When I was younger, I never imagined that a plant created by nature through millions of years of evolution could be criminalized and access to the same denied for humans by our governments and policy makers. The cannabis plant is that plant (one among a handful) and humans have done the unimaginable, effectively labeling nature and all associated with the plant as criminals. Pouring through the top scientific journals and select media publications over the last few months I have tried to compile reasons cited in these publications for decriminalizing and legalizing the plant. Literature itself related to the plant has been strangely limited and difficult to access until recent times. Reasons that I have listed for legalization of the plant are broadly across agricultural, medical, social, legal, political, research, recreational, business, economic and environmental areas. Some reasons may sound repetitive but I think we cannot ever overemphasize the importance of legalization. The list and the areas covered are not exhaustive.
Cannabis as Medicine - https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-as-medicine.html
No medicinal value? - https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/02/no-medicinal-value.html
Let's please decriminalize and legalize the plant at the earliest. For the ones who don't care about the plant it does not matter but for the ones who do it does.
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Marijuana legalization - Will Bengaluru be the second Indian city to legalize?
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2017/10/marijuana-legalization.html
Thoughts on draft legal marijuana policy
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2017/10/thoughts-on-draft-legal-marijuana-policy.html
Ganja Economics for India
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2017/10/ganja-economics-for-india.html
Recreation is Medicine
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2017/12/recreation-is-medicine.html
Of freedom and captivity
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Cannabis and the Environment
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-and-environment.html
Cannabis as Medicine
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Cannabis for Recreational Purposes
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-for-recreational-purposes.html
Cannabis and Research
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-and-research.html
The Business of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-business-of-cannabis.html
The Economics of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-economics-of-cannabis.html
The Legality of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-legality-of-cannabis.html
The Politics of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-politics-of-cannabis.html
The Social Usage of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-social-usage-of-cannabis.html
Agricultural reasons
- Farmers will have an additional crop to grow with legalization
- Diverse indigenous varieties of the plant can be grown,supported, protected and developed
- Farmers can sell the plant at competitive prices in markets as against currently operating in fear and catering to the demands of unscrupulous criminal middlemen
- Farmers can adopt organic farming techniques to ensure healthy produce rather than the current scenario where information regarding usage of pesticides in illegal cultivation is not available
- The plant can be a valuable addition in the horticultural field and home gardens
- Cultivation of the plant will be a viable and sustainable economic activity for indigenous forest and native communities
- Quality control can be applied to the plant so that produce adulterated with pesticides and dangerous additives during illegal farming does not reach the consumer
- Illegal farming of the plant can be restricted through incentives, support and encouragement for legalized farming
- The plant and its indigenous varieties can become a key export commodity for worldwide trade along the lines of the country's legendary spices
- Healthy competition can be created between states through agriculture of the plant and related activities including trade shows,promotions, fairs, etc
Medical reasons
- The plant can be a valuable addition to the pharmacopeia of the country which is plagued by many illnesses for which the plant can be a source of affordable treatment
- The burden of health on our existing healthcare system can be reduced through the inclusion of the plant as affordable medicine
- The plant can become cheap and accessible medicine for millions of persons
- Introduction of the plant into our medical system will result in the reduction of the current dangerous cocktails of prescription drugs to a more simple and manageable medical diet for a patient
- The plant can become a key part of the pain reduction strategy replacing dangerous opioid painkillers.Opioid painkillers have turned into a medical epidemic across the world with many reported and unreported deaths due to it
- The plant can be used for treatment of PTSD, depression and various other psychological disorders
- The plant can be used to increase appetite and reduce side effects of strong medications in the treatment of cancer and HIV
- The plant can be used for treatment of inflammation in persons involved in physical activity including sports-persons
- Medical cannabis should be looked at as universal and affordable healthcare approach in both urban and rural settings
- The plant can be used for reducing suffering due to strong side effects of chemotherapy and radio-chemotherapy in cancer patients
- The plant can be used for reducing neurotoxic effect and protection against neuronal damage in methamphetamine users
- The plant can be greatly beneficial to the older population in terms of slowing down brain ageing, reducing anxiety and cost of medical treatment
- Better understanding of the human endocannabinoid system can be achieved through the study of the interaction of the human body and the plant's constituents
- The plant is a versatile medicine known to be used for the treatment of epilepsy, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, Tourette syndrome, diabetes, blood pressure, non-alcoholic fatty liver, endometrial cancer, glioblastoma, sleep disorders, childhood seizure disorders, malignant brain tumors, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's disease, neuropathic pain, movement disorders, ADHD, chronic pain, migraine, arthritis, lesion-induced inter-vertebral disorders, PTSD, quadriplegia and other spastic disorders, severe pruritus, depression, mania, bipolar disorder, asthma, dystonia, scleroderma, Crohn’s disease, diabetic gastroparesis, and terminal illness. The list is not exhaustive.
