Marijuana Should Be Banned Marijuana

Marijuana was in the United States Pharmacopeia from 1850 until 1942 and was prescribed to patients for various conditions including labor pains, nausea and rheumatism. During the 1850’s up to the 1930’s it was a very popular intoxicant. A movement conducted in the 1930’s by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics (presently the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs) fought to make marijuana appear to be an Addicting and powerful substance that would lead

The question of legalizing marijuana has been an issue for many years. In the Unites States from the 1600s to late 1800s hemp was harvested on U.S. soil to create materials such as rope, paper and clothing. It was during the 1800s that cannabis products became popular for medical use and was sold in many pharmacies across the nation. It became a requirement to label these over-the-counter medicines containing cannabis but it was still legal. Around the early 1900s the many Mexicans immigrated to U.S. to escape the Mexican Revolution conflict. These immigrants smoked marijuana recreationally and brought this concept with them. El Paso, Texas became the first U.S. city to ban marijuana in 1915 (Benson, 2015) By 1937, 46 of the 48 states has passed laws banning marijuana use and the Marijuana Tax Act was passed making it illegal to have marijuana unless it was for medical reasons. In 1952 the Narcotics Control Act of 1956 was imposed and the federal government started requiring minimum prison sentences for possessing marijuana. Marijuana was made a schedule I drug meaning it had no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse in the Controlled Substance Act of 1970.

Marijuana became a problem in America from 1913 to the late 1930s. California was the first state to ban marijuana in 1913, and Utah outlawed marijuana in 1914. From 1915 to 1937 it was banned by 30 states, in the southwestern states it was outlawed because of racial prejudice against the mexicans who used it. In other states they thought that marijuana was a “gateway” drug and lead to heroin addiction. Marijuana also became illegal because of Henry Hearst, he invested in the timber industry to support his newspaper business and he did not want hemp as a competitor. Another man was also trying to get marijuana banned, he was the director of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, Harry Anslinger. He saw a business opportunity, like many other corrupt

There was no science backing this claim, and when it comes to marijuana neither of those things are true. It does not have a high potential for abuse, leading to a dependance in around 9 to 10% of it’s users. By comparison cocaine, a schedule two substance" with less abuse potential than schedule 1 drugs" hooks 20% of those who use it. Around 25% of heroin users become addicted. The worst being tobacco which has an addiction rate of around 30%.

In the 1800’s marijuana was sold in the drugstores and was used to treat migraines and menstrual cramps. In the early 1900s some states required you to have a prescription for the medical use of marijuana. By the 1930’s marijuana was being tied with criminal cases being the lead cause of the crime. In the 1960-70’s Congress with Richard Nixon as President passed the Controlled Substances Act classifying marijuana as a drug with a “high potential for abuse” and “no currently accepted medical use” (Bronner, 2013).

When cannabis was first introduced its primary use was not for smoking or even medical it was for creating other things like clay pots and a fiber for making rope. Its first human consumption recorded back in 2737 B.C. by the Chinese emperor as a treatment for gout, malaria, beriberi, rheumatism, and poor memory. This drug didn’t enter the United States until the mid-1800s but by that time it was used as an intoxicant and a medicine. Marijuana entered the states by Mexican immigrants in the 19th and 20th century but was not popular. Marijuana was limited to the lower society pretty much minority smoked the drug. After its extended period of continuous use the government began to crack down and created different acts and legislation in 1937 such as the Marihuana act which puts a

Marijuana is listed under one of the ancient and prohibited drugs with high rate of use for both medical and recreational purposes (Grinspoon and Bakalar qtd. in Lucas et al. 435). It has been used for the last 5000 years around the world by both legal and illegal ways. Furthermore, Grinspoon and Bakalar in their research say that “despite the high rate of recreational use and over 5000 years of therapeutic applications, this plant has resulted in relatively few serious negative physical or social impacts beyond the consequences associated with legal prohibitions on its use” (Lucas et al. 435). Canada was the first country in the world which outlawed use of cannabis in 1923 and there are no scientific basis behind its prohibition (MacQueen

