A Altruistic Blog: Legalize Marijuana

People will not speak in favor of Marijuana. Never in public because talking in its favor can label the person a "गजेँडी" or "शिवे" or "तोपे" or "junkie" or "dope-head". Everyone else will look at them as criminals. Marijuana is illegal, and a common belief is there that it will ruin a person's life. Consequently, career, social status, public image and respect everything will be ruined if you are caught smoking dope.

Ok, long term use can harm mental process and health- can cause cancer possibly in lungs because of the smoke and… wait…. alcohol long term consumption can cause cancers in kidney, mouth, and stomach and it does harm mental process too. But alcohol is legal. You see huge royal stag boards in almost every Road junction of Kathmandu- even in outside the traffic headquarters. I have pasted a nice comparison on alcohol and marijuana in the end of the note. My point: If alcohol is legal, why not marijuana?

Addictions are good and bad. Good addictions involve consumption of goods like music or movies that "increase value over time and do not disrupt function derived from other goods". Bad addictions involve a reduction in future consumption ability- and drastic deterioration of health. Both Alcohol and Marijuana are bad addictions.

What are Marijuana's uses?

When Marijuana was legal in Nepal, during the 1960s, "Freak Street" and "Monkey Temple" were invented. Kathmanduties know these places as "Jhochen" and "Swayambhu". There were hangouts for pot-heads of the flower generation. Shops around the area sold marijuana openly and made economic profit.

After the illegalization, marijuana could be seen as hemp clothing. Hemp clothing is a very small industry in Nepal. Thamel which used to be a hangout for the flower generation now has many clothing stores with hemp brands.

But once, Marijuana or hemp was very legal internationally. It may be safe to say marijuana was more popular than alcohol. Here are my proofs taken from illumanati-news.com (full link in refrences):

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers GREW HEMP; Washington and Jefferson Diaries. Jefferson smuggled hemp seeds from China to France then to America.
The first Bibles, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were made from hemp; U.S. Government Archives.
Henry Ford's first Model-T was built to run on hemp gasoline and the CAR ITSELF WAS CONTRUCTED FROM HEMP! On his large estate, Ford was photographed among his hemp fields. The car, 'grown from the soil,' had hemp plastic panels whose impact strength was 10 times stronger than steel; Popular Mechanics, 1941.

Hemp can be used as clothing, food, fuel, and even medicine. It could have replaced paper, timber and oil. Hemp is purely organic- very safe for the environment. However, there has been little research (less than adequate) on Hemp because of its illegal nature.

"There is scientific evidence that [marijuana] helps with pain relief and nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy, for example, in terminal cancer patients," said John A. Benson, Jr., a principal investigator of the IOM study and a professor of internal medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

In addition, some HIV/AIDS patients suffering from decreased appetites use marijuana to "get the munchies," another oft-noted effect of the drug. However, Safe consumption of Marijuana is necessary. Smoking cannabis in hot-burning papers is potentially the most harmful method of consuming cannabis- burning temperature can reach 700°C.=1292°F.° Cannabis is safer if brewed in tea, or taken as a capsule. "When you inhale something into the lungs, it's very rapidly absorbed—you get an effect in five minutes," Benson said. "When you take a capsule, it may take an hour and a half", but it is a lot safer. (3)

How does it Work? (3)

Roger Pertwee, a professor of neuro-pharmacology at the University of Aberdeen's Institute of Medical Sciences in Scotland, noted that "cannabis contains lots of different chemicals called cannabinoids." The most active chemical is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.

THC binds to specific receptors in the human brain to create the euphoric high associated with smoking pot.

In the early 1990s Pertwee's research group helped to uncover human-produced chemicals similar to THC that stimulate our appetites and help us control pain. "We produce our own cannabis, in effect," he said. "It often seems to have a protective role."

Why was Marijuana Illegal in Nepal?

Tracing history:

Illegalization of marijuana can sort of be linked to the Pulitzer Prize. Pulitzer Prize was a result of redemption from Joseph Pulitzer because he was involved in Yellow Journalism with his competition William Randolph Hearst. With the ongoing yellow journalism (sensational stories to attract people's attention) Hearst began a smear campaign against Marijuana.

Hearst owned timber and paper manufacturing firms. His newspapers came from his factories. Hearst is said to have lost billions (in today's money) because of hemp.

A media blitz of 'yellow journalism' raged in the late 1920s and 1930s. Hearst's newspapers ran stories emphasizing the horrors of marijuana. Readers learned that it was responsible for everything from car accidents to lose morality. It's on the newspapers so, everyone believes it.

