Should Marijuana be legalized Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Should Marijuana be legalized - Research Paper Example Information about the history of Marijuana in the United States, the reasons behind its listing as a controlled drug, and the political connection to the ban will be discussed in as much detail as possible over the upcoming pages. To begin with, we must acknowledge that Marijuana was not always deemed an illegal substance in the United States. The Hemp plant itself, which is the original form of Marijuana, was widely used in what was then British America as woven fabric, food, incense, and rope. Such was the importance of Marijuana to the development of the country that back in 1619 Jamestown, Virginia declared that all farmers needed to grow Hemp. In fact, the 1850 census of America listed 8, 327 Hemp â€Å"plantations† covering a minimum of 2,000 acres meant for industrial and food purposes. But in the 1900s, the Mexicans began to flow into the United States, taking along with them their habit of smoking Marijuana. It was widely believed that the Mexicans were adversely affected by the plant that they smoked, hence the government ban on the same plant in the country. In a way, it was the method by which America decided to control the actions of the illegal immigrants in the country (Guither, Peter â €Å"Why is Marijuana Illegal?†). In a way, the ban on Marijuana was seen as a way to get rid of the Mexican laborers that entered the country during the great depression. While other states banned the plant believing that it was the cause of the high crime rate in their area (Block, Alan â€Å"Why Marijuana Became Illegal - The Basic Facts). While the aforementioned historical reasons for the ban on Marijuana may have rang true during its era. The reasons as to why Marijuana continues to be banned in the 21st century in some states of America have long shied away from those traditional reasons. These days, the ban is based mostly in scientific and psychological evidence of the prolonged smoking of the plant on