to feel the effects. Furthermore, in clinical trials on animals, it has been shown that the ratio of effect to death is 1:40,000. If it takes one joint to get stoned, you would have to smoke 40,000 joints to overdose. The ratio for alcohol is between 1:10 and 1:20 depending on body weight. Unlike alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine, marijuana is not physically addictive. Although marijuana smoke contains more carcinogens than cigarette smoke, even chronic pot smokers rarely smoke more than one joint a day whereas the average cigarette smoker smokes twenty cigarettes a day. The incentive for farmers to grow marijuana is immense. While corn sells for a few dollars a bushel, pot sells for $70,000 a bushel. Drug cartels have sprung up in many poor third-world countries creating a vast black market. While the mobs of alcohol prohibition created crimes rings within cities, today’s drug cartels have created international crime circles. The majority of the marijuana in the United States comes from smugglers dealing with the drug lords. Smugglers often cut drugs with components that are less than pure. These cut drugs often vary in potency. Furthermore, some marijuana is laced with more dangerous drugs such as angel dust. Governmental regulation of marijuana would allow pot to be subjected to state and national taxes. Marijuana could be sold and taxed just like tobacco cigarettes. The government could also set standards that would ensure quality and reduce the possibility of lacing.Hemp, the plant that produces marijuana, has been used throughout history for many products. Even George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew the crop on their plantations. The hemp stalk can be mashed into a pulp which in turn can be made into paper. Hemp paper lasts longer than tree paper, does not yellow, and will not crack or harden. Hemp is also commonly braided into rope which will not rot in salt or fresh water. Textiles from hemp have b...
