Sympathy for the devil’s herb

By Ghozy Alfisyahr Reuski 12 IPA 3

before I start my short oration, I would like to say thanks to my god, my king, my lord and savior Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala lest we forget our guide Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam who devoted his life
for the ummah and also many thanks to Miss Mariyam and all of my peers here today for giving me a bit
of time to talk about a topic I am eagerly excited to express

What if I told you there was a plant capable of dozens of practical, medicinal and industrial uses that
could grow anywhere at any climate and could grow impressively quick, as quick as planting a bamboo.
What if I told you it exists yet it is banned in a huge margin of countries around the world. now why is
that?

Marijuana, despite its many benefits. to this day has remained as one of the most antagonized
vegetation not only in Indonesia but around the world. I hold the belief that it is better to embrace the
plant rather than vilifying it.

So today I will be playing devil's advocate and explain the rationale of this grisly revelation.

A brief history of marijuana

The peculiar thing about the history of marijuana which is also known as Cannabis is how very much
cultivated it once was, it was one of the largest agricultural crops in java and Sumatra particularly Aceh.
Cannabis can also be hemp. Hemp is one of the most durable and natural soft fibers on the face of the
planet. Up until the late 1800s cannabis hemp was used all around the world, whether that be clothing
fabric, lighting oil, ropes, paper, natural medicines etc. in fact the first act of outlawing marijuana in
Indonesia is not for public health rather for trade purposes put in by the Dutch colony yet it still persists
to this day.
The morality of prohibition

You can draw a lot of parallel from the alcohol prohibition in the United States to the war on marijuana
today. Under prohibition of alcohol, everything got worse. You can see the emergence of gangsters in
the underworld that took control over the substance, Al Capone's gang for instance. Because alcohol
was prohibited, it strengthened organized crime. It creates an artificially inflated value outrageously high
that folks are willing to kill for it. Which brings us back to why prohibiting marijuana is ultimately
immoral.

When I was researching I stumbled upon an interview of a former drug dealer, he was asked a specific
question, if you had the ability to abolish marijuana laws, would you do it?, the answer was no because
if it were legal he wouldn't attain as much money as when it was illegal. What's essentially happening is
prohibition creates this wild west where anything can happen, there are no rules. Compare it to buying
alcohol today. What does the clerk ask you first? Your ID. If you want to buy weed, what does the dealer
ask you first? Money. they do not care whether you're eight or eighty, if they see the money then it's a
done deal. could there be a better way of deterring children from using rather than letting dealers
decide what age is appropriate?

The restrained benefits of marijuana

Marijuana or cannabis throughout thousands of years and hundreds of civilizations has been used as
varying forms of medicines. It's been widely known as a highly versatile plant that could grow anywhere
at any climate, even your own home. It treats ADHD, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, relieving alcohol
addiction, helps people with PTSD, even cancer. This is all scientifically proven, just take a look around
the world where medical uses of marijuana are legal. Europe for one. Known for being the most
progressive in its medical advancements, embraced the use of marijuana. The presence of cannabis in
the medical lane also makes healthcare more affordable and reliable. On the other side of the spectrum
where cannabis is absent as it is in many states in America. A majority of its citizens rely on lab produced
synthetic marijuana which is much more expensive yet is less reliable.
Problems with big pharma and the tobacco industry

The odd thing about this whole circumstance is who shows the most opposition towards cannabis. Two
things in particular. The tobacco industry and big pharma.

Cigarette companies loathe cannabis since it is a flora which can be planted anywhere and can grow as
fast as a bamboo stalk. To put it simply, it is afraid of competition. The total revenue of the six major
cigarette companies in Indonesia is about 362 billion dollars, about 38% of the gross national income of
Indonesia, it has been proven to be a very profitable business. While, simultaneously causing the death
of 290.000 citizens annually.

Pharmaceutical companies’ biggest sin is hypocrisy. They are the most vocal about barring marijuana
and medical marijuana yet they manufacture Fentanyl, a strong and deadly opioid drug. And as it turns
out these companies actually produce a synthetic version of THC cannabis oil, a product that is inferior
to the natural medical marijuana hence if cannabis were legal it would strictly be bad for business.

Sampoerna industries alone made a profit of over 4.6 billion dollars just last year. In America between
May 2020 and April 2021 the estimated death from fentanyl overdose is about 100.000 yet they are
starting to produce it Indonesia. The notion that outlawing marijuana is a reason for public health is
hypocritical and perplexing.

Marijuana is not the only thing you can abuse

However there is one fly in the ointment, marijuana in the modern age is often abused to get high.
While I do not see enough of a problem to outright outlaw the plant, most discussions surrounding the
prohibition stems from this detail. Well let me say this. you can abuse tobacco too, you can get drunk by
drinking too much alcohol, you can get high by inhaling glue, you can even go obese by abusing
cheeseburgers. Do we go around closing Mc donald’s. You see there are always two sides to a problem,
it's not all black and white.

Isn’t it haram? Well to consume it is haram but So does consuming alcohol, yet you can still benefit from
it. Why is it all that different from marijuana? seeing just how beneficial cannabis is, it’s a crime against
humanity to forbid the plant.
Now, my expression of this topic is not meant to cause any dissension or to accuse the government of
greed, that is not my point at all. I am merely here to give a little perspective on a matter that should
not be as clear-cut as it is currently being discussed.

As Allah enunciated on surah al Baqarah verse 213

ََُ ْ َّ َْ ْ َ َ ُ ْ َ ْ َ ٰ ْ ُ ُ َ َ َ َََْ
‫ي الناس ِف ْي َما اختلف ْوا ِف ْي ِه‬ ‫ب ِبال َحق ِليحكم ب‬‫وانزل معهم ال ِكت‬

Allah by His Leave guided those who believed to the truth of that wherein they differed

I yearned for the day when people realize just how tight the shackle society is forcefully put on by large
businesses. I believe that in time, our decisions from daily activities to government level laws are not
incentivized purely to benefit mega corporations rather for the sake of humanity.