Marijuana Hope or Dope?

Marijuana, it comes in many names, Mary Jane, Hemp, pot, cannabis, joint, reefer and more, but no matter what the name marijuana is a plant with a long history in human society. In Turkistan clothing has been discovered dating back 4000 BC made from marijuana fiber. In 6000BC Marijuana seeds have been used as food in China. Marijuana oils from the seeds have been found to be rich in fatty acids and beneficial nutrients as well as capable of being used as clean burning fuel.

Probably the most notable cannabis factoid is its recorded use in the Bible as a major ingredient commanded by God in the making of the Temple anointing oil. In the Hebrew Bible the word used is “Canabos” Marijuana has been used to make rope for thousands of years due to its superior strength. In fact marijuana has the longest fiber of any plant in the world. Its fiber is also the strongest of any plant in the world.

So you might be thinking… why don’t we wear marijuana clothing or drive in marijuana powered cars? An experimental car has been created demonstrating that marijuana oil can power car engines. As for the clothing, there was a man from California named Levi Strauss, he made jeans using fiber from hemp because it was much more durable than cotton, and today a global chain of clothing stores called “Hemp” sells marijuana fiber products.

If it is true that Marijuana is not any more dangerous than alcohol, and it contains the strongest fibers in the world capable of replacing cotton, if it can be used to reduce dependence on foreign oil and if it has many health benefits then what is the problem? Marijuana has not caught on in a big way due to the stigma that the plant has for being illegal. Is the criminalization of marijuana justified or like prohibition in the United States that sought to outlaw alcohol also destined for failure? In the 1920s the United States made marijuana use illegal and promoted a public campaign against it with propaganda films like “Reefer Madness” which depicts a crazed man who kills his girlfriend after smoking
marijuana. The fact is no murders or violent crimes have ever been linked to the use of marijuana. Studies show that marijuana leads to less aggression not more.
Unlike other drugs no one has ever died from taking marijuana which is not true for most drugs, in the United States over 100 people die every year from taking aspirin. Ask yourself this question: if your teenage child experiments by trying marijuana, would you consider him to be a criminal? If your answer is “No” then it is not based upon today’s legal reality. The laws are such now that if you or your friend or child ever try marijuana, according to the eyes of the law they are a “criminal” and can be arrested and thrown in jail and be given a criminal record for the rest of their lives. This is the law as it stands today.

Our History, demographics, land mass, and political situation make Israel so different that we should chose our own path and not try to duplicate other systems that do not make sense for Israel. There are many pros and cons to anything such as alcohol, or tobacco which are sold with product warnings and not to minors, the current solutions to marijuana are far worse than any problems. The reason for keeping marijuana illegal has been based upon bad and outdated science. Hundreds of scientific studies have since confirmed over and over that marijuana has beneficial medical and environmentally friendly industrial uses. The Lemallah movement believes that personal use of Marijuana should be decriminalized and that the full potential of the plant should be exploited for industrial and medical use.