The Various Purposes of MarijuanaThroughout history, marijuana has been used for a variety of purposes in many different cultures. The purposes have evolved over time to adapt to current lifestyles. This pattern is also true in American history. Marijuana use adapted to the social climate of the time. Marijuana, whose scientific name is cannibis sativa, was mentioned in historical manuscripts as early as 2700 BC in China. (Grolier electronic encyclopedia, 1995). Cultivation of the marijuana plant began as early as the settlers of Jamestown, around 1611, who used the hemp produced from the fibers of the marijuana plant to make rope and canvas. It was also used in making clothing due to its durability. These uses fit into the social climate of the time, as the emphasis was on survival rather than psychoactive purposes. During Prohibition, marijuana was widely consumed due to the scarcity of alcohol. Prohibition was repealed after only thirteen years, while marijuana prohibition lasted for over seventy-five years. This double standard may be the result of the will of those in power. Alcohol prohibition directly hit tens of millions of Americans of all ages, including many of the most powerful members of society. Marijuana prohibition threatened far fewer Americans, and they had relatively little influence in power quarters. Only marijuana prohibition, which some sixty million Americans have violated since 1965, comes close to matching the experience of prohibition, but marijuana smokers are mostly young and relatively impotent Americans (American Heritage, p 47). The prohibition of alcohol was repealed and that of marijuana was maintained, not because scientists had proven that alcohol was the least dangerous of the various psychoactive drugs, but because of the prejudices and preferences of most Americans (American Heritage, p. 47). In 1937, the government issued the Marijuana Tax Act, which levied a $1 per ounce tax on marijuana, coupled with $2,000 fines for drug possession and prison sentences for tax evasion. For this reason, marijuana use in the United States appears to have declined in the late 1930s (Grolier Wellness Encyclopedia, p. 54). Then marijuana was banned in 1937 as a crackdown on Mexican workers crossing the border to look for work during the Great Depression. The specific reason given for banning the hemp plant was its alleged "violent effect on degenerate races" (Schaffer, p...