Case Study: Should Recreational Marijuana Be Legalized In Florida?

During the 1920's many mexican immigrants fled to the United States for work. With them, many of them brought marijuana. The act of smoking marijuana was picked up on by many black and white jazz musicians during the 1920's and 1930's, but was not used widespread until the 1960's. During the 1930's, Louis Artmstrong was arrested in California and given a sentence of six months for possession of Marijuana [3]. In 1937, the Treasury Department established a marijuana transfer tax known as the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, after testifying before Congress. After 1937 up until the passing of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Act of 1970, which include the Controlled Substance Act of 1970, marijuana was legally controlled through a transfer tax. [2]

Switching gears, I asked attorney Moselle about SB:8 Controlled Substances (Senate Bill). To give some back Florida recently passed a bill allowing for Medical Marijuana however, it currently faces the issue of being legal in the state but not federally. With it not being

"These new Americans brought with them their native language, culture and customs. One of these customs was the use of cannabis as a medicine and relaxant" (Burnett and Reiman). Americans always knew the plant as "cannabis" but Mexicans referred to it as "marijuana." The term "marijuana" was foreign on United States' soil therefore, it raised suspicion and fear amongst not only Texans but Americans as well. Surprisingly, the herb was never illegal during the time period of the massive immigration. However, it was originally used in Texas for medical reasons, such as arthritis but evolved into substance abuse over the next decade or so. As more immigrants came into American territory, so did marijuana. "In an effort to control and keep tabs on these new citizens, El Paso, TX borrowed a play from San Francisco’s playbook, which had outlawed opium... the idea was to have an excuse to search, detain and deport Mexican immigrants" (Burnett and Reiman). Of course, the drug got into the hands of rich white men and since America is known for their free market economy, money started to be made. This turned into the entrepreneurship we know today as drug dealing. Laws were made to help regulate and control the exchange of marijuana. It became illegal during the 1930's."Twenty-nine states carried restrictions on cannabis by 1931" (Rathge). Eventually that's how the old "Say no to drugs" campaign was

It wasn't until the mid-nineteenth century that western doctors began prescribing it to their patients, and soon it could even be bought in drug stores. It was commonly used in the U.S. to treat asthma, epilepsy, dysmemarrhea, gonorrhea, and migraines, being compared to opium in strength but much kinder on the body. The use of marijuana declined with the development of aspirin and barbiturates, which were much more dependable. The belief that Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This new law to discourage recreational smoking required anyone purchasing the drug for certain medical purposes to pay a tax of one dollar per ounce, while those inclined to use it for other purposes paid one hundred dollars per ounce. In 1970 Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act, assigning psychoactive drugs to five schedules. Cannabis came under schedule 1, the most restrictive. Drugs outlined under schedule 1 were said to have no medical use, a high potential for abuse and no safe uses. In 1978 New Mexico enacted the first law to make it legal for medical use, and by 1994, 36 other states followed. Cannabis was not recognized as a medicine by the federal government , and in order to dispense it, states had to conduct special research and receive FDA approval. Because this was so hard to do, only 10 states actually established programs in which cannabis was used as a medicine. Patients had to complete extensive paperwork in order to get

While marijuana was not actually outlawed until the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 it was a part of the country and society since before the arrival of its current transplanted inhabitants. Hemp is the name of a species of Cannabis that has been used throughout history for many things including rope, clothing, medicine, oils and other such novelties. Marijuana and hemp are both of the species Cannabis Sativa and occur naturally along with a score of other variations of the plant. Marijuana is simply a form of hemp that is higher in delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), marijuana’s naturally occurring psychoactive chemical. Today we hear many nicknames for marijuana including: weed, pot, budda, grass, and bud to name a few. Marijuana has long been used by the indigenous peoples of North and South America for many things, from medical to religious purposes. Of course a select few Europeans exploited narcotics and different types of marijuana. However, in Europe it was not a widespread phenomenon, and neither was it from the time of colonization or even industrialization in America. It was not until the era of the 19th amendment to the U.S. constitution, known as prohibition, that marijuana became a widely used substance in the U.S..

