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Christian Orozco
Jamie Buehler
English 100
11/25/12
The Legalization, Regulation, and Taxation of Marijuana
In the year 1919 alcohol was made illegal in the United States by the Eighteenth
Amendment to the Constitution. This period in our nation’s history is what we know as
prohibition. Various political groups such as the Women’s Christian Temperance Movement, the
Anti-Saloon League and the Prohibition Party pushed for the ban on alcohol citing domestic
violence and corruption as effects of alcohol. However, in the years immediately following the
ratification of the amendment, a great majority of people went to various lengths to obtain
alcohol. Some people obtained alcohol through smuggling operations, some through legal
medical prescriptions, and many even made their own. As a result of the ban, crime surged
through the country as organized syndicates and even regular people illegally made, transported
and sold liquor. The Federal Government made criminals out of people who, had they been
buying alcohol only months prior, would have been in line with the law. Today, the prohibition
of marijuana is causing many of the same problems that the prohibition of alcohol caused. The
only difference is that the prohibition of alcohol lasted fourteen years. Prohibition of alcohol
was repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment to the Constitution in 1933, whereas the
prohibition of marijuana has lasted over seventy years. I argue that although people believe
marijuana to have no positive use, in actuality the effects of marijuana have been drastically
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exaggerated. Therefore, marijuana should be legalized, taxed, and regulated for sale to adults
over the age of twenty-one, just like alcohol.
To understand why marijuana should be legalized, it is important to understand why it
was made illegal in the first place. The nationwide panic and misinformation about marijuana in
the 1930’s can be largely attributed to one man by the name of Harry J. Anslinger. Anslinger
served as the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics from 1930-1962. During his
time as commissioner he led an anti-marijuana campaign that used media to spread ridiculous
exaggerations about the effects of marijuana. A quote from Anslinger:
"There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics,
Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana
usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes,
entertainers and any others."
As we very well know today, these accusations are completely false and by today’s
standards are extremely racist. For a man in a government position of power to talk this way
obviously speaks volumes about how much has changed in the last 80 years. At the time, people
were inclined to believe whatever Anslinger said because he was in a position of power and
many people had never been around someone who was using marijuana. Throughout his
campaign, Anslinger used scare tactics to paint an evil picture of marijuana and the public
bought into it.
In 1937 Anslinger drafted the Marijuana Tax Act. This act required that marijuana sold
or bought needed to have a stamp to verify that the tax was paid towards the government. The
tax was very cheap but the penalties for not paying the tax were harsh: $2000 and/or five years in
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prison. The wording behind the law also allows for the police to prosecute you if you attempt to
buy the stamp because you are in possession of marijuana without a stamp. It is speculated that
this tax law was used as an indirect way to prosecute marijuana users, sellers, producers, and
anybody involved with handling marijuana. It is also widely believed that the motive behind
Anslinger’s campaign was the special interests of the cotton and wood industry. In the early 1930
hemp was poised to become the new cash crop and was threatening the cotton and wood
industry. Hemp is another term for marijuana, but it is marijuana that is used for commercial
purposes such as textiles, construction, clothing, and bio-degradable plastics. Hemp is one of the
most useful crops ever to be cultivated. The uses for hemp and marijuana range from plastics to
medicine.