- The plant can be used as a natural and alternative health treatment option in line with Ayurveda for individuals who do not want to engage the expensive allopathy based system of doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical drugs
- More and more medical patients are self medicating with the plant instead of using pharmaceutical drugs
- The plant can be used for control of metabolic syndrome
- The plant is one of the very few drugs that have been seen to be beneficial for the brain.
- The plant became known in the modern western world through the exposure to it by Victorian physicians who observed its use in India where it had been widely used for recreation and medication for thousands of years
- Industrial hemp oil is an anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, skin regenerative, and cardio-protective properties.
- In 1955, the Tuberculosis, Nutrition Study in Czechoslovakia declared that industrial hemp seed was the only food that could cure tuberculosis. After 30 years of research, they discovered that a high protein diet was necessary for successfully treating TB.
- Legalization will greatly benefit medical research into the nature of the plant and its potential uses across areas
- Legalization will enable physicians to prescribe the plant for various medical conditions that the plant has been found to be suitable for.
- Physicians prescribing the plant will enable patients to access affordable medication, avoid self medication and use of expensive prescription drugs
- More and more elderly persons (persons above 65) are rejecting prescription medicine and self medicating with the plant
- The plant should be a key part of palliative care for end stage cancer patients
- There is no known case of a lethal overdose; on the basis of animal models, the ratio of lethal to effective dose is estimated as 40,000 to 1. By comparison, the ratio is 3-50 to 1 for secobarbital and 4-10 to 1 for alcohol.
- According to research published in the Journal of Natural Products, the five most common cannabinoid compounds in the plant—tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol, cannabigerol, cannabinol and cannabichromene—can kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Think MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which claimed more lives than AIDS in 2007 or, more recently, extensively drug-resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis (XDR-TB.)
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that marijuana is a relatively safe drug that causes no significant health issues
Cannabis as Medicine - https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-as-medicine.html
No medicinal value? - https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/02/no-medicinal-value.html
Social reasons
- The plant can serve as a key harm reduction strategy reducing the intake and addiction to potentially more dangerous drugs like alcohol, tobacco, heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, barbiturates and the hundreds of pharmaceutical drug combinations that are emerging as novel psychoactive substances
- There is a vast amount of misinformation regarding the plant that has been created and spread by entities who vastly benefit from the criminalization of the plant E.g. tobacco, alcohol, pharma, prison systems, etc. Legalization will help media to spread the right information regarding the plant
- Various eminent persons across multidisciplinary fields like science, medicine, literature, the arts, sociology, policy, etc have advocated for the legalization and benefits of the plant based on long periods of personal usage
- Our recorded knowledge is filled with the usage of the plant as a medicine and recreational herb for thousands of years in man's history. This is not just local usage but across the globe
- Persons across all age groups, genders, religions, races, economic backgrounds, social backgrounds, political leanings are supporters of the plant
- The right to freedom of an individual implies that an individual is free to decide what one puts into one's body for one's well being.
- We live currently in a bizarre situation where a natural plant is being called illegal. By calling a plant that has emerged out of billions of years of evolution illegal and criminal are we saying that nature has committed a crime and should be punished?
