Since the 1970s, the "War on Drugs" has dramatically changed the way Americans have perceived the usage of illicit recreational drugs as severely detrimental to the health and safety of the citizenry. Marijuana is perhaps the most controversial narcotic, for the implications of its usage are highly debatable.
Opponents of marijuana usage believe that marijuana is gateway drug that leads to the abuse of more dangerous narcotics such as heroine and cocaine. In response, proponents of marijuana decriminalization have been waging a propaganda war of their own via the Internet where the waves are unhindered by government regulation to debunk the myths surrounding marijuana. They contest that marijuana is not an addictive gateway drug, and that the beneficial effects of marijuana outweigh its harms.
They argue that legal controlled substances, such as tobacco and alcohol, are far more harmful. Tobacco and alcohol abuse is some of the leading causes of deaths among Americans, yet there has been no recorded death to date caused by marijuana abuse. The cloud of myth and deceptive anti-drug propaganda has mislead many Americans into believing that marijuana is a drug, the usage of which leads to other narcotics such as heroine and cocaine. (Sep 5, 2002)
Before the rise in popularity of hip-hop marijuana has gripped the imagination of the American populace as part of a subversive youth subculture. Rock and roll during the sixties and seventies advocated marijuana usage.
Those years of turbulence and aggression from the left and liberal made marijuana the drug of choice among the independent and free-spirited. Many believed that marijuana opened the spirit and freed the individual from the tyranny of social and political life regimented by an authoritarian government that sought to suppress freedom, individuality, and independence. During the 1960s and 1970s the United States wavered in their........
