Morris Loeffler
Felicia Dziadek
Composition 1302
December, 3, 2010
A Look Inside Legalization
Would you consider Justin Timberlake, Al Gore, Louis Armstrong, Steven King,
Oliver Stone, Michael Bloomberg or even our United States President criminals? Each
are public figures for a variety of different reasons but all have acknowledged smoking
Marijuana. In the face of the United States Federal government all of these individuals
should be classified criminals as a result of the Controlled Substance Act. Abraham
Lincoln stated on December 18th 1840 that prohibition “goes beyond the bounds of
reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out
of things that are not crimes.” A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon
which our government was founded.” In today’s society, this statement still applies in
reference to the illegal use of marijuana. Unless a shift in the United State’s current
paradigm takes place, the near destitute country will never be able to witness the
exponential gains from the Medicinal, Industrial, and Recreational use of Marijuana.
Under federal law, cannabis is treated like every other controlled substance, such
as heroin and cocaine. It is illegal to possess, use, buy sell, or cultivate the substance. The
Controlled Substance Act classifies cannabis as a Schedule I drug and defines it as highly
addictive and having no medical value. Surprisingly national prohibition has not been
around for a very long time, it wasn’t until 1937 that the Marihuana Tax Act was passed.
The law, as explained by David Musto in his essay, “was largely the federal
government’s response to political pressure and other alarmed groups who feared the use
and spread of marihuana by ‘Mexicans’.” The Act called for a three step process, as
follows: a requirement that all manufacturers, importers, dealers, and practitioners
register and pay a special occupational tax; a requirement that all transactions be
accomplished through use of written order forms; and the imposition of a tax on all
transfers in the amount of $1 per ounce for transfer to registered persons and a prohibitive
$100 per ounce for transfers to unregistered persons (Drug Library, 3). Shortly after the
Act went to effect on October 1, 1937, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Denver City
police first arrested Moses Baca for possession and Sam Caldwell for dealing. Baca and
Caldwell’s arrest made them the first marijuana convictions under U.S. federal law for
not paying the marijuana tax (Uncle Mike 4). From the mid-fifties to the mid-sixties,
federal activity in marijuana and narcotic law enforcement was relatively stable, the
number of offenders apprehended and convicted in both areas remained constant
(DrugLibrary). However, in the early and mid-sixties a new phenomenon was occurring,
drug abuse began to spread. It no longer confined itself to the ghettos and certain
socioeconomic and ethnic groups; the new users were the sons and daughters of the
middle class. It began striking home at the average American and became a national,
major issue of concern (Rosevar 40). Congress initially acted by passage of the Drug
Abuse Control Amendments of 1965. This legislation established a Bureau of Drug
Abuse Control within the Food and Drug Administration and created criminal,
misdemeanor penalties for the illegal manufacture and sale of depressant and stimulant
drugs and hallucinogens, cannabis included. The dramatic increase in the use of
marijuana during the latter 1960’s was a matter of high public visibility. In response,
President Johnson offered Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1668. This reorganization placed
the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and the Bureau of Drug Abuse Control in the
Department of Justice and designated it the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.
With all this said, concrete, scientific evidence supporting the medical value exists. A
total of fourteen states have enacted laws legalizing the medical usage of marijuana, for
illnesses ranging from cancer to glaucoma. But the bottom line still persists, the federal
government refuses to budge on its strict laws completely criminalizing everything that is
associated with marijuana.
The medicinal use of Marijuana will benefit public society. Among these
medical uses include its uses in the relief of chronic pain. Marijuana is the leading cash
crop in the US and a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. This
designation means it has a lot of potential for abuse, and no medicinal value. Yet,
Marinol, a medication approved by the FDA, is classified as a Schedule III drug. Marinol
contains a synthetic version of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. As a Schedule III
drug, Marinol is regarded as medicinal, with less potential for abuse. The FDA approved
Marinol to help stimulate the appetite in people with AIDS and to treat nausea due to
chemotherapy.
“Of all the negative consequences of Marijuana prohibition, none is as tragic as
the denial of medical cannabis to the tens of thousands of patients who could benefit from
its therapeutic use.”(National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws)
According to the Americans for Safe Access Foundation, a pro medical marijuana
advocacy group in Oakland, California, the natural form of this drug contains many more
cannabinoids (in addition to the THC) than synthetic Marinol, and consequently delivers
more therapeutic benefits.
Modern research suggests that cannabis is a valuable aid in the treatment of a wide
range of clinical applications. These include pain relief, particularly neuropathic pain and
movement disorders. Marijuana is also a powerful appetite stimulant, specifically for
those suffering from HIV, the AIDS wasting syndrome. Emerging research suggests that
marijuana medical properties may protect the body against some types of malignant
tumors.
