Drugs Are Bad For You - 2267 Words

Growing up, time and time again we are urged not to do drugs and are told that â€Å"drugs are bad for you,† in schools, at home and by many other authority figures. A child typically does not fully understand the reasoning behind this, all they know is that everyone is telling them that drugs are either bad, unhealthy or unsafe without real reasoning. As a child grows, he or she observes people that use drugs even though it is illegal and they do not understand why someone would go against the law and even jeopardize their health to use such drugs. The drug most commonly seen in our culture is marijuana and, surprisingly, it is all around us. Marijuana is shown throughout today’s culture in the media that people enjoy such as: movies, music†¦show more content†¦Up until the late 1930s marijuana was, in fact, legal until the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), Harry J. Anslinger, argued that the FBN had noticed an increase in reports of people smokin g marijuana. He had also, in 1935, received support from President Franklin D. Roosevelt for the adoption of the Uniform State Narcotic Act, state laws that included regulations of cannabis, including hemp, the fiber of the cannabis plant that is extracted from the stem. Anslinger argued that the hemp plant was dangerous and testified at hearings saying that the hemp plant needed to be banned because of its â€Å"violent effect on the degenerate races† this was specifically aimed towards Mexican immigrants, who had entered the country seeking jobs during the Great Depression. However the cannabis plant is far from harmful in the fact that every part of the plant can be used for various things. For example, hemp can be used to make rope, stout fabrics, fiberboard and paper, as well as can be woven into canvas. The â€Å"hurd† of the hemp provides pulp that makes different types of paper, oil to make paints and varnishes, and seed for food. Marijuana plants produce a hig h-protein, high-carbohydrate seeds that can be used in granola and cereals. Hemp oil and seed contain only trace amounts of psychoactive chemicals, not nearly enough to cause any kind of psychedelic effects. The Marijuana Tax Act, introduced in 1937, required sellers to obtain