Although marijuana has been proven to have many benefits in medicinal use, media portrayal of people who smoke weed has often been given a negative manner. The stoner community has had to live with these stereotypes of being lazy and losing all self-motivation based on the media's depiction. If this issue is not addressed thousands of people throughout America who smoke weed will be seen as dysfunctional members of society. In my research paper, I want to address the many problems this evokes and how it has little to do with an actual stoner.
             Marijuana users have been around for many centuries. Dating back to 2737 B.C when a Chinese pharmacologist by the name of Shen-Nung discovered its medicinal values. (Bloomquist 18). Since then the plant has played many roles, moving from China to India, then to all of Europe and slowly snaking its way to Mexico. Here, it was stated, "It was utilized in certain Aztec religious ceremonies. Montezuma II was known to partake of a strange postprandial tobacco that caused him to fall into a deep sleep" (Bloomquist 31).
             With European countries starting to expand to the west, the inhabitants of these nations picked up this plant and began to use its fibers as clothing. More than half of their summer clothing was composed of it. But the fibers were also heavily used in winter coats. However, with the invention of the cotton gin, the use of the plant for clothing production slowly died out, making the remaining plants fair game for seeding and growing.
             The resurgence of weed did not come into heavy usage until the 1920's when Mexican workers brought little bags of "mota" which sparked great interest into the plant. The first major concentration of Potheads was in New Orleans, which helped maneuver the paraphernalia's popularity up the Mississippi River (Bloomquist 32). For the Mexican labor workers it became extremely hard to keep up with the increased demand f...