been one death attributed to marijuana, along with no cases of lung cancer or emphysema. In the 1890's, the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission interviewed 800 people and found, "no evidence that moderate use of the cannabis drugs produced any disease or mental or moral damage or any more than moderate use of whisky."10 In a year-long study of fairly heavy users, there were no discovered effects on learning or perception. In 1938, a 4 year study done by a committee of scientists in New York found, "no proof that major crime was associated with marijuana or that it caused aggressive or antisocial behavior; marijuana was not sexually over stimulating and did not change personality; there was no evidence of acquired tolerance."11 In the U.S., there are proportionately fewer marijuana users than users of alcohol, tobacco, heroin, or cocaine. "Those in favor of legalization disagree with the idea of marijuana leading to other drugs. It is the person, not the drug, that leads to drug use. If someone is willing to try alcohol, they may also be willing to try marijuana and harder drugs. Grinspoon and Bakalar, authors of Marijuana, The Forbidden Medicine, explain this by saying that anyone who smokes marijuana has most likely tried alcohol first and anyone using a dangerous drug has most likely smoked first. Most marijuana smokers do not use heroin or cocaine, just as most alcohol drinkers do not use marijuana."12 The use of marijuana in the medical world is important. It is one of the most effective treatments for problems that come along with cancer chemotherapy, glaucoma, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, paraplegia, and quadriplegia, AIDS, chronic migraines, menstrual cramps and labor pain, depression, asthma, and many more. It is gentler on the body and has fewer side effects than that of most medications used today. Cannabis does impair attention and short-term memory, tracking and coordination, but so does Valium, Xanax, and Halcion. ...
