Legalization of Marijuana

Jake Wagner

Prof. Desmond

M/W/F 9:35-10:30

Research Paper

The Legalization of Marijuana

In 1937, the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration passed the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, which criminalized marijuana. This act banned the consumption, possession, cultivation, or selling of marijuana for recreational use. The people believe that marijuana was illegalized to protect citizens from the harmful effects of consuming marijuana and also that the consumption of marijuana rendered the consumer “dangerous”. So what can be so dangerous of marijuana? Well marijuana is a plant, like all others, usually in the form of the dried up “bud” from the flower. The plants main active ingredient, THC, also known as tetrahydrocannabinol, has mind altering properties which change the way the brain processes chemicals. With a prescription present, marijuana can be sold at pharmacies legally in 14 states. It is incredibly criminalized otherwise and puts millions of citizens in jail each year. Suddenly these citizens are arrested, jailed and treated like criminals exclusively because of their recreational drug of choice. However, just like any ordinary American citizen, people who consume marijuana pay taxes, support and love their families, and are hard-working to make a better life for their children. (Guither)

From 1990 to 2010, nearly 5.9 million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges, a greater number than the entire populations of Alaska, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming combined. Taken together, the total number of marijuana arrests for the year 2000 far exceeded the combined number of arrests for violent crimes, including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Now how can something so “dangerous” be prescribed to people to help their own health problems? Marijuana is a drug used by doctors and is prescribed to patients for numerous medical problems. For...