Persuasive speech: Legalizing Marijuana
Marijuana, also known as Cannabis, is part of human history and has been debated whether it has medical benefits or just is another addictive drug. It has been traced in ancient Chinese dynasties as early as 2737 B.C. to be used for medical purposes, to Jamestown Virginia in 1611, where it was cultivated alongside tobacco for commercial purposes. Cannabis has become illegal at the federal level. It is punishable by law to possess and use. It is a political issue; it results in intense disputes all over the United States and the world. Is marijuana really all that the government and the mainstream media negatively hype it up to be? Is it a hazard to our well-being? Or is it simply a plant that has the capability to lessen the pains and aches of the sick, revitalize the weak, and bringing some ease to our stressful lives.
William Randolph Hearst is one of the main reasons as to why marijuana is illegal. Marijuana was a great substitute to make paper and he was very invested in the timber industry for paper and owned newspaper chains. In return, he demonized marijuana in his papers by making devil references and that it causes people to commit crimes.
Another individual also held largely responsible for the prohibition is Harry J. Anslinger. Anslinger was an extremely determined man and he saw the Federal Bureau of Narcotics or FBN in 1930 as a great career opportunity. The FBN had the power to define both the problem and the solution. He quickly realized that opiates and cocaine wouldn’t be enough to help build the agency so he seized the opportunity to make marijuana illegal at the federal level.
Harry J. Anslinger immediately threw around subject of racism and violence to gain national attention to the problem he intended on creating. He did not use medical evidence to back him up. He and William Randolph Hearst were being backed by Dupont chemical company and various pharmaceutical companies to outlaw...