This is a topic that has become a bit of concern amongst people in the past few years. Marijuana has been illegal since the early 1900's, but lately scientists have figured out that there are some uses of marijuana that could benefit people in need, people who are sick of deadly diseases such as aids, multiple sclerosis, and cancer. These are all diseases that are hard for anyone to go through, especially without aid that helps the pain and misery from ceasing. Prohibiting marijuana has just made things worse, by increasing the price of marijuana, the illegal usage, and the money spent on trying to cease its use.
             Abraham Lincoln once said two quotes about prohibition, "Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes crimes out of things that are not crimes," and "A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." I believe that he is right for stating that we have rights and they should not be taken for granted. He may have not been thinking of marijuana when he made his speech, but it involves prohibition, meaning prohibition in general and of any kind.
             The first crop of American hemp was grown in 1611 (Grinspoon 11). However, the modern practice of smoking marijuana was not introduced until the 1920's. This was a time of drug intolerance. America was in the stages of the prohibition of alcohol campaign. Marijuana was introduced and smoked by the early immigrants. In the 1930's it was a common belief that immigrants were inhumane and violent, so these attitudes were associated and blamed on the marijuana. By 1931 all but two states had anti-marijuana legislation. By 1937 all states had prohibited marijuana use and made it illegal to have anything to do with this drug. No research was ever made on marijuana at this time or its effects. People simply believed i...