"Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn't the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit. unnatural?" Bill Hicks, a writer for the online magazine 420TIMES.com, gave this statement in an article which he wrote in the July 2002 edition titled "Medical Marijuana." There are few legitimate arguments that can be made why marijuana shouldn't be legal and a plethora of arguments that can be made why the drug should be legal.
Marijuana has been used throughout history in many different cultures to change mood, perception, and consciousness - in other words, to get high. Its effects range from increasing creativity to provoking mystical experiences, to heightening the capacity to feel sense and share. After alcohol, it is the most popular of what are called "recreational drugs." It has been used around the world for other purposes. In some primitive tribes of South America, Africa, and India, "cannabis" is used in religious ceremonies and for medical purposes. African mine workers have used it to ease the drudgery of their work and many Jamaicans use it at the end of the day to relieve fatigue. It has been used as an intoxicant in various parts of the world for centuries and in the United States mostly in the 20th century. Marijuana was first described in print in a Chinese book of medicine, "Herbal," in the 2nd century B.C., and was used in China as an anesthetic 5,000 years ago. The ancient Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and East Indians used the drug to control muscle spasms, reduce pain, and to treat indigestion. It was commonly used in folk medicines in Africa and Asia. The Assyrians began using it as incense in the 9th century. As early as 1611, marijuana was cultivated for its fiber in Jamestown, Virginia. In 19th century America, it was used by the medical profession for treating spastic conditions, headaches, labor pains, insomnia, and menstrual cramps.