Historical records indicate that marijuana was used as legal tender in several spots in America since it was a valuable and rare economic resource. Before 1937, it was legal to distribute marijuana for non-medical reasons (Holland 142). After this date, the marijuana Tax Act was put in place.
The new law prohibited marijuana distribution. By the beginning of 1951, a minimum sentence for illegal distribution of marijuana was established by the Boggs Act (Fatout 345). This law has remained in force until this date. Besides, the Operation Intercept was implemented by President Richard Nixon as an anti- drug policy in 1969 (Baum 124).
Since the hemp plant was completely legal, even the United States’ Presidents like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington grew it in their own farms. According to other personalities like Stephen King, “marijuana should not only be legal…it should be a cottage industry” (Stoned 187). This essay explores the controversies surrounding the legalization of marijuana.
Although marijuana was widely accepted by several governments and individuals, it should be noted that most of it was used to manufacture clothing materials (Holland 64). Besides, quite a large volume of the harvests were turned into medical uses. According to the new set of legislation, it was considered illegal to be found in possession of 25 grams of marijuana.
If arrested, the offender could be fined from as low as one hundred to 250 dollars (Fatout 164). The option of being jailed for a specific period was also provided depending on the severity of the offense. Jimmy Carter once noted that “I now have absolute proof that smoking even one marijuana cigarette is equal in brain damage to being on Bikini Island during an H-bomb blast” (Holland 135).
In 1988, marijuana was declared as one of the safest natural herbs by Francis Young (Baum 89). He was the DEA judge in Washington He noted that marijuana could be used as a therapeutic substance especially in its natural form. Since then, the laws governing the control of marijuana and its consumption have been tightened to make it cumbersome for users to use and distribute it freely (Baum 173).
On the same note, there are several agencies and nongovernmental organizations that have been set up to ensure that the prohibition of marijuana remains in force. For instance, DEA is one of the agencies that have been on the forefront against any attempts to legalize marijuana (Stoned 132).
The DEA agency has always refuted any attempts to legalize marijuana (Baum 182). In 1994, an anti-legalization forum was held in Virginia for two consecutive days. Te forum brought together representatives from both the private and public sector. Some of the dominant issues that were discussed in the forum included the following:
- Who will cater for the medical expenses incurred in rehabilitation of the drug addicts?
- Who will give backing to the habit of the addicts?
- Who will cater for the costs of legalizing marijuana such as the criminal and social burdens? (Baum 375)
It was also noted that the proponents of legalization of marijuana were making use of the print and audio-visual media in order to pass their ideas across. The same chance was seemingly being denied those against legalization.
The voters in California managed to pass Proposition 215 in 1996. This new proposal made it legal to possess certain minimum amounts of marijuana although the federal government has never supported these legislations (Baum 340).
In 2007, the attempt to legalize marijuana was downplayed by the entry of Gordon Brown who took over as the prime minister of Britain after the exit of Tony Blair. Gordon mentioned his intention to classify marijuana into category B (Fatout 174).
Proponents of legalization have been positing over the years that the drug should be legalized since it is not addictive like those that are processed. Proponents who advocate for legalization observe that even the past generation made use of marijuana in a safe and healthy way.
Mark Twain once noted that “what I contend is that my body is my own, at least I have always so regarded it. If I do harm through my experimenting with it, it is I who suffers, not the state” (Fatout 386). As a result, advocates of legalization of marijuana used this quote several times to convince the state authorities that it was upon the users of marijuana to decide whether to smoke it or not because the state wouldn’t go at any loss.
Credentials of authors
Baum has written several books such as the Citizen Coors: An American Dynasty (Morrow/HarperCollins, 2000) and Smoke and Mirrors: The War on Drugs and the Politics of Failure (Little, Brown 1996). He has also written for the New York magazine as a staff writer.
Fatout has been an English tutor at Purdue University. Some of his productions include Mark Twain’s First Lecture: A Parallel (His Miscellanea), and Mr. Lincoln Goes to Washington. He died in 1982 and Mark Twain in Virginia City, Mark Twain on the Lecture Circuit, Meadow Lake: Gold Town.
Holland has been a specialist in psychopharmacology for long and also a teaching professor in the field of psychology. She has written several literary works in this field.
When anti marijuana legislation was enacted, some sections of the political class were vehemently opposed to the idea (Holland 76). For instance, Dan Quayle who was a US representative pointed out that the “congress should definitely consider decriminalizing possession of marijuana…We should concentrate on prosecuting the rapists and burglars who are a menace to society” (Baum 356).
The latter was similar to a sentiment that was echoed by Abraham Lincoln on the illegalization of marijuana that “a prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.”
According to the Gallup poll that was conducted in October 2011, the legalization of marijuana was supported by 50% of the population while another 46% noted that it should be prohibited (Holland 61).
The National Drug Control Policy office in the US pointed out that it did not support the legalization of marijuana. This took place immediately after the 2012 presidential elections (Stoned 76).
Works Cited
Baum, Dan. Smoke and Mirrors: The War on Drugs and the Politics of Failure. Boston: little Brown, 1996. Print.
Fatout, Paul (ed.). Mark Twain Speaking. Lowa: University of Lowa Press, 1776. Print.
Holland, Julie (ed.). The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis. Rochester: Park Street Press, 2010. Print.
Lincoln, Abraham.U.S. President Speech to Illinois House of Representatives.
n.d. Web. Jan. 16 2013.
Stoned, Michael. Weed: 420 Things You Didn’t Know (or Remember) about Cannabis. Avon: Adams Media, 2009. Print.
Baum has written several books such as the Citizen Coors: An American Dynasty (Morrow/HarperCollins, 2000) and Smoke and Mirrors: The War on Drugs and the Politics of Failure (Little, Brown 1996). He has also written for the New York magazine as a staff writer.
Fatout has been an English tutor at Purdue University. Some of his productions include Mark Twain’s First Lecture: A Parallel (His Miscellanea), and Mr. Lincoln Goes to Washington. He died in 1982 and Mark Twain in Virginia City, Mark Twain on the Lecture Circuit, Meadow Lake: Gold Town.
Holland has been a specialist in psychopharmacology for long and also a teaching professor in the field of psychology. She has written several literary works in this field.