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Why was Marijuana made illegal in the first place?

by Thrion Mitchell
(Jamaica)

Why was Marijuana made illegal in the first place in Jamaica?

For a very long time ...up to forty years ago the benefits of marijuana has been known, it was even spoken n many times by the legendary Peter Tosh.

And up until now i have not heard one good reason why it was made illegal.

Yet at the same time they keep importing tobacco based products; these very same people who look down smoking.

Marijuana has so many uses and is such a potential economical booster that is is plain stupid for the government to not take advantage but i guess u have to be rich to have a voice.

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Apr 24, 2017
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Why was marijuana intruduced in the first place.
by: Barbara KIngton

Growing up in Jamaica as a child and a teenager, I lived in a small village in Hanover. During those years we saw adults smoking tobacco and cigarettes. Never would you see and never would a teen much more a child be bold enough or crazy enough to light up a cigarette of roll some tobacco and light it. Then came the great ganga – marijuana. Adults now started to flaunt it around and later it was given to children saying it was a part of ‘religious ceremony’.

Passing on the road these days, it pains one’s heart as you go in each crevice and corner, in town or country, on the road or in a yard, and family games etc and it is a sore eye to see our people. First thing in the morning or late at night it is the kneading of the hand, the rolling of the spliff and then burning the of the ganga spliff. This past time is enjoyed by adults, teens and now even children who are left to join the ring on the street. It is not only our boys but girls have joined in too.

We claim that it is the ‘weed of wisdom’ because it was found on Solomon’s grave – nonsense. To begin with it has been tested and proven that teens and children who are fed this weed perform below average. Teens and men who take this thing as medicine demonstrate a lazy attitude; they cannot maintain a straight conversation. Health wise putting smoke constantly into one’s lungs or body cannot and definitively is not healthy.

If marijuana has been found to have medicinal benefits, it should be handled in a lab or be used as a tea. Out of this I will then say that it was right to make marijuana illegal in the first place and that it remains illegal.

Mar 04, 2014
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Caya control
by: John Blenkiron

The truth may simply be the lack of a method of efficient production control for the purpose of taxation by the government. People were able to grow ganja easily and use it directly. Unlike the lucrative market in alchohol there was no controllable processing involved where the product could be inventoried and taxed in order to provide a major source of government revenues.

The threat of having uncontrolled marijuana growth and distribution replace controlled alchohol production was seen as having the potential to create a serious dent in government revenues. Hence a well orchestrated campaign featuring such films as "Reefer Madness" was created when marijuana lawas were introduced in order to demonize the use of marijuana. In more recent times television ads would falsely imply that marijuana destroyed brain cells and was a gateway to the use of harder drugs like heroin and cocaine.Independent medical studies failed to substantiate this claim.

The laws on the medical use (and even recreational use) of marijuana are being seriously studied by several countries at this time.

Feb 28, 2014
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Outside pressure
by: Anonymous

My understanding is that it was due to pressure from the United States, threatening with economic sanctions. Not sure what year that was. That's what someone told me.

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