The history of marijuana in the United States government date back to the origins of the United States government itself. During the 16th century, the mass production of hemp was encouraged by the British government for its fibrous content, which was used for making fabric, ropes, cords, and other items (“Marijuana Timeline” 2014). By 1619, the Virginia assembly passed legislation requiring each household in the colony to cultivate hemp, praising its variety of beneficial uses. Even after the American Revolution, hemp continued to be a large part of the American economy. By mid-19th century, hemp was the third-largest crop in the United States, only exceeded by cotton and tobacco. As technology was developed, however, the need for

The United States made the use of marijuana illegal in 1937 (Marijuana Tax Act, 2015). In 2009, New Mexico was the first state that allowed marijuana as a treatment for patients with

for marijuana. ” In the 1930’s fear of marijuana had spread throughout the country. During the Great Depression, not only fear, but resentment toward the Mexican race which made the American people further shame the drug. This made the public & government concern grow into a pseudo and biased investigation, which linked marijuana to minority or “Racially inferior” under class community. By 1931 twenty-nine states outlawed marijuana making it illegal. In 1932, concern on the rising use of marijuana and the studies linking the drug to crime created pressure for the government to take action. The national government the pressured the states to take action for themselves and adopt the uniform state

Depending on the dosage of marijuana may determine the effect. If the dosage is low it may produce a sense of well – being, relaxation, and sleepiness. If the dosage is higher it may cause a person to lose track of time, forget things and their equilibrium may become off balance. Physiologically, the heart rate increases and blood vessels of the eye dilate causing reddening. A feeling of tightness in the chest and a lack of coordination may occur. (Hart and Ksir, 2013) Server anxiety, paranoia and delusions may also be a result of using high doses of marijuana. Although not proven it is suspected that marijuana smoke may cause long-term harmful effects to the lungs.

The legalization of marijuana has gotten to be a very controversial topic over the last few years with many valid arguments for both for and against marijuana. Use of marijuana dates all the way back to 2727 B.C. where it was used by the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung. By 1515 marijuana spread to the west where it was used for its use as fiber. “... made into things such as paper, rope, and clothing” (DEA Museum). Hemp was even encouraged to be grown by the US government. “... marijuana became a popular ingredient in many medicinal products and was sold openly in public pharmacies” (PBS). In the United States people began to fear marijuana along with Mexicans after the Mexican Revolution of 1910. The reason for this is that Mexicans initially introduced the recreational use of marijuana in the United States. Anti- drug propaganda warned American people about the dangers of Mexicans and their “Marijuana leaf” (PBS). It officially became illegal in 1937 following the Marijuana Tax Act. Which made marijuana a schedule 1 drug along with meth and heroin. This is simply crazy because when you look at meth users and compare them to marijuana users you can see the vast differences and the reasons why marijuana does not fit in this category. Even with its large variety of uses and low addiction rate, marijuana is still a schedule 1 drug along with way more disastrous drugs such as heroin. The reason for this is simply because of the War on Drugs which spends more than 12 billion dollars

Let us first look at why marijuana was first made illegal in the United States. Marijuana hasn’t always been illegal in the United States. Actually, from 1763 to 1767 it was illegal for farmers to not grow hemp plants on their farms. Hemp was an extremely valuable plant and was used for things like rope, clothes, incents, and more (Guither, 2013). Then in 1910 the Mexican war began to spill over into the United States. Many Mexicans migrated over to America to take the cheap labor jobs on big farms. Mexicans

Cannabis is said to relieve muscle spasms and chronic pain as well as the reduction in interlobular pressure inside the eye. It helps to suppress nausea and also helps with weight loss, which increases and restores your metabolism. No one wants to be sick or feel weak with pain- so by smoking marijuana, it is a great pain relief- just like panadol or even

originally Marijuana was first brought to the us by mexican immigrants in the early 1990’s as a relaxant and for medicine it was later then restricted

Depending on the method of consumption some recreational user take marijuana for the effect of feeling high or buzz which may be damaging to brain cells. The National Institution Of Health verified this by stating, In addition, smoking marijuana has an immediate effect on the heart increasing the rate by as much as 50 beats per minute which forces it to work harder and pump less efficiently preventing the proper blood flow around the body.

Common side effects of smoking and ingesting marijuana are dizziness, red eyes, dilated pupils, dry mouth, increased appetite, slow reaction time, paranoia, poor memory, and rapid heartbeat. These side effects are examples of what could happen if marijuana is not used in moderation. Recreational use most commonly involves smoking and inhalation, which can lead to lung damage. A user’s heart rate has the ability to increase up to twice the normal rate shortly after smoking and can stay like that until about 3 to 4 hours later which puts the person at a larger risk for a heart