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"I tried everything else known to man, and none of it works. [Nausea] is what kills people when they 're fighting chemo because you can 7 hold anything down... Without [medical marijuana] I would be dead, no doubt. I've had numerous doctors tell me that. "
- Ray Jennings, throat cancer survivor1
Introduction
Marijuana is a plant that has been on earth and used by humans for at least five millennia.2 The first recorded use of marijuana was 2727 B.C.3 Thus, marijuana is not new. Only the hysteria surrounding the plant is new. Even America's history of pot is muddled. Marijuana has not always been illegal in the United States. In fact, marijuana was legal for the majority of U.S. history to date.4 Marijuana and hemp (same species) were vital crops for the American colonies.5 George Washington grew hemp at Mount Vernon.6 Jamestown settlers used marijuana.7 Early American medical journals described many uses for marijuana.8 In 1850, Marijuana was listed in the Pharmacopoeia, which was a widely regarded reference and authority for medicinal drugs, as a treatment for numerous ailments, including: cholera, rabies, dysentery, tonsillitis, and menstrual bleeding.9 In essence, marijuana was a poor man's pain reliever.10 The American Medical Association fought for marijuana's use in medicine.11 Pharmaceutical giants such as Eli Lilly, and Squibb of Bristol-Myers-Squibb sold marijuana.12
Today, marijuana is the most widely used psychoactive drug in the United States.13 Marijuana is as readily available as alcohol and is more abundant now than prior to Nixon's War on Drugs.14 Public sentiment favors marijuana. According to a 2017 Gallup poll, forty-five (45) percent of all Americans have tried marijuana.15 A clear majority of all Americans support legal marijuana usage.16 According to a 2018 AARP survey, eighty percent of older Americans support medical marijuana usage.17 Three out of every four American physicians support medical marijuana.18 Famously, a sitting New York judge used medical marijuana to alleviate his pain.19
In this article, we will discuss the history of marijuana in America. We will then examine the recent trend of marijuana legalization. Next, we will examine Oklahoma's State Question 788 for what it includes and what it does not. Then we will report on the outcome of Oklahoma's election. To conclude, we will describe several cloudy issues...