Anti-Hemp Legalization :: Hemp Marijuana Drugs Essays

Anti-Hemp Legalization The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was the first ban on hemp in the United States. Then in 1942 the government lifted the ban and encouraged farmers to cultivate hemp to help with the war effort. The ban was later put into effect again in 1957. The ban of hemp in America is still in effect by the Controlled Substances Act of 1972. Hemp or cannabis sativa is the same species as marijuana. It is impossible to grow hemp without the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) rich leaves and seeds. While the leaves and seeds can contain up to 30 percent THC, the hemp stalk and roots contain less than one percent. Therefore the government has kept the plant banned in the country. With the ban, the government keeping the upper hand on the â€Å"War on Drugs† in America, protecting the youth from the illegal substance marijuana, and keeping wealthy corporations in their pockets. Many Drug Enforcement Agency members say â€Å"Advocates for hemp legalization argue that US drug laws could be amended to allow the growing of cannabis for industrial hemp, but keeping marijuana growing illegal. Drug and law enforcement agencies, however, maintain that marijuana growers would be able to hide their cannabis plants among the legal hemp plants and it would be impossible for narcotics agents to distinguish the two† (Domke). The government keeps hemp illegal from fear of easy marijuana access and growing capabilities in the hemp fields. Marijuana could easily be grown in hemp fields because of how much shorter a marijuana plant is compared to a hemp plant. The hemp would canopy the illegal substance making it hard for DEA officials to spot potential marijuana growing. The DEA searches potential marijuana fields from a helicopter, and if you have hemp fields growing, there would be no way for them to see if there were any marijuana plants growing beneath them, making the process of growing marijuana much easier and much larger. If hemp was legal there would be an overwhelming amount of marijuana flooding the streets making the authority’s job of keeping America’s streets drug free. The government’s main goal in keeping hemp illegal is to save the youth of America from corruption and abuse. If hemp were to be legalized, the children in America would be exposed to the drug marijuana at an earlier age then now. Statistics show that marijuana use at a young age can ruin ones life in the long run.