The history of marijuana is quite interesting. Marijuana has gone from being an important crop of the early settlers, to being outlawed in many countries, including the United States. To better understand marijuana, I will trace it back to its origins, and explain how marijuana was used in the beginning. I will then take a closer look at the history of marijuana in the United States and how this plant has evolved over the years. An interesting fact that one should ponder is that ?in 1762 Virginia imposed penalties on those who did not produce it [marijuana]? (Sloman 21). This is quite a contrast to how marijuana is treated today. If one is caught growing, selling, or even using marijuana, there is consequences

The first marijuana laws weren’t directed at blacks and Mexicans by statute, but they were sponsored by law enforcement and an extension of Jim Crow tactics. Historians Richard J. Bonnie and Charles H. Whitebread, authors of The Marijuana Conviction: A History of Marijuana Prohibition in the United States, documented a pervasive racial bias that motivated the formation of these laws. Only a few press clippings were necessary to drum up enough fear to pass those early marijuana laws. “All Mexicans are crazy, and this (marijuana) makes them crazy,” was a quote from the floor of the Texas Senate which passed the first state marijuana law in 1914. From 1915 to 1937, 27 states passed laws against marijuana.

Is cannabis dangerous? This particular issue has been discussed, contemplated, and argued in several settings throughout our country’s history, but it is a particularly prominent issue in today’s society. Many individuals have their own opinions on marijuana, whether it be positive or negative, but an objective perspective is necessary to justly weigh the benefits and detriments of marijuana use and legalization. When an unbiased person analyzes the controversial topic of cannabis, he or she would realize that the substance does not plainly fall into a single category. There is ample, scientific proof that marijuana has numerous medicinal purposes, such as treating glaucoma and different seizure disorders. However, there is equivalent

As early as 1853 when recreational cannabis was listed as a “fashionable narcotic” marijuana began its downward spiral from a plant that provides paper, clothing, medicinal and recreational benefits etc. to the heavily criminalized “gateway drug” it is labeled as today. The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 while no real criminalization of cannabis is directly linked to this law required that drugs including cannabis be accurately labeled with its contents. The later revisions of this act aimed to restrict all narcotics to include cannabis, limiting the sale to pharmacies and require a prescription to purchase/issue. From 1907 thru the late 1920’s many states enacted marijuana laws. Western and Southwestern states with an influx of Mexican

Marijuana, a speculated harmful gateway drug where ‘Marijuana raids are more harmful than the drug itself”(Ingraham, 2017). Is Marijuana really that harmful to be illegal? Marijuana is currently illegal in some states in the U.S. and Canada for recreational use, medical use or both. Some areas already legalized the use of Marijuana like California, Nevada, etc. which is causing controversy since other states and countries won’t. Marijuana should be legal as the facts and statistics are coming out, like, the health benefits, the Economic benefits and how a low-risk drug like Cannabis compares to other legal drugs.

The laws that encompass the limits imposed upon the distribution, sale, and use of drugs have been enforced since the early 1900’s (Burnett & Reiman, 2014). There are many stated hypothetical and some factually based assumptions out there about why marijuana was classified as illegal back in the early 1900’s, but the truth lies in the generalized control of population through the use of fear-based insinuations and greed from our own government. Throughout history, American culture has had a tendency to create hate-mongering and overall distaste for what is believed to be undesirable or unwanted, i.e. Native Americans (cowboys and Indians), African Americans (diseases and white supremacy), and more recently Iraqis and Muslims (after effects of 911 terrorism, religious

Marijuana should be illegal in all of United States. Many people spend a lot of money to buy

The criminalization of marijuana started in the early 1900’s when after the Mexican revolution many Mexicans moved into America and they needed a reason to start arresting Mexicans. They claimed that marijuana made “men of color aggressive”. Harry Anslinger said “Its more dangerous than heroin or cocaine”. Anslinger claimed that marijuana “Leads to pacifism and communist brain washing”.