Legalization of Marijuana

Richard, Ortiz

Professor M.M. Eskandari        

Political Science 101

SBCC

April 20, 2016

Tuesday/Thursday 11:10 A.M.

Legalization of Marijuana

        Marijuana is a drug that has been used for centuries. It is widely known to be used for achieving euphoria since ancient times. It is described in medical references dating as far back as 2737 B.C. (Narconon 1) . At this time is the first reference to the use of a marijuana product as a psychoactive agent with focus on the properties of medication for diseases like gout and malaria. The psychoactive effects were not weighted heavily compared to the medicinal benefits of marijuana.

        It was in the year 1545 that the Spanish brought over marijuana to the New World. It soon became a major commercial crop along with tobacco, and it was also grown to be used as a source of fiber (Narconon 1). In the 1600's the domestic production of hemp was encouraged by the American government in order to fulfill the need for rope, sails, and clothing. The hemp plant is where the flowers which are smoked come from. Growing hemp was so encouraged by the government that in 1619 the Virginia Assembly passed legislation that required all farmers must produce hemp (PBS 1). At this time, it was legal to use hemp in the barter system in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland. Growing hemp in the United States was a very profitable industry but then with the Civil war imports and other domestic products replaced hemp. It was the year 1890 where hemp was no longer the cash crop, but cotton was. Then in the late 19th century marijuana started to get popular as a medicinal ingredient and it was openly sold in many public pharmacies across the country (PBS 1). In the year 1906 the Pure Food and Drug Act was enacted and this required the proper labeling of any medication that had any cannabis in it. This was the first negative action taken by the government towards putting restrictions on marijuana.

        Marijuana started to get used recreationally in the United States after the Mexican Revolution of 1910. After this revolution, a lot of Mexican immigrants came into the United States. The immigration flux also brought in a lot of marijuana in to the country, and many Americans began to smoke "pot" (a slang word for marijuana, other terms include weed, dope, tree, bud, kush, etc.) to feel good, for fun, and to try something new. A lot of experts on marijuana say that around this time is when American really began to get popular, and that the Prohibition had to do with its rise in popularity among Americans. Many public businesses for Marijuana began to open up around this time, like marijuana clubs called "tea pads". Government officials tolerated these establishments because marijuana was not yet illegal at this time, and people who were using it were not a disturbance to the peace of the public. At this time, marijuana was not considered a social threat (Narconon 1).

        It wasn't until the 1930s that the public fear of marijuana sprung about. This is attributed by historians to the Great Depression because due to the huge amount of Americans without jobs, neglect and resentment for Mexican immigrants increased, and since marijuana in the United States was strongly attributed by the public to the Mexican Immigrants, marijuana became neglected and resented too. In fact, according to historians, Americans were terrified of marijuana. The American government began at this time to invest in campaigns that made marijuana seem like a strong and addicting "gateway drug" ( a drug that leads to trying more drugs, and possibly drug addiction). This led to tons of research dedicated to finding out more about the effects of the drug, and the research results were all in the negative favor of marijuana. The research linked marijuana with socially unacceptable behaviors like violence and crime, and it was mostly associated with minorities. By 1931, 29 states had made marijuana illegal (PBS 1).

The negativity towards marijuana kept increasing. In 1932 The Federal Bureau of Narcotics reacted to the public concern of marijuana use with an act that encouraged state governments to take responsibility over the issue with the passage of the Uniform State Narcotic Act. Courts were ruthless on marijuana, and dubbed it the "killer weed" (Drug Library 1). Following this period of time of national propaganda campaigns made to increase public awareness and negative opinion towards marijuana, the Marijuana Tax Act was passed in 1937. This essentially criminalized marijuana, restricting possession of marijuana only to people who paid an excise tax on it for certain medical and industrial uses that were subject to approval. (PBS 1).  Despite all the negative publicity towards marijuana, an urgent need for hemp arose in the 1940s during World War II. Hemp was needed for making marine cordage, parachutes, and other military goods and it was not available in the amount which was being demanded by the war. To take care of this issue, The United States Department of Agriculture launched the Hemp for Victory program. This program essentially encouraged American farmers to grow hemp again by giving them seeds and also granting draft deferments so that they could stay at their farms and help the growing need for hemp (PBS 1). Even though the war created a big need for hemp and thus marijuana growth, the demand for hemp declined again after the war was over, and again the United States government continued to pass legislation to put the drug down. Legislation included the Boggs Act of 1952, and the Narcotics Control Act of 1956. These federal laws essentially made sentencing stricter by setting mandatory sentences for drug related offenses which marijuana was now a part of. (PBS 1).

        In the 1960's marijuana use began to become popular amongst the counterculture (a way of life and set of attitudes opposed to or at variance with the prevailing social norm) of America (Independence Hall Association 1). The mean age of Americans at the time was about 20, and so many were young college students in a time where the culture was radical. Hippies were popular at this time, and with all of this marijuana became a very popular drug. This changing political and cultural environment led to more relaxed views towards the use of marijuana in the United States. The drug started getting popular among the white upper middle class, and no longer just minorities like immigrant Mexicans. Very famous reports by important and powerful figures like Presidents Kennedy and Johnson which talked about how marijuana use did not actually make for violent behavior or to the use of heavier drugs. This made public support towards marijuana usage increase. This also led to a flipside in marijuana policy, now policies began to take into account the use of it for treatment, as well as criminal penalties. (PBS 1) In the year 1970, Congress decided to repeal the harsh drug related offences that were imposed in earlier years.