked substance. Marijuana production companies have started creating edible marijuana treats, marijuana butters and lotions, and THC/CBD pills. What was a solely smoked product that caused inflammation in lungs that led to lung cancer is not a product with multiple forms of consumption that make marijuana consumption possible for everyone who needs it. 

The argument of brain development gives the largest argument for why marijuana should not be legalized. Studies have shown that marijuana consumption until the age of 25, or the final stages of a human's brain development, causes the short-term memory and cognitive thinking parts of the brain to take damage. Heavy use of marijuana as a minor can have effects that cause minor to score lower on cognitive tests, experience anxiety and depression more commonly and cause them to not be able to achieve higher education levels (CSAM 4). This argument goes to prove that if the American government decides to legalize marijuana, it should still be illegal for those less than 25 years of age. This age restriction would simply be for the safety of minor who still need to reach full brain development before consuming marijuana. 

This brain development issue is having a hard time being further researched currently because of the FDA and the DEA suppressing the studies. If private companies were granted amnesty on possession of marijuana, the studies would be done much faster as compared to government agencies who are being funded by companies who do not want the legalization of marijuana either medically or recreationally. Because of marijuana's mystery, states such as Colorado are taking risks and legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes to those citizens over 21. They are reaping huge economic benefits that have helped reform the state's economies and boosted their education and law enforcement funding, helping create a better community. Colorado has also reported a decrease in crime, traffic violations and DUI's following the recreational legalization of marijuana. However, these all these benefits come at a huge cost. If marijuana distribution is so public there, then minors have much easier access to it and putting them more susceptible to have their undeveloped minds affected by marijuana. To combat this, Colorado stopped tracking the consumption of marijuana by minors; however, in schools there has been a 6% increase of students who are caught with marijuana on the campus since the legalization and that number is still rising (Garcia).

Recreational marijuana dispensaries in America should not be legalized in America because of how easily minors can gain access to them despite age restrictions. In the states where marijuana is sold from dispensaries, the school drug charges have gone up, while in states where marijuana is decriminalized, there has not been a noticeable increase. With a 6% increase per year, that's having 51,000 people under the age of 25 be harmed by habitual marijuana usage, resulting in lower test scores and lower academic ability. With decriminalization without dispensaries, Americans would be getting the best of both worlds. Those of age would still be able to use without legal repercussions, while keeping it out of the hands of minors who were unable to get it before. Decriminalization would also allow for America to be able to uncover the mysteries of marijuana that researchers have been unable to research due to national law enforcement. 

Decriminalization for research is far more important for the health of America than decriminalizing for public usage, but it is not legally correct to allow for decriminalization for companies and not for personal cases. America needs to consider this in order to see a large reform in its medical world. With increased study in decriminalized states by private industries, America would have its answers on marijuana as soon as possible. Eventually, following the research, America will have to look into nationally legalizing marijuana for medical reasons solely, and the FDA will have to approve it, allowing it to be sold for patients who really need it in an over-the-counter drug. 

Marijuana's perception has shifted many times throughout history. It started as the building block of America's raw material and textile industry, and then progressed into "the devil's lettuce" because of falsified information from the Commission of Narcotics, led by Harry Anslinger. Fear of marijuana equated it to opium, cocaine and heroin, and the American government hated it until the 1980s. Government sectors that controlled "America's War on Drugs" let greed override their judgment as they lined their pockets while banning a drug that had no reason to have the reputation is had. Marijuana is the key to many issues in the medical field, and more and more uses are being discovered every year. It is wrong for the government to force patients to pay for expensive drugs that have a simple and inexpensive alternative, just because the company that makes the expensive drugs is paying them. Once final research is done on marijuana's safety, it will completely take place of those expensive drugs, causing a decrease in funding, however causing an increase in the health of Americans. The true question that the American government needs to ask is what is more important, money or its people? With medical marijuana research, many researchers like Dr. Norman Wetterau, an expert on medical marijuana who until 2014 advocated against legalization, believe that America will be able to find a cure for HIV/AIDS or Cancer through marijuana. He states in his "Two Views: Medical Marijuana," that medical marijuana is our brightest hope for a cure (Wetterau). For America, that hope alone should be enough to give medical marijuana the chance it deserves. That chance can only be given if marijuana is nationally decriminalized, so the FDA can get the research it needs to allow THC and CBD to be an over-the-counter drug, so the American people do not have to suffer at the hands of a money driven government anymore. 

