by Natalina Oliverio

Created on: July 01, 2009   Last Updated: July 03, 2009

The War on Drugs has been a complete failure. Cannabis is generally used as a mascot for the anti prohibition movement because of its sympathetic nature. The United States government has spent decades painting an horrific picture of the plant and its users saying it would cause insanity or even death. Today the majority of adults understand that to be far from the case probably because more than half of them have tried it first hand at one point in their lives.

Whether or not a someone personally agrees with the usage of marijuana is a personal choice, however the government should not meddle in personal issues. Not only do they meddle, but they misinform. This is a gross abuse of power. American citizens look to their government for accurate information, exaggerated smear campaigns do a grave disservice to the general population.

There is also the question of cannabis as medicine. Cannabis has been used as a medicine for over four thousand years. It is only in recent times that is has been outlawed as a menace to society. Many would argue that the reason why the cannabis plant is so hardy and grows so rapidly is because it is the most important plant known to man kind, not just for its use in textiles but also for the wellbeing of mankind.

Humans have thousands of receptors all over the body designed specifically to react to cannabinoids. In recent years scientists have begun to "rediscover" what humans had known for thousands of years- that cannabis can be used to treat most ailments. Recent studies have proven that cannabis doesn't just treat the symptoms of ailments (easing pain etc.) it can actually cure diseases like cancer. The latest medical research shows that a steady schedule of cannabis intake can actually reduce or even eliminate breast cancer in mice. If this is true for rats who knows what else people can use the plant for. Millions of lives could be saved or at least made comfortable through the use of this one plant.

Grouping cannabis with dangerous drugs like cocaine and methanphetamines in drug prevention progams presents a real problem for students who may not have any other information about the plant. Kids are told over and over that pot is as bad as cocaine, that it can kill you - when they discover that pot is harmless won't they think cocaine is also harmless? Exaggerating the details of this plant protects no one.

The government's stance on cannabis over the last seventy years has failed generations of kids, so much so that the kids it failed in the beginning are adults who perpetuate the myths today. Not only is the government robbing us of personal freedom and expression but they are missing out on billions of tax dollars and millions of more comfortable lives. It is absurd to think any man has the power to outlaw a plant, something found in nature that was here long before and will endure long after we are gone from this earth.

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