A Brief View Of The History Of Marijuana LegalizationEssay Preview: A Brief View Of The History Of Marijuana LegalizationReport this essayThe legalization of marijuana is, and has been a heavily disputed issue for decades. On one hand, marijuana could lead to a medical breakthrough, or at least provide relief to cancer and AIDS patients. On the other hand, legalizing a drug could expose it to too broad an audience. As a drug, marijuana has never proven to be anywhere near as harmful as cigarettes or alcohol. Each year in the United States, 400,000 people die from tobacco, 50,000 from alcohol, and from marijuana, zero. Regardless of what side one may take to this argument, there are some causes to this marijuana debate that everyone should know. Marijuana was not always illegal, and the reasons behind the history of narcotic regulation are interesting when viewed from todays perspective. The history of marijuana prohibition is a story of racism, political repression, and poorly represents the qualities this country claims to embody.
The story of marijuanas prohibition goes back as far as the early 1900s. The Mexican revolution was bringing a large population of Mexicans into the southwestern United States. The Mexicans brought with them the habit of smoking “motas”, marijuana cigarettes. (Gerber) The locals claimed that the marijuana “incited Mexican immigrants to violent crimes, aroused a lust for blood and generated superhuman strength.” (Gerber) These statements stemmed more from the racist ideas of the time than from actual fact. There were similar claims made all over the states; by the 1930s, the New York Times was printing such headlines as “MARIJUANA MAKES FIENDS OF BOYS IN 30 DAYS; HASHISH GOADS USERS TO BLOOD LUST.” (New York Times) This racism became, over time, a notion in the minds of Americans that marijuana was a dangerous narcotic. Marijuana has never been able to drop that image, in part because politicians continued to push it well into the 20th century.
In more recent history, the late 1900s were filled with important decisions by politicians regarding marijuana. During the Kennedy administration in the 1960s, Vietnam was a major issue, and the public, especially college students, turned to marijuana as a form of dissent. As this happened, enforcement lessened; courts dismissed marijuana charges or imposed only “modest fines.” (Gerber) In 1960, there were only 169 marijuana related convictions in the entire United States. During this time, marijuana was seen more as an escape and protest. Time Magazine saw marijuana use as an attention worthy means of protest. (Time) Crime rates did not rise, and no major health problems had appeared to be caused by the drug. The 1962 White House Conference on Drug Abuse concluded that there was only “weak” evidence indicating that marijuana leads to using harder drugs. (Eldridge) At that point in time, it almost seems as if we were the closest weve ever been as a nation to decriminalizing the drug.
By the 1970s, however, the war on drugs took a turn towards the more conservative end of the spectrum. The Nixon administration chose to attribute crime to drug use; Nixon personally disliked all illegal drugs, and convinced Americans that if more arrests were made on drug related charges the crime rates would go down. It is almost unbelievable that the drug has been unable to shake this stigma. Compared to the policies Nixon introduced, policies nowadays are even worse. (Gerber) For years, the government was feeding the people these lies about marijuana, and those who supported it were silenced. This trend continues well into the present day.
The 1980s saw the rise of the Reagan administration, which made some of the most restricting policies about marijuana use. These policies are still very relevant to current times. In 1986, Reagans then-drug advisor, Carlton Turner, gave an interview with Newsweek magazine about marijuana use in the United States. He mentioned that while visiting a drug treatment center, he found that 40% of the patients had engaged in homosexual acts. (Gerber) The cover of Newsweek that week read “REAGAN AIDE: POT CAN MAKE YOU GAY.” This is by far the most ridiculous claim made by any administration as to the effects of marijuana. If this statement were to be made by a member of the Bush administration today, there would be gay rights protesters enraged by it, and that member would almost surely step down from his position. The public did not necessarily accept that statement as fact, but making an association between homosexuality and marijuana use no doubt worsened the drugs image in some peoples minds. The extreme stance that the following administrations took regarding marijuana shows that these sentiments were not forgotten.
George Bush Sr. was the next president of the United States. His running mate, Dan Quayle, was by his side, supporting his desire to “set out to destroy” the countrys narcotics empire and to ensure that marijuana would not be legal while they were in office. (Cong. Quarterly) However, in 1977, just twelve years prior to running with Bush, Quayle was documented as saying “Congress should definitely consider decriminalizing possession of marijuanaWe should concentrate on prosecuting the rapists and burglars who are a menace to society.” (Helmke) Bill Clinton, the next president, continued using a pretty harsh policy on marijuana. He launched a new anti drug campaign in 1995, and refused to allow new patients to apply for marijuana to alleviate their pain. (Berger) In December of 1993, the Surgeon General, Joycelyn Elders suggested that if marijuana
t was legal there were some reasonable arguments for its constitutionality, and the United States made a similar move to legalize the drug to avoid needless costs. (Berger) The FDA, a federal agency that makes medications for the approval of drug abuse treatments, released a report on the need for a drug to treat chronic pain, pain related illnesses and other diseases. (Berger) In 1998, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that a drug that treated chronic pain and pain related neck and back pain was significantly associated with a 15 percent decline in mortality. (Dodd) As you’re reading this, I’m reminded of a story that a member of the Senate tried to pass a drug bill in 1999 that would have allowed Congress to reauthorize the drugs that had been previously approved by the Food and Drug Administration. (Harper) In 2002, the FDA launched a drug trial that included about 20 million people, and found that most of those with severe pain were “tired of being caught up to the addiction.” (New York Times) In 2008, President Obama’s administration sent out a public memo criticizing a drug that caused severe pain in children and adolescents. (Dodd) In 2007, for some reason, the Drug Enforcement Administration approved one of the most expensive marijuana substitutes, a high in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), for use with children and teens who were not receiving the prescribed treatment for the disease. (Dodd) Although the Supreme Court ruled against President George W. Bush at the start of the legal marijuana movement, over 600,000 people across the country signed onto an initiative legalizing marijuana to treat PTSD. (Dodd) In 2012, President Obama said that he would “restore our legal status” to marijuana for marijuana dependent patients to use when they wanted, so that all people who would suffer from marijuana use are given and approved for use. (Breitling
When a person is arrested while using cannabis, they are not subject to the full legal marijuana prohibition, however. (Vitalik Buterin) The DEA is responsible for all of the legal weed in the United States. But, one law still has more than 30,000 illegal recreational and medical uses that they are still not actually using. Cannabis is the most potent and most important part of cannabis; as one states states, “it is addictive and highly potent and can lead to mental retardation, death, and addiction.” The federal government does not keep all of its marijuana. (Jorge Ribas) In 1991, the Supreme Court allowed marijuana dispensaries to expand to cover the territory of any nation. (Dodd) In 2000, the Supreme Court upheld the right of an American company to discriminate against customers of its own country while it allowed state-based legal sales of its products without public subsidies and to tax their profits. (Dodd) In this episode is one of the reasons why the legalization of marijuana in California is likely to be just around the corner. In California, the government still has to spend $50 million on state licensing fees for the cultivation of all forms of cannabis, at the expense of all other states who have passed similar regulations. (Mar. 6) During his time at the DEA, George Bush Sr. would focus on “working my butt off” to promote his marijuana business and his business model for the state. But in the end, he became an activist in the