by Valerie Heliton

Created on: April 07, 2009

Although marijuana is already being used today as a medical option, those who are using it to have some quality of life should be able to do so without worry or fear this should be a legal option! There are countless numbers of drugs made by man that are on the market today. If you watch television you would be hard pressed to avoid seeing the myriad commercials on the air describing relief for ailments from rheumatoid arthritis to sexual dysfunction. In listening to these commercials, you would also not be able to miss the numerous, and in most cases, severe side effects that could accompany taking these medications! On the other hand, marijuana is an herb (cannabis sativa) that grows naturally from the soil. The only side effect that I have ever heard about in association with smoking this herb is weight gain because of the herb's potential to increase ones appetite. This side effect is of great benefit to some, as you will learn below. Following are a few facts that I have discovered in my research of this topic.

For most of human history, marijuana has been completely legal. It has been illegal for less than 1% of the time that it's been in use, and it's known uses go back further than 7,000 B.C. The earliest known woven fabric was made from this plant. It has been used for food, incense, cloth, rope, and much more. Surprisingly, America's first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia in 1619, and it was a law ordering all farmers to grow Indian hemp seed (marijuana)! There were several other must grow laws enacted over the next 200 years. You could be thrown in jail if you did not grow enough hemp during times of shortage in Virginia between 1763 and 1767, and during most of that time hemp was used as legal tender! You could even pay your taxes with hemp (how amazing is that)! Hemp was such a critical crop for a number of uses, including essential war requirements that the government went out of its way to encourage its growth. The United States Census of 1850 counted 8,327 hemp "plantations" growing cannabis hemp for cloth, canvas, and even the cordage used for baling cotton. Of all the plants men have ever grown, none has been praised and/or denounced as often as marijuana.

Marijuana is undoubtedly an herb that has been many things to many people. Armies and navies have used it to make war. Fisherman and hunters have used it as a weave to snare game. Hangmen have snapped the necks of thieves and murderers using its strong fiber. Fashion

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