Despite the fact that cannabis is a highly regulated substance in many of the countries it is legal, it is still illegal for recreational use in the United States. With this in mind, the legalization of cannabis has been a long and difficult one. Nearly a century of research and countless advancements in the medical field have made it more and more clear that cannabis has so much to offer humanity. It could be a miracle drug for so many diseases, and considering a recent study from Harvard Medical School showed that, in the United States, cannabis is currently the most popular drug used in the treatment of chronic pain, it is no wonder why. Since the legalization of medical marijuana in Canada, the country has seen a dramatic drop in opioid-related deaths. This is a
Imagine if cannabis had been legalized in the United States twenty years ago. If a president had been elected on a platform that included legalization, it would have been possible for recreational dispensaries to be opened in every state in America. A black market would not have existed. Instead, cannabis would have been regulated like alcohol or medicine. And instead of millions of people being arrested for their personal use, the industry itself would have been the focus of widespread reform.
Have you ever wondered why cannabis is not as welcome as alcohol or drugs? Why is cannabis considered an illegal substance or why is it just illegal? Cannabis prohibition was built on a foundation of racism, sexism and misinformation. Lies have even been made up about him, and the media and government officials have helped to support these fabrications. Not all members of the government were in favour of the ban on cannabis. The 99. New York Mayor Henry LaGuardia challenged the federal government’s position on cannabis legalization by releasing the 1944 report of the LaGuardia Committee on Cannabis or Marijuana, which was commissioned by the New York Academy of Medicine. Clearly, legislators and politicians who have no medical training know more than people who have dedicated their lives to the study of medicine. Imagine if cannabis were as accepted or even regulated as alcohol or drugs; oh, what a wonderful world that would be!
First-hand accounts of the horrors of the ban on cannabis
What if children broke into their mother’s and father’s hiding place and thought it was normal to grow up, like breaking into a wine closet? What would happen if a young mother could consume low doses of THC during her pregnancy to relieve severe nausea, and even after delivery to ease the pain, without fear of Child Protective Services threatening to take her baby away? I know this is a problem because I have experienced it myself. When I was pregnant, I lived in TN and often traveled to Colorado on business. After our daughter was born, I was told by Child Protective Services that if I had the baby in another county, they could take him away from me because I had THC in my body, even though my baby did not. Fortunately, the county where we lived could only prosecute to remove the child because of the parents’ marijuana use if they could prove that it endangered the child, because no marijuana was found on me, but was only in my body at the time of birth. I had to have several meetings with child protective services to let them know that it was perfectly legal for me to travel through the United States of America as an adult and that it was perfectly legal for me to consume recreational cannabis in states like Colorado, Washington or Oregon when I visited those states. I never should have had this conversation, especially a few days after the birth of our newborn. Cannabis prohibition has even influenced my husband’s and probably many others’ unique dislike of law enforcement. Due to being taken over by the Raiders when he was young and impressionable, he now has trouble trusting the police. If cannabis was regulated like alcohol or drugs, he would never have to deal with it and might even have more respect for law enforcement. But today he finds it hard to believe that the police are where they are really needed and that prosecuting cannabis users, who pose less of a threat to society than most criminals, is their top priority. 
What if cannabis were regulated like alcohol?
Alcohol is capable of destroying people’s health and lives. It has many proven health risks, is the cause of many cases of domestic violence and even contributes to the deaths of people on the streets of our country. The statistics are shocking. Despite this, alcohol is still socially acceptable, and in many cases where it shouldn’t be. When I lived in Wisconsin, I was amazed at how many religious events were held with beer tents. America’s longest-running cannabis festival, the Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival, held annually in Madison, is another. Take a guess! You can walk and drink as much as you want during this event, but if you decide to show your support for cannabis by smoking a little, you could run into trouble with the law. Imagine if we could buy a joint at the gas station and they gave us a pack of cigarettes to put in it, just like they give you a brown bag when you buy a beer? I’ve always wondered why alcoholic beverages are sold in a business that is supposed to supply fuel for cars if drinking and driving is illegal? I accept that the passenger wants to buy drinks to take with him; we should give him the benefit of the doubt. But when it comes to cannabis users, they don’t get the same attention. Many legislators and law enforcement officials who oppose cannabis legalization seem to have their own reasons for maintaining prohibition or strict regulation of cannabis. Whatever the plan, it has certainly contributed to the overcrowding of the prisons in this country and lined the pockets of big pharma. America deserves better than one-sided thinking. It deserves better than when elected officials in office are only concerned with advancing their personal agendas or those of those who own or sponsor them.