Films like 'Marihuana: Assassin of Youth' (1935) and 'Marihuana: The Devil's Weed' (1936) also helped for the propaganda. America sort of Illegalized Marijuana on 1937. But it was not until 1970, that it was put under Controlled Substances Act under U.S. Federal drug law as a Schedule I substance. The designation describes drugs with a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. Other Schedule I drugs include heroin and LSD. But, Morphine, and Cocaine are Level 2 Substance which has permitted medical use.

The figure below shows how Marijuana or Cannabis is SAFER than cocaine, Tobacco, or even alcohol.

So, its 1972, U.S. began lobbying for marijuana illegalization on Nepal because a lot of Hippies (anti Vietnam) were popular in Nepal. Mahendra was dead, and Birendra was a newly crowned monarch, and a new lobbying propaganda was in order. In turn for Banning the drugs, U.S. starts giving huge Foreign Aids. From Fiscal Year 1970, to Fiscal year 1988, United States commitments, including United States Export-Import Bank funds, totaled US$285 million(not counting inflation).

The money was handed down to politicians, so, it never reached the population that earned their money from Marijuana. In Rolpa, Indians from Delhi buy Marijuana in huge kilos and take them to Delhi, add extra chemicals and then sell them in a higher price. Nepal Police seized one tone of marijuana from Nepal- India border on February 08, 2009.

Drug lords benefit from Marijuana being illegal because they can sell it in any price they want. If it was legal, people would be paying taxes. They pay taxes to Alcohol, and it's a huge industry.

If alcohol is Legal, Why not Marijuana? (1)

Marijuana:	Alcohol:
Does not induce violence, more likely to induce relaxation and calm	Known to induce violence domestically and socially
Offensive in Public	Offensive in Public
Less likely to cause domestic or social damage	More likely to cause domestic or social damage
Common place for large percentage of the adult population	Common place for large percentage of the adult population
Small demand for rehabilitation	Large demand for rehabilitation
Rehabilitation process is relatively short and usually self induced	Rehabilitation process is long and drawn out
Referenced in positive ways in the Bible	Referenced in positive and negative ways in the Bible
Marijuana:	Alcohol:
Short term memory loss for long term users	Long and short term memory loss – people are known to wake and not remember how they got there – both long and short term users
Paranoia, loss of mental focus and self consciousness	Loss of sensory equity or awareness
Slight Loss of inhibition	Extreme loss of inhibition
Better ability to DUI although we are not advocating it	Has taken countless lives from DUI and has strict laws for those who DUI
Short term Depression	Depression
Marijuana:	Alcohol:
A person can not smoke themselves to death	A person can drink themselves to death
Relaxes the eyes while under the influence	Discoloration of the eyes (whites of the eyes turn yellow) from long term use
Unproven claims to cause cancers	Various types of cancer – kidney, mouth, stomach and is proven
Aphrodisiac	Impotence
Enhances senses	Creates numbness
Dry Mouth – dehydration	Dry Mouth - dehydration
Induces Hunger (munchies)	Induces Hunger , Nausea and vomiting
Induces Coughing	Induces Urination
Induces Sleep	Induces Headaches
No Hangovers	Hangovers
Does not Induce Involuntary eye movement	Induces Involuntary eye movement (the spins)
Addictive – less than alcohol and tobacco	Addictive (to the point of disease in some cases)
Marijuana:	Alcohol:
Generates small Tax Revenue	Generates Large Tax Revenue
Creates a limited range of industrial Businesses and jobs - has the potential to achieve what alcohol can +	Creates a broad range of commercial and industrial Businesses
Serves a limited range of commercial and industrial markets	Serves a broad range of commercial and industrial markets
Tax Money is spent on enforcing the laws, apprehension and jailing	Tax Money is spent to monitor and maintain laws and regulations

If Marijuana, or cannabis, or joint, is legalized, it needs to be out of reach of children. Bhat Bhateni Supermarket does not allow anyone under 21 to enter the "liquor section". This started during Bam-Dev Gautam's active involvement period.

Taxing addictives has an economy of its own. Surely the cost of enforcing more armed policemen to fight off drug lords is very HIGH compared to the cost of enforcing a law to "Pay taxes". The same technique prevalent with tobacco and alcohol tax system and "awareness in the society" programs would also not cost so much. Money would be saved. That money can be used to research marijuana use in medicine, Bio-Fuel, as an exception of cutting trees fo timber and paper, there are so many unresearched fields in Nepal.

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