FREE ESSAY ON LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA

LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA

Legalization 
Legalization of marijuana has been a controversial issue in the U.S. for 
the past several years. The people vs. the federal government is just one of 
the main debates over legalization. 
In the past marijuana was required to be grown on most plantations in 
the southern region. It could be purchased in one ounce packages for only 
twenty five cents. Further down the time line we find that marijuana is 
increasingly being used in the inner cities and suburban areas. Marijuana was 
considers legal in the late 1800's but a bill was passed and marijuana was 
quickly considered to be illegal. The federal legislation prohibiting marijuana 
passed at the end of 1937 congressional session was virtually scare enacted. 
people feared the effects of it and wanted to stop the growth and importation 
of it. Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act, which requires all persons 
who import, manufacture, produce, compound, sell, deal in, and dispense pay 
a graduated occupational tax. This tax was an attempt to make it harder for 
dealers of marijuana to make money off the export and import of marijuana. 
Attempts that he government has made to pass bills that decriminalize 
marijuana were shot down by legislature and the federal government. A 
survey taken says that although illegality should be maintained, the penalties 
for it should be lessened. There is a theory that marijuana stimulates 
violence, yet it has not been proven as a fact. In several states, such as New 
Jersey, the marijuana regulations and penalties have been lessened. Governor 
Cahill, from New Jersey, recommended that criminal penalties for a small 
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possession of marijuana should be reduced by making it a disorderly person 
offense. 
Dr. Tod Mikuriya, from the Indian Hemp drug commission, 
proposed a list of regulations for the control of marijuana if it were to become 
legal. It stated that possession without intent to sell shall not be considered 
to be a crime, all growers importers shall be regulated and watched over like 
a typical industry, public places where marijuana is sold for on premises use 
shall be licensed like any alcohol serving bar, and determination of the THC 
potency and purity shall be regulated by the U.S. Drug and Food 
Administration. 
Attempts to legalize have also been made by presidential issued 
commissions. A commission issued by president Nixon researched marijuana 
and reached a conclusion that it would be okay to decriminalize marijuana. 
This, was of course, quickly shot down by the president and the congress. 
Jimmy Carter, another president of the United States, also wanted to legals 
marijuana. 
In the present day there are groups such as, NORML (National 
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) , that issue petitions and 
bills to the DEA and federal government that try to persuade the legalization 
of marijuana. NORML compared marijuana to alcohol and reached a 
conclusion that alcohol is more lethal than marijuana. Their studies have 
shown that prolonged use of marijuana causes lack of ingenuity severe 
bronchitis, and it lessens reaction speed. Alcohol has been named for 
hundreds of thousands of death in the United States. It causes liver disease, a 
severe mental and physical dependance, and depression. Marijuana is only 
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psychologically addictive and use of it can be stopped easier than alcohol 
abuse. Also no deaths have ever been recorded that were accused by the use 
of marijuana. 
Marijuana is considered to be a Scheduled I controlled substance. that 
means that it is considered to be a drug that can be easily abused. NORML 
has made attempts to get the DEA to reschedule marijuana, but they were 
rejected. If the opinions of major contributors to the illegal view of marijuana 
could be changed, marijuana might be legalized. Too many studies and too 
many federal officials tell us that it is wrong for our country to condone a so 
called life threatening drug. Legalization of marijuana could bring extra 
income to the country and also help in the decline of alcohol abusers. If 
legalization was to happen the united states would only prosper. 
Reefer Madness Atlantic Monthly; August 1994. 
Eric Schlosses; p. 45-63 
Marijuana Crime and Delinquency Literature; June 1970. 
Linda Whitlock; p.363-382 
Pot Law Experience The Washington Star; May 6, 1975 
Lee Johnson; p.A1-A10 
Marijuana Alert Peggy Man Copyright: 1985 
p.261, 101, 444 
International Drug Traffic Edward F. Dolan, Jr. Copyright 1985 
p. 85-86