- The plant is a part of the spiritual tradition in this country and is used by vast numbers of spiritual adepts and seekers. Legalization will ensure that these persons get access to good quality produce and do not inadvertently fuel the criminal illegal trade by purchasing the plant from unscrupulous sources. The plant has also been part of the spiritual tradition in many places including the Caribbean islands, Africa and Asia for millennia
- Legalization will reduce discrimination against the economically backward who are most likely to resort to growing and selling the plant and are also more likely to end up in jail because they are easy targets for law enforcement agencies
- Legalization will drive formulation of effective drug related policies for youth and adolescents once adults are open to talk about the benefits and harms and there is increased level of plant related conversations in society
- Legalization will clear the misconception in the minds of the vast majority who look at the plant with fear, discrimination and mistrust
- Legalization will provide a foundation for the right messages through media and advertising regarding the plant so that people have increased awareness as currently with tobacco and alcohol instead of the misinformation they hear from their peers and ill-informed persons
- Legalization will reduce harassment of users of the plant and subjection to criminal procedure or forced mental treatment
- Legalization will enable development of vocational skills, farming, etc related to the plant in underdeveloped areas to bring about community development and raise economic status of underprivileged farming communities
- Legalization can enable persons to come out of more serious and deadly addictions like alcohol, tobacco, opioids, sex, prescription drugs, gambling, internet and smartphone, etc
- Legalization can enable realistic monitoring of quantities and patterns of consumption of the plant
- Legalization can enable laying down of consumption guidelines for the public to ensure safe usage as is the current scenario with alcohol
- Legalization can enable elimination of sexualization of the plant and sexual harassment of women because of their association with the plant
- Legalization can result in the creation of recreational spaces for people to consume the plant in a safe and comfortable setting and not be forced to use places where more intolerant members of society looks at their activities as a menace and nuisance
- Legalization will result in the reduction of physical and sexual assaults due to abuse of opioids and non-medical use of prescription drugs
- Legalization will result in the reduction in consumption of tobacco and its related health problems
- Legalization will result in the reduction in consumption of alcohol and its related health problems
- Legalization will result in the reduction in consumption of pharmaceutical drugs and its related health problems
- Legalization will result in the reduction in consumption of opioids and its related health problems
- Legalization will result in the reduction in consumption of novel psychoactive substances and synthetic drugs and its related health problems
- The plant is the safest and most affordable recreational drug that is consumed by the poorest of the poor and also the rich and all in between, a truly universal intoxicant created by nature
- The plant is one of the very few plants whose growth and access is criminalized for the human population while people have free access to the most toxic man made substances.e.g. plastic and pesticides.
- Restricting human access to a plant that grows in nature can be said to be against the natural order of creation
- The plant is one of the most ancient recreational drugs time tested for benefits and harmlessness across global cultures for thousands of years hence its popularity
- The plant is a relaxant used by many persons to unwind after a hard day's work
- Only persons who develop a liking for the plant will use it. It will not turn the whole of the human population into addicts. Currently even in places where the plant is legalized for recreational purposes, less than 10% of the population use the plant. On an average 4-6% of the global population use it. Among users as well, maybe 5-10% can be considered as excessive users.
- The current language of media that the plant is immoral and harmful, possibly because of political and legal pressure, needs to change in line with growing informed perspectives across the world. Legalization will help to bring about this change in language in the media
- Addictive and compulsive behaviour is a human trait present in many persons. Addictions can vary from sex, drugs, internet, alcohol, coffee, gambling, tobacco, interactive games, etc. The same treatment methods can be applied to the the plant's addicts as for other addictions, the % of whom is not going to be significantly higher than those for other addictions
- With legalization informed conversations can happen between parents and children highlighting the plant's uses and limits rather than the current hypocritical and vague messages from parents which only increases the curiosity of the child towards the prohibited plant
- Community development of backward communities from the taxes earned through legalization has been significant in places where the plant has been legalized
- The plant has been legal through out human history in this country except since 1984 after its inclusion in the NDPS which was based on American arm-twisting. The thousands of years of legal availability has had no adverse impact on our history, society, health and culture. Instead it may have had a significant contribution to the richness of the same
- Possibly no other plant has been looked at and studied as closely as this plant in order to find major harms associated with its usage. On the contrary the hundreds of studies have only brought to light more and more of the plant's benefits and relative harmlessness
- Politicians and lawmakers should not be telling a doctor what to give his patient and a free human being what he should consume or not consume
- Like sex and other drugs, children and youth are going to be more curious because the plant is prohibited. They are at higher risk of being manipulated and exploited by unscrupulous persons who they come in contact with when they try to procure the plant from illegal sources
- The plant has been called names like tainted, notorious, dangerous and so on because it makes a person feel high. This is the equivalent of calling barley malt, coconut and sugarcane crops names like tainted or notorious because whisky, toddy and rum which are intoxicants are made from them.
