Marijuana An Argument For Legalization Essay Research

Marijuana: An Argument For Legalization Essay, Research Paper

Currently, drugs remain high on the list of concerns of politicians,

and drugs are considered one of the major problems affecting our

country. Stories are on 11:00 news every night about people

being murdered on the streets because of drugs. Many people

think that drugs are only an inner-city problem, but in reality, they

affect all of us; non-users and users. I believe that the negative

effects associated with drugs would be reduced greatly if the

United States adopted a policy towards the total legalization of

marijuana. By this I mean completely legalizing marijuana for

recreational, medicinal, and other uses. The current drug policy

of our government is obviously failing. Drugs are quite present in

our society, and the United States drug policy has not deferred

drug trafficking to the point where it is beneficial. Drug laws have

created corruption, violence, increased street crime, and

disrespect for the criminal justice system. Besides that, the

American people should be allowed to enjoy what they like to do

responsibly and law enforcement could focus their attentions to

other more serious crimes.

Marijuana comes from the hemp plant, which can readily be grown

on fields across the nation and was cultivated heavily in the

colonial period. After 130 years of being able to grow and

consume marijuana, the potential problems of marijuana were

brought into the public eye in 1932. Harry J. Anslingler, the

commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, authored the

book Marijuana: Assassin of Youth (Goldman 88). In his book,

Anslinger portrayed images of Mexican and Negro criminals, as

well as young boys, who became killers while under the influence

of marijuana. With this and other added public pressure from

Anslinger’s book, President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law

the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This law made the use and sale of

marijuana federal offenses, and at this point marijuana vanished

from the public eye.

In the mid-1960’s marijuana reappeared and the “Hippy” emerged.

Hippies were viewed as the abnormal people who did not “fit in”

and were often referred to as freaks. Widespread objection to the

use of marijuana remained because of the lifestyles associated

with hippies. Contrary to the belief of the population, the use of

marijuana appeared in colleges and among middle-class youths in

the suburbs. Marijuana became a symbol of a counter-culture,

youthful rebellion, and freedom for the non-hippie users. During

the next ten years marijuana use escalated to a point that it was

literally everywhere. Marijuana could be found in cities, towns,

suburbs, the country, and just about anywhere a person could

think of. People rooting from all different backgrounds were using

it, and consequently, marijuana was becoming more accepted

across the nation. For example, in 1997 a teacher at Pine View

School for the Gifted in Sarasota, Florida was “relocated to a

different school” because it was found that he was growing

marijuana for personal consumption. The users of marijuana, and

the attitudes about the danger of marijuana broke down. In 1970,

the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act

reduced the classification of simple possession and non-profit

distribution of marijuana from felonies to misdemeanors

(Himmelstein 103-104). However, President Richard Nixon

declared a war on drugs in 1973, and over the next 20 years, each

succeeding president continued to escalate the drug war. This

particular “drug war” is not only against marijuana but also against

harder drugs that are more dangerous. This policy has obviously

done nothing to stop the recreational use of marijuana in this

country; on the contrary, it is causing great harm. The policy is

preventing many people who could benefit from marijuana

medicinally and us costing the taxpayers money with little results.

It is time to try something new.

When some people imagine the legalization of marijuana, they

fear a marijuana free-for-all with everybody constantly getting

high and the United States Government being burdened by

legalization. In fact, the process of legalization would include a

law passed by Congress allowing the government to control the

content, quality, and distribution of marijuana. The laws would be

similar to the current laws regulating alcohol and tobacco,

including laws governing age, limits for driving, and distribution.

A thorough investigation of the costs and benefits of legalization

must be examined before any policy is implemented. In reality,

legalization will only make legal what many people do everyday.

There are a number of myths associated with the use of marijuana

which people who are opposed to the

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