Over 3000,000 people a year are arrested because of it in our country. It's recreational usage boomed in the 1960's and by the 1980's one half of all college students had tried it. Once a simple plant, cannabis satria, or marijuana, has become one of the most controversial topics of the 20th century. Although illegal for some time now in the United States, we know of its widespread availability and usage. Once a huge threat to society, it is now being overlooked as we turn to the seemingly more serious problems of cocaine and heroin. But should we be taking a second look at it, cracking down on enforcement and trying as hard as possible to rid our country of this drug? Well the police officer I interviewed said "Billions and billions of dollars are being spent on narcotic task forces and it is doing no good. Smoking dope makes a person mellow, but drinking booze gets a person violent and angry, he becomes a real *censored*. People do what they would like anyway, the law is not going to stop them. I would much rather see the money go towards getting drunk drivers behind bars then tracking down kids who smoke dope."Or should we be using it as medicines to help the sick in their need? It helps people with glaucoma, rare cancers and pain and muscle spasms. There are only eight people in the United States who can smoke marijuana legally. This is an ongoing battle that could be resolved if we educate ourselves about the drug and both it's positive and negative effects on our society.The marijuana plant is grown all over the world in a variety climates and soils. It has a long been used as a medicine in India, China, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South Africa and South America for various ailments such as malaria, constipation, female disorders, absentmindedness, fevers, insomnia, and loss of appetite. It wasn't until the mid-nineteenth century that western doctors began prescribing it to their patients, and soon it could ...