- With the plant legalized a lot of myths surrounding it such as it being a cause for mental illness, aggression, etc can be clearly investigated, the possible actual root causes for these disorders identified and patients can given the correct treatment
- Legalization of the plant could help take people out of the current epidemic of smartphone and internet addiction so that they focus more of their time on the natural world and other healthy pursuits
- Drug rehabilitation institutions that operate unscrupulously to make financial profits in the name of curing addicts target and harass users of the plant by holding them within their institutions against their will
Legal reasons
- Legalization will bring about reduction in the illegal trade of opium and its dangerous products
- The amount of money and resources spent on law and order enforcement due to criminalization can be vastly reduced
- The judicial system can be freed up from focus on the huge number of plant related cases and trials so that it can focus on many other high priority criminal cases that are stalled due to sheer volumes of cases within the system
- Currently a large number of persons are held in our prisons because of their association with the plant. Legalization can free up a huge amount of space in our prison system so that more dangerous criminals can be incarcerated.
- Legalization can help to restrict the usage of the plant by underage persons through stricter enforcement and elimination of the sources of illegal sales
- Young people can be better protected from drug peddlers who often try to use the plant as a means of hooking the youth and then selling them more costly and dangerous chemical drugs from which the profit margins for the sellers are much higher
- Funding for criminal and terrorist activities through the illegal drug business can be curbed through legal sales that is taxed and accounted
- The criminalization of the plant was done through external pressure from other countries and threats of international sanctions
- The very countries that pressurized the criminalization are now taking active steps to legalize it
- Worldwide legalization and decriminalization is growing based on increased medical information
- Drop in crime rates has been reported in places where the plant has been legalized
- Law enforcement can focus and crack down on illegal activities. Legalization can release law and order resources to address more serious crimes in society like violent crimes, theft, gun trade, crimes against women, the old and weak, etc
- Legalization will result in the reduction of usage of internet and darknet based illegal trade and purchase of all kinds of drugs, new and traditional
- With legalization age limits of 21 and above can be enforced as it currently happens with alcohol
- With legalization retailers and sellers can restrict sales for persons below 21 years as is currently done for alcohol sales
- Legalization will result in reduction in the growing number of human rights issues against consumers of the plant
- With legalization the millions of persons worldwide who have been imprisoned wrongly due to their association with the plant can be freed and their fundamental rights as individuals restored.
- In the US, marijuana possession means relinquishing arms and weapons possession licenses. So usage will indirectly bring about gun control.The same could happen worldwide
Political reasons
- Political entities supporting the plant's legalization will be looked at in the future as pioneers and reformers by the voting population
- Governments or politicians should not be dictating what a doctor thinks is right medication for a patient
- A lot of decisions that have been made by policy makers criminalizing the plant are not based on rational or logical reasons but on a large amount of misinformation.
- When the UN including the plant in its list of dangerous drugs in the 1940s and 1950s, the present level of information regarding the endocannabinoid system, the plant's constituents and the plants benefits were unknown
- Lawmakers across political parties in the US, Uruguay and Canada came together to push forward legalization of the plant because they recognized it as a genuine need and concern of a significant portion of the people in these countries
- Prohibition of the plant is more a result of draconian laws similar to homosexuality, abortion, adultery, etc. rather than laws of a modern democracy
- Legalization is an opportunity for framing of national and state level legalization policies to provide optimum synergy in plant related matters within India's federal structure
- Other countries where the plant is wrongly criminalized can follow the steps of the growing number of countries that are legalizing once they see how it is brought about and the effects of legalization
- There is huge business, recreational and healthcare potential in a vast country like India through legalization of the plant
- All countries across the world are currently using the plant for medicinal or recreational purposes clandestinely. Let us use the plant openly as it will benefit all. As mature nations there is no need to hide and use the plant
- The plant does not deserve the ill-treatment that it has been subjected to and it be freed so that it takes its rightful place among the herbs of the world.
- Places where the plant has been legalized are seeing many benefits in social, economic and legal areas without the terrible outcomes of doom that were predicted by the plant's detractors in their arguments to keep it illegal
- Big pharma, health insurance, doctors and hospitals lobby against the legalization of the plant because they fear universal affordable healthcare resulting in possible reduced profits for the medical industry
- The tobacco and alcohol industries lobby against the legalization of the plant because they fear vastly reduced profits for their industries even though this may mean improved health for all.
