The writer of the Declaration of Independence and former president Thomas Jefferson said that “Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth and protection of the country.”
I firmly believe that the United States, including the federal government, should legalize the recreational use and sale of cannabis for adults over the age of 21 and also legalize the production of hemp.
This is an issue I’ve struggled with for some time. While I do believe the health and well-being of citizens must be taken above all else, after intensive research and thought, I believe that legalization is the proper way forward for the United States.
Currently, marijuana is illegal under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (CSA). Under the CSA, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, which means that the drug falls under three requirements to meet the standard: 1) the drug presents high potential for abuse, 2) the drug has no medical use in the United States and 3) there is no safe way to administer the drug under medical supervision.
The first requirement, that the drug have a high potential for abuse, is not the case with cannabis. Only about 10 percent of marijuana users become addicted to the plant, and even then, researchers say that the addiction at that point is purely mental and does not come from cannabis itself but more from the person who is using it.
Regarding the second and third requirement, 16 states have enacted medical marijuana laws of some kind and have given patients access to cannabis at the discretion of a doctor. Thus, an already large part of the United States has already determined that there is substantial medical use of marijuana and that it can help patients.
One study conducted on the medical benefits of cannabis found that cannabis users that didn’t smoke tobacco were in significantly better health than their tobacco counterparts, and in some cases better than those who did not use cannabis at all. Kareem Abdul Jabar, the famed NBA legend, and Tommy Chong, comedian and marijuana activist, both admitted to heavily using cannabis when diagnosed with cancer, and both are now 100 percent cancer free.
Therefore, marijuana isn’t a Schedule I drug and should be declassified. and its prohibition should end. This would benefit the United States as a whole and allow companies to start producing hemp.
Hemp can be used to create paper, and its benefits as an alternative to paper are grandiose. The plant also takes as little as two months to grow to maturity, and one acre of hemp creates the same amount of paper as four acres of trees. Knowing this, the United States could effectively end deforestation by legalizing hemp and cannabis. We would never have to cut down another tree and we could save all of our beautiful forest land.
Simply by these facts, hemp is a smarter and greener alternative for the United States. If we want to move toward sustainability, we must endorse the production of hemp.
To bring both the cannabis and hemp industry full circle, the estimated savings to the federal government of a national cannabis industry is $14 billion, and hemp is already worth $150 million of consumption in the United States.
Unfortunately, since hemp can’t be made in the United States, that $150 million goes solely to overseas companies, and the United States loses out on that economic growth.
It would be silly to ignore the enormous economic benefit of legalizing cannabis and hemp production. It is a new economic frontier and an untapped resource in the modern age that can lead to an economic revolution.
For the sake of our youth, for the countless harmless individuals in jail, and for the progress of our nation as innovators, we must end marijuana and hemp prohibition in the United States.
John Foti is a freshman in the School of Public Affairs and a current Quick Take Columnist for The Eagle.
edpage@theeagleonline.com