Another way Marijuana can be used, is as a treatment of Glaucoma. “Glaucoma
increases pressure in the eyeball, which can lead to vision loss. Smoking marijuana
reduces pressure in the eyes. Your doctor can prescribe other medications to treat
glaucoma, but these can lose their effectiveness over time.”(Cicetti, Par 6) Marijuana has
proved to be consistent in its use with eye relief. The evidence is their and “Researchers
are trying to develop new medications based on cannabis to treat pain. THC may work as
well in treating cancer pain as codeine. A recent study found that cannabinoids
significantly reduced pain in people with multiple sclerosis, a disease of the nervous
system”(Cicetti, Par 7) If science is beginning to take steps towards the utilization of a
valuable cash crop than why can’t the United States government come to the conclusion
that maybe this so called “drug” is not so bad after all.
The Laws regarding Marijuana vary across the Nation. Texas for example has a
very low tolerance for the drug when places such as California or New York have a more
lenient approach. “Since 1973, 13 state legislatures..Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New york, North Carolina, Ohio, and
Oregon--have enacted versions of Marijuana decriminalization.”(NORML, Laws) The
legislations regarding Marijuana in Texas are very similar to the Federal Governments
Controlled Substance Act. Places like Los Angeles, California or New York demonstrate
potential value with California having a tax rate of 105,400,000, and New York having a
tax rate of 65,500,000. Enforcing Marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers an estimated 10
Billion annually and results in the unrest of more than 829,000 individuals per year. For
more than the total number of arrestees for violent crimes combined, inclining murder,
rape, robbery, and assault. Since 1990, nearly 5.9 million Americans have been arrested
on marijuana charges, a greater number than the satire populations of Alaska, Delaware,
D.C., Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming combined. The
drug policy is a tremendous waste of national and state criminal justice. In addition, it
invites the government unnecessarily into areas of our private lives, and needlessly
damages the lives and careers of hundreds of thousands of otherwise law-abiding
citizens. In 2009, 858,408 people were arrested for Marijuana, and 594,911 people were
arrested for violent crimes. Within the current perspective on the matter 1 person is
arrested every 38 seconds In the United States.
Among the positives that will result from legalizing marijuana will be the
regulation of it. In current society products such as alcohol or cigarettes are known health
hazards, however are still moderately distributed among the community. By legalizing
marijuana than it too can be safely regulated, in order to avoid individuals such as teens
and college students from smoking in heavy amounts. Democrat Tom Ammiano from the
California State Assembly's 13th district, introduced the Marijuana Control, Regulation
and Education Act.The Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act, also known
as California Assembly Bill 390 and later Assembly Bill 2254, is the first bill ever
introduced to regulate the sale and use of marijuana in the U.S. State of California. If
passed and signed into law, marijuana would be sold and taxed openly to adults age 21
and older in California.Recent polls say 56% of Californians favor taxing and regulating
marijuana. If passed, Proposition 19 would not only raise volumes of much needed cash
for California, but would virtually eliminate marijuana grown illegally by illegal aliens
and others on public lands, which would remove the threat of hikers, hunters, fishermen
and others walking into illegal grow operations and quite possibly booby traps setup by
illegal growers”.
The United States currently regulates drugs such as Cigarettes and Alcohol an
article from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws states that
“around 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning. More than 400,000 deaths
each year are attributed to tobacco smoking. By comparison, Marijuana is non toxic and
can’t cause death by overdose.” According to the prestigious European medical journal,
The Lancet “The smoking of cannabis, even long-term, is not harmful to health...It would
be reasonable to judge cannabis as less of a throat...than alcohol or tobacco” The
scientific research suggest that the drugs the United States chooses to regulate are more
detrimental to our health than the drug that the Federal Government is trying to keep US
away from.
In previous reading you found that the numbers associated with Marijuana busts in
the United States today are very high and with these numbers in consideration you can
guess that without all of these busts taking place and installing a regulation system the
United States can see a very profitable future. Potential Tax revenue calculated amongst
the fifty states resulted in the number 778,200,000 but instead the United States
governments Failed war on drug efforts drown out about 15 Billion dollars a year.
Unless a shift in the United State’s current paradigm takes place, the United States
will lose the capability in witnessing the gains it can receive from the Medicinal,
Industrial, and Recreational use of Marijuana. In an overall sense if marijuana was to be
legalized than it will benefit public society. The United States currently is experiencing
economic distress, and by legalizing marijuana it will benefit the countries economy. By
using marijuana as a medical product it will improve Health Care which will positively
influence the economy. If Marijuana was to be used as an industrial product than it will
benefit the economy as well. With the legalization of marijuana profits will be made and
the living style of society will be improved.