- Cross-border crimes between nations due to the illegal smuggling of the plant can be completely eliminated through legalization
- If the amount of concern for human health shown by governments when it comes to legalizing the plant was applied to the control of the arms and weapons industry and disarmament, the world would be a much more peaceful and less dangerous place today. There is a chance that this can still happen for our future generations if we start taking the steps now
Research reasons
- With legalization research into the plant, its characteristics, benefits and potential uses can be carried out with increased access to the plant for researchers
- With legalization research into the various strains of the plant that exist in each country can be carried out
- Legalization will make available a treasure chest of new compounds contained in the plant including hundreds of cannabinoids and terpenes. This can be used to develop vast arrays of drugs for pharmaceutical companies that address a wide range of diseases
- Legalization will result in opening up of vast areas of research based on studies of the plant's characteristics and interactions in areas such as plant and animal biology, biomaterials, psychology, physiology, neuroscience, pharmacology, social sciences, policy, law, literature, creative arts, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and so on
- Research on the industrial properties of hemp are curbed due to the restrictions on growing the plant and related research. Legalization will provide increased access to the plant
Recreational reasons
- With legalization consumers will get healthy organic produce of many local Indian varieties to try out
- With legalization there is opportunity for the lovers of the plant to taste and try out global and international strains of the plant as well that can be made accessible through international trade
- Usage of the plant results in increase in visual, olfactory and auditory perceptions for the user
- The plant has been known to be an aid for creative and innovative thinking among artists, musicians, scientists, entrepreneurs for a long time. Legalization will boost creative thinking in our society across areas
- The suppression of the plant has seen the rise of much deadlier opium based drugs, synthetic drugs, prescription drugs, alcohol and tobacco that users have been forced to consume as alternatives due to inaccessibility of the plant
- The plant is no longer a pursuit of solely the younger generation as it has been made out to be but is widely embraced by the middle aged and older populations worldwide because of the perceived benefits that these older age populations see in the plant
- With legalization the common man can have greatly increased access to the plant which can be sold in retail outlets, pharmacies, etc rather than having to interact with unscrupulous elements
- Legalization can bring about increased knowledge among users of the plant's benefits and drawbacks so that they can make proper informed decisions regarding usage of the plant and its products
- Legalization can enable consumers to know the dosage and potency of the plant's various ingredients through proper testing and labeling for plant derived products
- With legalization plant strains that are being consumed by the public will also be the same ones available to test labs so that they can test compositions of the plant and be in sync with producers and consumers
- Some people are physiologically and genetically more adapted to use the plant than others. They should not be discriminated against through third party policing tactics by persons who find the plant unsuitable for themselves.
- With legalization product quality can be greatly improved through testing by food regulation authorities
Business reasons
- With legalization plant related industries can develop including farming, food and beverages, packaging, marketing, distribution, retail, consulting, regulation bodies, testing labs, research, industries, accessories, tourism, banking and financing, data management and so on
- Job creation through legalization of the plant can be in the scale of millions of persons through the above mentioned industries
- Numerous opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors with legalization as we are witnessing in the US and Canada
- Development of the plant based industry is possible with legalization along the lines of the beer and wine industries
- Innovations in food, nutrition, beverages through the inclusion of the plant once legalized will revolutionize the food and beverage industry creating a shift in emphasis to natural and wholesome food preparation. This will result in the reduction in focus on unhealthy food and beverage practices including junk food and sugar based drinks
- Implementing of appropriate workplace related policies regarding safe usage of the plant across various industries will be possible with legalization
- Information Technology development around business processes related to the plant can be a big area for the country's IT industry with legalization
- Legalization will result in entrepreneurial opportunities for small and medium business in growing, distribution and retail areas
- Plant related tourism to our country which sees tourists from all over the world currently engaging in illegal consumption can be regularized through legalization. This tourism can be turned into a revenue generating industry rather than the money going into the pockets of criminals as it currently happens. The safety of tourists can also be better ensured.
- Some uses of hemp - fibre, fabrics, oils, biofilm resistance, car bodies, paper, building material, cosmetics, health foods, cooking oil, animal feed, fuels, carbon nanosheets, plastics, 3D printer filaments, oil absorbent materials, capacitors, etc. The list is not exhaustive
- The flavors and aromas associated with the many varieties of the plant can spawn multiple industries along the lines of wine, coffee, beer and tea.
- Industrial hemp is known to be rich in fats that boost brain and cardiovascular health, a complete protein source for vegetarians , with anti-fatigue and immune-boosting properties, packed with fiber and an excellent source of iron, magnesium and zinc
- Plant based lounges and shops can boost tourism and the food and beverage industries massively
- The cannabis industry in the US is forecast to hit $75 billion in sales by 2030, reported Bloomberg, citing a research note from financial strategy firm Cowen & Co.
