Adam Klein Klein 1 WRT 102 Naomi Edwards 11/28/12 Medical Marijuana Legalization

The debate over whether marijuana should be legalized has long troubled many American citizens. There are many political aspects that have to be taken into account when making a big federal decision such as this. However, long before America was even an idea, many cultures had harnessed the plant, and used it for many primitive medical procedures. Within certain states it is legal to use marijuana for medical treatments, but this is a relatively new idea in the United States. However, marijuana was not always deemed an illegal substance and because of its inherent medical value should be legalized at the federal level. Many ancient civilizations have been unearthed and found to have used marijuana in medical practices dating all the way back to 8000 B.C. Some of the more notable civilizations who used the plant include the Egyptians who used it to treat sore eyes, the Indians who mixed marijuana and milk to create a primitive anesthetic, and the Greeks who found a way to remedy earaches with the plants properties(Webley 1). Even the Chinese emperor Shen-Nung was known to prescribe it as medicine to many people almost 5 millennia ago(Bostwick 173). Therefore, it can be argued that historically, marijuana has been a crucial influence on some modern day medical treatments. It wasn't until 1930 when a man named Harry J. Anslinger was given the position of Director of Klein 2

Narcotics did marijuana become an issue in American society. His initial role was to crack down on the use of opiates and cocaine but he feared that these two drugs were not enough to make his career. He introduced marijuana into his