Marijuana

I am one of the oldest psychoactive plants known to the world. I have become one of the most widespread and diversified plants ever. I've been traced back to 6000 B.C. in China and was first made into textiles in 4000 B.C. also in China. I was first used for medical purposes in 2727 B.C. in China. I made my way west over time showing up in 500 B.C. in Northern Europe. I even crossed the Atlantic in my adventures, showing up in Brazil in the 16th Century. In the 1840s I was first used in America for medicinal purposes. By 1927 the war and propaganda against me was really rolling as I was prohibited for non-medical use in California (1915), Texas (1919, Louisiana (1924) and New York (1927). By 1936 the propaganda was at an all time high with the film "Reefer Madness" and in 1937, I was made federally illegal in the U.S. with the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act. Why does everyone lie about me? In 1975, the FDA establishes Compassionate Use program for the medical use of me. In 1988, DEA administrative law Judge Francis Young finds after thorough hearings that there is a clearly established medical use for me and I should be reclassified as a prescriptive drug, His recommendation is ignored. As of 2006, I am decriminalized in 11 States but still federally banned in the country because I am so "dangerous" yet more than 16,000 Americans die every year after taking anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen. You don't see a war on Advil do you? Also, a drug that is widely consumed in the United States: alcohol. It is literally poisonous; you can die if you drink too much. It has been linked with 1/4 of the suicides in the United States, almost 1/2 the violent crime and 2/3 of domestic abuse. Not that I shouldn't be taken seriously, I am a powerful, mind-altering drug. I should not be used by young people, people with mental disorders, pregnant woman and people with heart conditions. In more than 5,000 years of recorded use, there is absolutely no verified case of anyone dying of an overdose from me. So.. Why do people keep lying about me?