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Benjamin Pope

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Do the benefits of the Hemp plant and its derivatives outweigh the dangers involved? or is the prohibition simply something else entirely?

My curiosity stems from a recent study that was done where cannabinoids were used effectively to treat MRSA, (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which has proven resistant to most antibiotics. MRSA kills around 20,000 people in the U.S annually, which is more than AIDS related deaths. I feel like it is time to revisit our current policies regarding this plant.

Topics: MRSA cancer medical marijuana
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  • Llewelyn Leonard

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    Sep 7 2011: I have yet to see a logical argument againt the legalization of cannabis.It makes no sense to me how harmful drugs such as alcohol and tobacco are perfectly legal, but cannabis is not. A drug that is impossible to overdose on, and has medical benefits.Could anyone give me a reason why it is not legal?
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      anthony bruni 30+

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      Sep 7 2011: Well much of the reasons were orchestrated by William Hearst who felt his timber industry was threatened by hemp grower. As an owner of a paper he was in prime position to fabricate all sorts of stories about the dangers of marijuana. Often he used the racist fears of the day to sensationalize the stories as it was enjoyed more by Mexicans at the time (Hence the change from cannabis to marijuana a more Mexican sounding name.) At the same time the DuPont company learned to synthesized nylon so they felt threatened by hemp as well and were more than willing to join the efforts to ban this plant. And this is all happening at the time that prohibition ended so there were all sorts of law agents who needed to find way to make a living so what would be better than to just find another product to ban.

      Flash forward a few years and the Vietnam war happens and becomes unpopular. Well you can't arrest people for protesting so you find something they are doing that you can arrest them for. Hence the second generation of demonizing this plant.

      And of course now we as a nation have turned crime into an growth industry. If we change the laws now our prisons industry will lose many of it's nonviolent clientele. When prop 19 sort to legalize cannabis use in California last year one of the biggest detractors was the prison guard lobby.


      If you knew this already sorry, but it is good to get this info out. It's not really a good reason, but to my understanding it is the real reason.

      • Llewelyn Leonard

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        Sep 8 2011: Thank you for that, I weas actually not aware of those reasons, that has given me something to think about.
        I knew corporate greed was to blame somehow!

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