Imagine a scenario in which cannabis is welcome
- Imagine cannabis being legalized and regulated as medicine, and millions of patients across the country having the chance to find out if cannabinoid therapy can change them for the better.
- Imagine sick children not being denied medical care because someone else disagrees. I do not approve of giving Oxycontin to nine year olds, but by the standards of the medical community it is acceptable in certain situations. But you won’t see me struggling to tell those parents or children that they don’t have that right and shouldn’t have it.
- Imagine if the United States didn’t spend billions of dollars on a war that systematically harms its own people. The goal of the war on drugs doesn’t make much sense when you think about it.
- Imagine if legislators and elected officials had better used their time to focus on solving other problems instead of wasting it on criminalizing the plant.
- Imagine what the country could do with the revenue from cannabis.
- Imagine if hemp was used for everything plastic, wool and cotton are used for now. If we didn’t cut down valuable ecosystems for timber and instead used cannabis to restore them, imagine how much healthier Mother Earth would be.
The world as we know it could look very different. Unfortunately, the ridiculous mentality of people who believe that their own opinions and thoughts should dictate to others how they should live their lives will continue to dominate our society until we, the people, make the necessary changes to our way of life. I have used cannabis almost my entire life. I grew up surrounded by people who were like me. All these people were working, raising their families and keeping a low profile to avoid being caught by the police. I have watched the police pick up my friends for marijuana use and I have watched it destroy their lives. They’re good people. It forever changed my view of politicians and authority figures.
Imagine a world with family cannabis farms and standardized cannabinoid therapy
What if American farmers were allowed to grow cannabis for both medical and industrial purposes? This would lead to cannabis becoming the fabric of our lives instead of cotton. Cotton requires an unimaginable amount of pesticides, fertilizers and chemicals to produce and brings in less. Hemp needs no such thing and in fact grows faster and more productively than cotton. Hemp has also been used for thousands of years as a fabric for clothing and many other items. The ban eliminated these substances and replaced them with less healthy and less sustainable alternatives such as cotton, nylon, rayon and other chemically produced fabrics. If cannabis were welcomed as medicine, can you imagine what would happen to the health of the nation? We have only just begun to study the mammalian endocannabinoid system. Everyone on this planet has one. The endocannabinoid system can very easily become deficient in cannabinoids. Just imagine how many health problems have been caused by this extremely important part of our body just because cannabis is banned. Imagine where the science of cannabinoid therapy would be today if research had not been hampered for nearly a century and if it could be done on humans instead of lab rats.
Unfortunately, this is not the reality, but it looks brighter
Unfortunately, the world would certainly be a better place if cannabis had never been banned, but that is not the reality. Today, however, we are very grateful that laws are being reformed to loosen the shackles of prohibition. There is, however, a glimmer of hope: Millions of people now have access to cannabinoid therapy that didn’t exist a decade ago, and thousands of lives have been improved or even saved in the United States alone, thanks to a change in legislation. Hopefully, decades from now, someone will be able to read this article and write a new one reflecting how much the world has changed after decades of legalization and research. As for cannabis, the future is bright and I hope it is only a matter of time before everyone can use this plant as it was intended. 
Ashley Priest is a patient, mother, entrepreneur and activist fighting for the abolition of drug prohibition around the world, for a better future for all. Ashley is passionate about sharing knowledge about the divine plant that is cannabis. She believes that one seed can make all the difference and that together, through education, we can end the stigma that prevents cannabis from reaching its full potential worldwide.
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