Drug Use

Trends in drug use among youth are indirectly attributable to trends in society. Although drugs have always

been around in one form or another, their early influences on society trace back to just before the 1930's.

Marijuana was a popular drug among Mexican laborers, jazz musicians, and so-called beatniks. Then after

major social changes that took place in 1930, "The government cracked down on marijuana use." "In 1937,

the Marijuana Tax Act...made the use and sale of marijuana without a tax stamp federal offenses. This

unprecedented event prompted law enforcement officers to arrest recreational users. Some observers

speculate that passage of the law resulted from strong anti-Mexican sentiment in the Southwest and from

the political power of federal Commissioner of Narcotics Harry Anslinger, who reigned from 1930-1962

and was strongly anti-drugs." ( Glazer ? )

Thirty years later a counter culture emerged with strong anti-war sentiments and a disdain

for establishment. The 1960's were a time of sweeping change and events such as the Vietnam war had

caused many young Americans to lose faith in authority. "'Grass' became an emblem of a generation

challenging grownups' political and social conventions. Marijuana cigarettes, or joints, were widely used at

demonstrations protesting the Vietnam War and at the seminal Woodstock music festival." ( Glazer ? ). The

revolution would be televised. With youth drug culture becoming widespread and given so much attention

by the media, the public demanded tougher law enforcement. Richard Nixon was elected in 1968 with the

public believing his intention to crackdown on drug use.

Instead, "the belief of many scientists and policy-makers that marijuana posed no long-

term health risk," (Glazer ? ) along with the attitude of many members of the public, that long mandatory

sentences for possession of small amounts of marijuana was unfair, led Congress to pass the

Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention Control Act of 1970, "which lessened federal penalties for

possession of marijuana". Going a step further, "in 1972, the president's National Commission on

Marijuana and Drug