The medicinal potential of weed has been utilized for thousands of years by many cultures; there is evidence dating back to 2727 B.C. showing the use of cannabis for medicine in China.

So why now is marijuana illegal? Why are thousands of people being arrested and convicted each year for enjoying a little reefer?

PBS Online said that the immigration of Mexicans into America around the 1900-1920s and their introduction of the recreational use of pot into the American culture was a large cause for the negativity surrounding marijuana. PBS Online claims that negative connotations associated with the Mexicans became synonymous with marijuana.

"The drug became associated with the immigrants, and the fear and prejudice about the Spanish-speaking newcomers became associated with marijuana. Anti-drug campaigners warned against the encroaching "Marijuana Menace," and terrible crimes were attributed to marijuana and the Mexicans who used it," the PBS marijuana timeline explained.

Nowadays, we learn about social acceptance and how not to be prejudiced.

Why is marijuana still politically dangerous? Because it is a dangerous drug?

There has never been a recorded death from an overdose of marijuana. It is virtually impossible to overdose on marijuana. There have been deaths recorded while people were high on marijuana, but an overdose has never been known.

It still remains illegal. Hemp was a main crop in the United States up until it became illegal in the 1900s.

According to The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation, the U.S. government handed out "400,000 pounds of cannabis seeds to American farmers in 1942 to aid the war effort." This shows the tremendous part hemp can play in the economy. Hemp is used for a wide array of things: textiles, medicine, food and recreation being the main uses.

Marijuana didn't become federally illegal in America until the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, although from 1915-1927 several states prohibited the non-medical use of marijuana.

Nowadays, marijuana is used for recreation than more medicinal use. Pot is the second most abused recreational drug behind alcohol, according to concept420.com.

Washington has some of the most marijuana-friendly laws in the country, behind California. There is a mandatory one-day to one-year jail sentence, and a $1,000 fine for possession charges under forty grams. The court also will sentence drug assessment and rehabilitation for the defendant. Anything over 40 grams is a federal offense, with much stiffer consequences.

Medical marijuana patients in Washington are allowed to possess a "presumptive sixty-day supply" according to the Washington State medical marijuana law. More specifically, a sixty-day supply equals fifteen plants and/or twenty-four ounces. Doctors are not allowed to give prescriptions for marijuana; they can only recommend that using marijuana for medical purposes. Patients are really supposed to grow their own medicine; buying and selling of marijuana is still illegal.

When a patient is arrested, and their medicine is confiscated; the patient must be able to prove that they have a need for the medical marijuana. This usually falls onto the doctor in the form of a letter or detailed report telling the doctor's agreement in the patient's legitimate medical need of marijuana. They have to show they have a need for the amount they possessed as well.

The The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation website said the following conditions qualify for medical marijuana: "Chronic pain, chronic nausea, AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, hepatitis, chronic muscle spasms and other spastic disorders such as multiple sclerosis, seizure disorders, such as epilepsy, gastrointestinal disorders, such as IBS, Crohn's disease and the inability to eat, or patients who have medical treatments for other conditions that cause one of these conditions."

The wide spectrum of diseases leaves room for abuse of medical marijuana laws. This means that a large amount of the burden is on the doctor who grants the medical marijuana recommendations to patients.

There are medical marijuana clinics in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation says they have helped over 30,000 patients obtain their medical marijuana license, and they can help you.

President Obama has recently made a small stand for medical marijuana patients. According to an article in the L.A. Times, Obama "has no plans to prosecute dispensary owners who operated within their state's law." These statements mean medical marijuana patients can medicate easier without fear of being reprimanded by law enforcement.

For non-medical uses, the legalization of marijuana is coming further each year. At the beginning of this month, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called for a consideration of marijuana legalization. The Sacramento Bee reports the governor's reply to a marijuana question during a fire safety event in Davis, CA: "Well, I think it's not time for [legalization], but I think it's time for a debate. I think all of those ideas of creating extra revenues; I'm always for an open debate on it. And I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs, what effect did it have on those countries?"

Some countries with decriminalized marijuana laws include Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, India, Iran, Republic of Macedonia, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela. This means that the private consumption is not illegal, but sale and growth may be.

In Iran the production of hemp is legal as long as it is for food purposes and consumed by the Iranian people. Enforcement of private consumption of marijuana in Iran is loosely enforced.

In the U.S., cannabis is a schedule I drug. The Drug Enforcement Agency describes schedule I drugs as "classified as having a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision." The vagueness of medical marijuana laws are what makes them so controversial.

Britain has moved cannabis from a Class A drug to a Class C drug. This removes the threat of arrest and conviction for possession, although consequences for distribution are not relaxed.

Times for marijuana are changing, and although it is still illegal in most senses, acceptance of usage is more common. Nonchalance usually prevails over the topic of weed, and officers are usually more lenient for catching you the first time with small amounts or paraphernalia.

Mike Smalls, an EvCC student, said, "I'm all for the legal medicinal use of marijuana. I have a close friend that uses legally for physical reasons and it doesn't bother me. And I think [marijuana] is okay under certain circumstances."

An EvCC student who is a medical marijuana cardholder, and certified patient of a THCF clinic stated, "Walking everyday is a struggle. Using the right amount of marijuana helps me be able to withstand the pain during everyday life. Yeah, I don't get blazed out of my mind, but I do use enough to help with my condition. I'm not in it for the high, or euphoric effect that recreational users use it for. Some people do have substance abuse problems, but in other ways it's not the case. Marijuana is a medicine, and it helps thousands of sick and dying people every day."

The bottom line is marijuana is slowly moving towards more acceptance, both publicly and politically, after being shunned for so many years.