One uses of marijuana that is becoming more acceptable on a state level is marijuana for
medical uses. According to a study done by Wendy Chapkis, dozens of chronically ill patients
suffering from nausea, depression, glaucoma, were interviewed and it was found that all the
patients using marijuana that she spoke to found relieve in using the plant. Currently marijuana is
a Schedule 1 controlled substance by the federal government. This means that it is classified as
having a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. We can see how the federal
government’s perspective of marijuana is distorted from the truth. Patients who are in pain and
are suffering from loss of appetite are absolutely helped by medical marijuana. Testimony, alone,
from patients should be enough to at least reschedule marijuana. However, the DEA continues to
raid medical marijuana dispensaries and arrest the owners and operators, leaving patients without
their medicine of choice. Some people might argue that even though marijuana provides
temporary relief, the risk of cancer is increased. Studies have shown, however, that a person who
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smokes marijuana actually has a far less risk of developing cancer than someone who smokes
cigarettes, which are completely legal. (Blum 2008)
During the prohibition of alcohol, arrests for drunkenness increased in major cities
around the US. For example: in Los Angles and New York alcohol related arrests went from
3,357 and 5,936 in 1920, to 11,290 and 12,917 in 1925. What we can discern from this
information is that even though a substance is made illegal, people who want it will find a way to
obtain it. However, when you have organized criminals making money off selling that substance
that was once legal, money is put into the wrong hands. This only leads to more crime being
committed and people being put in jail with murderers and serial criminals for wanting a drink.
Similarly today, yearly marijuana arrests from 2006 to 2011 have consistently totaled over
750,000. As before, someone arrested for possession of a small amount of marijuana would be
put in the same jails and prisons with hardened and violent criminals. Blumenson and Nilson also
argue that current laws give unfair punishment for those who are simply in possession of
marijuana, which is a non-violent crime. Imagine how many more violent offenders could be
caught if the police suddenly had to worry about 750,000 less people. There would also be more
room in prisons for violent offenders. According to the 2010 Census, the total number of adults
in under correctional supervision (prison, jail, parole, probation) in the U.S. was over seven
million in 2009, with the number increasing every year before then. If marijuana offenses were
longer an issue, money and space would be used on real criminals.
Economically speaking, it is projected that if marijuana were legalized and taxed it would
create a substantial amount of revenue. The money collected from the tax could then be used on
education reform. This would also keep money out of the hands of drug dealers and cartels south
of the border. With the current system in place the U.S. is losing possible revenue to people who
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also sell harder drugs and commit violent crimes. In Colorado alone revenue and savings are
estimated to total $60 million dollars within the first year and 100 million after five years. If
marijuana were legalized on a federal level, the revenue could be in the billions.
In short, we have seen how prohibition of alcohol did not work and how we fixed our
mistake. However, the time has come to realize that the prohibition of marijuana has not been a
success and in order to create control over the sale of marijuana it must be legalized, regulated,
and taxed.
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Works Cited
Amentano, Paul. “Marijuana Arrests Decline in 2011 But Still Total Half Of All Illicit Drug
Violations” Norml Oct.2012 20 Nov. 2012 http://blog.norml.org/2012/10/29/marijuanaarrests-decline-in-2011-but-still-total-half-of-all-illicit-drug-violations/
Blumenson, Eric, and Eva Nilsen. "Liberty Lost: The Moral Case For Marijuana Law Reform."
Indiana Law Journal 85.1 (2010): 279-299. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Nov.
2012.
Chapkis, Wendy. "Cannabis, Consciousness, And Healing." Contemporary Justice Review 10.4
(2007): 443-460. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.
Kenneth Blum, et al. "Hypothesizing That Marijuana Smokers Are At A Significantly Lower
Risk Of Carcinogenicity Relative To Tobacco-Non-Marijuana Smokers: Evidenced
Based On Statistical Reevaluation Of Current Literature." Journal Of Psychoactive Drugs
40.3 (2008): 263-272. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.
Ingold, John. “Potential Revenue Boost From Legal Marijuana Hard To Call” The Durango
Herald Oct.2012 21 Nov. 2012 http://durangoherald.com/article/20121028
/NEWS02/121029530/ Potential-revenue-boost-from-legal-marijuana-hard-to-call—
“Prisoners Under Jurisdiction of Federal or State Correctional Authorities”
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0348.pdf
Schaffer, Cliff. “ Did Alcohol Related Arrests Decline during Prohibition?” Schaffer Library of
Drug Policy 20 Nov. 2012 http://druglibrary.org/prohibitionresults2.htm