- In November 2017, the Fancy Food Show’s parent, the Specialty Food Association (SPA), ranked cannabis number eight of the top-10 food trends to watch in 2018.
- Development of cultural and tourist hubs like Dutch coffee shops, Denmark's Christiania as well as Colorado
Economic reasons
- Revenue earned from the plant can be taxed to fund important government initiatives rather than money going into the pockets of the drug mafia and other criminals and the government resorting to higher taxation and borrowing
- With legalization market based pricing of the plant and its products will be possible so that all involved get a fair deal economically
- Huge revenue forecasts from the plant's sales have been projected in places where it has been legalized.
- In places with legalization, actual revenues have exceeded projections in some cases.
- Revenues have already been in excess of alcohol based revenues in some places where the plant has been legalized
- Projections of revenues from the plant to exceed aerated drinks within the next 15 years
- The consumption of the plant will bring down a person's prescription drug, alcohol and tobacco bills down significantly.
- Potential income from licensing and regulation of plant based retail sales is comparable to or potentially exceeding the alcohol industry
- Projection of 1 million jobs to be created in the US alone by 2025 through legalization
Environmental reasons
- Hemp based eco-friendly industries can develop with legalization
- Currently the pharma industry is one of the key polluters of the environment through the manufacture of pharmaceutical drugs. The burden on the environment can be greatly reduced by the addition of the plant to the pharmaceutical mix of drugs as this will bring down the amount of prescription drugs consumed
- Cleaning up of the contamination to our sewage systems and water bodies that is a result of the wide spread usage of opioids, pharmaceutical drugs and synthetic drugs can be achieved by reverting back to the eco-friendly plant. It has minimal impact on environment as compared to the former drugs which remains in the eco-system for long periods of time
- Elimination of illegal grow areas of the plant in eco-sensitive zones like forests and wildlife parks will be possible as farmers are able to legally cultivate in the open
- Illegal growth is uncontrolled and the use of petrochemical fertilizers and pesticides pose danger to man, animals and the environment. Legalization will enable more sustainable and eco-friendly growing practices
- Petrochemical industries that pushed for the prohibition of cannabis have created petrochemical based plastics instead of biodegradable cannabis based plastics. Petrochemical based plastics are now one of the world's leading forms of pollution.
- Hemp based paper was phased out to provide the way for wood based paper. Hemp can be cultivated as a crop and hence is a renewable source of energy. Instead of using it for paper we used trees that took hundreds of years to grow for paper based industries
- On an acre of land, industrial hemp crop will generate 2 to 3 times more fibre than a crop of cotton. Hemp fibre is stronger and softer as compared to cotton and will last much longer. Cotton requires a moderate climate and lots of water to grow, on the other hand, hemp can even endure frost and would flourish with only moderate amounts of water. Moreover, the hemp crop needs no pesticides or herbicides, it can sustain well with a moderate amount of fertilizer
- Indigenous communities the world over have been harassed and discriminated against for their cultivation and usage of the plant which they have been doing for thousands of years.This is due to the misinformation and bias of the so-called developed world. Legalization will provide sustainable livelihood for these communities
- Cultivation of natural varieties with stable compositions of constituents can be promoted with legalization and the artificial and sometimes unhealthy practice of raising some constituent proportions over others can be controlled with legalization
- Cannabis contains monoterpenes and can also act as a larvicide against mosquito and other insect larvae
Let's please decriminalize and legalize the plant at the earliest. For the ones who don't care about the plant it does not matter but for the ones who do it does.
Related articles
Marijuana legalization - Will Bengaluru be the second Indian city to legalize?
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2017/10/marijuana-legalization.html
Thoughts on draft legal marijuana policy
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2017/10/thoughts-on-draft-legal-marijuana-policy.html
Ganja Economics for India
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2017/10/ganja-economics-for-india.html
Recreation is Medicine
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2017/12/recreation-is-medicine.html
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Cannabis and the Environment
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-and-environment.html
Cannabis as Medicine
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-as-medicine.html
Cannabis for Recreational Purposes
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-for-recreational-purposes.html
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https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-and-research.html
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https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-business-of-cannabis.html
The Economics of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-economics-of-cannabis.html
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https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-legality-of-cannabis.html
The Politics of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-politics-of-cannabis.html
The Social Usage of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-social-usage-of-cannabis.html
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