Are We Headed in the Right Direction Legalizing Marijuana?

Did you know that the drug war started with Harry J Anslinger?

I live in Canada and have grown up around marijuana my whole life. I was shown pot plants at age fourteen by one of my relatives who wanted to educate me on the medicinal use of cannabis.

The elegant plants rose about six feet as I made my way across the room; their aromas tickled my nose with a sensation that smelled skunky.

My relative was growing the plants to produce oil to help shrink his tumour. Twenties years later, the man is still alive when the doctors quoted him five.

Into my later teens, I smoked my first joint. Paranoia swept over me as I fell flat on my face from being too stoned; my friends watched me lay on the grass while I experienced my first green out.

Rolling into my twenties, I enjoyed the afternoon escapes, as I would binge on my favourite junk food and send myself into a food coma.

I could never understand how marijuana was the gateway to all drugs; in my experience, it usually led me to pass out on the couch.

Who is Harry J Anslinger?

Lately, I've been bingeing on a book called Chasing the Scream written by Johann Hari. I highly recommend it to understand how the drug war started in America.

Harry J Anslinger, head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in Washington D.C, spent his career fighting the war on drugs that he created—probably scarred from his mother being a heroin addict when drugs were still illegal in 1904.

He had a mission to save his reputation since he was embarrassed because the department didn't believe him that the mafia existed, which was considered a conspiracy at that time.

Where the drug war began

In 1914 cocaine and heroin became illegal, but Harry needed more ammo to keep his department above water since it was about to be abolished. He came across a newspaper article from the New York Times called "Mexican Family Go Insane."

“A widow and her four children have been driven insane by eating the Marihuana plant.”

As indicated by the author, Johann Hari mentioned that the mother had no money. Hence, she gave herself and the children the cannabis plant for food, which led them all into hysterical crazed laughter that caught the attention of the neighbours who called the police. Unfortunately, the children's lives were lost, and the mother was supposedly insane for the rest of her life.

Harry found a way to step up his game on creating the war on drugs. After writing to thirty scientists and gathering more information on cannabis, all twenty-nine of them advised against banning the plant and that the press was exaggerating its qualities.

He ignored all twenty-nine scientists and paid attention to one expert who agreed that it was evil, which led him to take the information to the public with a strong warning about the effects of marijuana.

“First you will fall into “a delirious rage.” Then you will be gripped by “dreams…of erotic character.” Then you will lose the power of connected thought.” Finally, you will reach the inevitable endpoint: “insanity.” You could easily get stoned and kill a person.” — Harry J Anslinger

The war on drugs was started on lack of evidence and an egotistical federal agent

Harry made it his mission to take down anyone involved with drugs, including stars like Billie Holiday and Judy Garland. Because Harry was racist, Billie took the brunt of his harsh penalties by having his agents harass her and plant heroin so he could make an example of her and ultimately lead her to her death.

“It’s tough enough coming off when you’ve got somebody who loves you and trusts you and believes in you, I didn’t have anybody.” — Billie Holiday

As he moved on to doctors, he revoked their rights and would not allow them to fill out opium prescriptions to their patients and ruined the careers of anyone who disagreed with him.

He went so far as to threaten other countries that the United States would stop trading with them if they didn’t participate.

The amusing part is that although he thought he was saving America from drugs, he handed the revenue and all the buyers right over to the mafia.

When the doctors had control, they had stability with helping patients wean off narcotics. Still, since the Federal Bureau accidentally handed the drug industry over to the mafia, the addiction magnified to great lengths, causing a fifty-year-old drug war and still counting.

The legalization of marijuana

In the past few years, countries worldwide have recently begun to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, including Canada, Mexico, and South Africa, to name a few and eighteen states in the United States.

In Canada alone, cannabis consumption rose 27 percent after legalization, according to the Canadian Government survey, compared to 22 percent in 2017 before legalization. Although recreational use is increasing, fewer cannabis-related crimes are down 55–65 percent with young youth.

The marijuana business has created many jobs, and it's become a multi-billion dollar industry, mostly taking cannabis off the streets from drug dealers and putting it in the hands of the government for tax revenue.

It's only been a few years, and we don't have enough data to see if this will be a negative effect when it comes to having the population experience cannabis.

We do know that for now, it seems we are headed in the right direction when it comes to having people have proper access to this medicinal plant, and crime has gone down since its legalization.

There is a downside to the short and long-term effects of cannabis

1 —-Due to loss of coordination, slow reaction times, and drowsiness, it is not advisable to drive or operate equipment.

2 —In addition to losing short-term memory, you may have trouble concentrating.

3 — It can cause anxiety and panic attacks.

4 —Plant particles can burn your lungs, so some people will have a coughing fit and find it difficult to breathe.

5 — Paranoia can set in, which can create more anxiety and, in some cases, trigger a psychotic episode.

Final thoughts

When Harry J. Anslinger was involved, he used the medicinal plant for propaganda to control the American people and instill fear.

Although it may have helped some people get off cannabis, putting people behind bars and punishing them instead of getting them help shows how one person who abuses his power can cause a ripple effect for years to come.

Like it or not, people will want to experience getting high. The drug culture has been around for centuries and goes back as far as our ancestors.

By legalizing marijuana, the benefits seem to outweigh the negativities for now.

At least it keeps it out of the hands of the drug dealers who most likely will be selling other narcotics such as cocaine, MDMA, and heroin which now has a higher risk of being laced with fentanyl.

As fentanyl continues to cause more overdoses every year, legalizing marijuana might be a step in the right direction. When it comes to narcotics, maybe doctors can take on a more significant role again and help heal patients instead of punishing them.

Let me know what your thoughts are on this. I would love to know.

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