The Legalization of Cannabis in Canada

By: Brent Bernhardt

At this point in time, Cannabis (Known to many as Marijuana), is illegal in the world only having been fully legalized in
Uruguay and a few American states recently. It is currently legal in Canada for medicinal prescription purposes, but is otherwise
strictly banned. There are many reasons it should be made legal, but for the sake of this essay, only three key argument topics
will be used. This essay will give irrefutable evidence that cannabis should be outright legalized in Canada.
Since it was quietly made illegal in 1923 without any scientific proof to support claims or any debate, cannabis has ever since
been promoted by the Canadian government as having no medical properties. In 2001, it was legalized in Canada for medically
prescribed purposes, making Canada the first country to legalize cannabis medically, yet despite this, the government continues
to accuse it of having no medical benefits. In the book The New Prescription Marijuana As Medicine, written by Martin
Martinez and edited by Francis Podrebarac, M.D., the history of cannabis and its uses as medicine throughout recorded time is
explained along with a very large list of known medical uses for problems and other reasons for its use such as: AIDS, analgesia,
anorexia, antibiotic properties, anti-motivational syndrome, anxiety attacks, arthritis, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular effects,
cerebral effects, chromosome interference, constipation, delirium, depression, diabetes, digestive disorders, dystonia, epilepsy,
glaucoma, hepatitis, Huntingtons chorea, hypertension, immune responses, insomnia, intestinal cramps, intractable hiccups,
Menieres syndrome, menstrual cramps, mental illness, migraine headaches, multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms, neuralgia,
neurodermitis, nutrition, obstetrics, paranoia attacks, premenstrual syndrome, psychoactivity, psychomotor skills, replacement of
medications, respiratory diseases, sexual activity, stress reduction, stroke and head trauma, treating addiction, upper respiratory
infection, violent behaviors, and zelotypia. The book gives explanations as well as reputable sources of information mentioned in
it.
Among the accusations of cannabis not having medical use, the government also claims it to be dangerous to ones health,
warning that it is highly addictive, causes damage to the lungs, and destroys the users intellectual and memory capabilities. In
regards to the claims it is addictive, an article in psychologytoday.com makes a great point that as the only way cannabis can be
proven to be addictive is by its withdrawal symptoms, and as its symptoms are only minor mental effects, no one can be sure
whether its actually caused by an addiction or simply by the emotional response of someone missing something they enjoyed.
Also, regarding accusations to Cannabis damaging ones lungs and destroying their intellectual and memory capabilities, an
article on healthland.time.com speaks of a large study performed in Australia which shows no long term effects to intellect and
memory are endured by users of both frequent and infrequent cannabis use, whereas an article on webmd.com speaks of studies
which show that unlike cigarettes which do cause lung damage, Cannabis does not, and that in many cases the smoking of
Cannabis actually improve lung function. In addition, even if the smoke of cannabis were found to be dangerous, smoking it is
not the only way it can be administered as it can also be used in cooking and taken in the form of a pill or cream.
Finally, the last major excuse as to why cannabis should remain illegal is that: It has no economic, industrial, or commercial
use in our society and instead turns anyone who uses it into lazy lowlifes. This last assumption and typical stereotype of
cannabis and its users is completely based off of uneducated, ignorant views of the early government and is forced on society in
the form of a false sense of morals, meant to shame users. In fact, dealers and organized crime have been estimated by CNBC to
make about $10 billion to over $120 billion from sales of cannabis alone. This also shows its commercial and economic uses as
despite it being illegal and shunned, there are still millions of normal, successful people who are willing to spend so much money
on it. As for its industrial uses, grow houses would open up new job opportunities for Canadians along with workshops to harvest
the buds, hash leaves and hemp fibers (which throughout history have been used in several applications because of its high tensile
strength).
After disproving prohibitionist accusations of cannabis being medically useless, dangerous, and otherwise useless to our society,
this essay gives valid reason that cannabis should be fully legalized in Canada.