Legalization of marijuana
... Esposito The Legalization of Marijuana In society today, drugs remain high on the list of concerns of politicians, in all actuality; drugs are considered one of the major problems affecting our country. ... I personally believe that the negative effects of associated with drugs would be reduced greatly if the United States took into consideration the total legalization of Marijuana. ... Marijuana comes from the hemp plant, which can be grown on fields all over the nation, and was actually cultivated heavily in the colonial period. After a hundred and thirty years of being able to grow and consume Marijuana, the problems were brought into the public eye in 1932. ... Anslinger, the commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, wrote the book, ”Marijuana: Assassins of Youth.” In this book, Anslinger portrayed images of Mexican and Negro criminals, as well as young boys, who became murders while under the influence of Marijuana. With this and a lot of other public pressure, Franklin D Roosevelt signed the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This law made the use and sale of Marijuana a federal offense, and Marijuana started to disappear from all public view. ... “The Strange Career of Marijuana. ... ) In the 1960s Marijuana reappeared and what we call the “Hippy” came to be known. ... Widespread objection to the use of Marijuana remained because of the lifestyles associated with hippies. Soon after, the use of Marijuana appeared in colleges and among middle-class youth in suburbs. Marijuana became a symbol of youth rebellion and freedom for the non-hippie users. During the next ten years Marijuana use rose to a point where it was practically found everywhere. ... People from all different backgrounds were using it, and consequently, Marijuana was becoming more and more accepted across the nation. For instance, in 1997 a teacher at Pine View School for the Gifted in Sarasota, Florida was relocated to a different school because officials found that he was growing Marijuana for personal consumption. The users of Marijuana, and the attitudes about the dangers 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. ... This “Drug war” is not only against Marijuana but also against other harder drugs that can be a lot more dangerous. This policy has done nothing to stop the recreational use of Marijuana in this country; on the other hand, it has caused great harm. The policy is preventing many people who could benefit from Marijuana medicinally and also costing taxpayers’ money. ... ) When some people imagine the legalization of Marijuana, they fear that it would be everywhere all the time with everybody constantly getting high and the US government being burdened with legalization. In fact, the process of legalization would include a law being passed by Congress allowing the government to control the content, quality, and distribution of Marijuana.