In the early 1900s there was an influx of immigration from Mexico into the USA. These Mexican immigrants brought with them the custom of using cannabis as a medicine and relaxant. They referred to it as “marihuana” while Americans were familiar with “cannabis” because it was present in almost all tinctures and medicines at the time. The word “marihuana” was a foreign term.
The demonising of the cannabis plant was an extension of the demonising of Mexican immigrants. The media began to play on the fears the public had about these immigrants by falsely spreading claims about the “disruptive Mexicans with their dangerous native behaviours including marihuana use. Long story short—they used marihuana as an excuse to detain and deport Mexicans, and with that the USA was able to influence the United Nations to pass laws making marijuana illegal worldwide.
If you do not agree that marijuana should be legalised in T&T then you might as well advocate for the banning of alcohol and smoking tobacco because those legal (and dangerous) substances destroy more lives than marijuana ever has and even the most of educated people fail to acknowledge this fact not because of their lack of knowledge of the herb but because of the fundamental bias that has been embedded in the system.
Many people and organisations that are against the use of this “plantlike substance” fail to acknowledge the potential benefits it has if used within a limit. Overdosing on marijuana is virtually impossible. To do so you would have to consume 1,500 pounds in 15 minutes. It can replace hundreds of prescription drugs which have been proven to be more fatal than marijuana since there has been no reported deaths directly linked to marijuana. It treats many diseases such as diabetes, glaucoma, epilepsy and can even cure cancer.
Marijuana’s cousin, hemp, (the non-psychoactive plant which is somehow illegal) has 50,000 uses other than smoking (believe it or not) ranging from clothing, to food, to paper, to fuel, to consumer and building products, it also helps with cleaning up soil pollution.
Although physical addiction has not been proven, an estimated nine per cent of those who use cannabis develop dependence and it is more common among heavy users. If regulated, the dependency factor can be avoided (meaning usage does not send your life in a downward spiral).
The gateway drug myth attributed towards the substance has been debunked time and time again and it can even be used as an exit drug according to Addiction Research and Theory. The findings support cannabis as a potential treatment for alcohol and drug addiction.
It is time for the biases to be rooted out of the system and the Government should help discredit the propaganda by implementing more public awareness to its citizens and bringing proper teaching of the herb in the education system.
With all that has been said no one should participate in the illegal use of marijuana.
Candace Alfonso,
Belmont