Legalize Marijuana
Thesis Marijuana is a substance that has become very much a part of American culture. Nearly 65 million Americans have either used it occasionally or regularly. The use of marijuana hit mainstream America about thirty years ago and it has been accepted by a large segment of society ever since (Rosenthal 16). The debate on whether this substance should be legalized or not remains a very hot topic today. Despite government efforts to isolate and eliminate its use, it is clear that the use of marijuana is still very popular. There is an obvious problem concerning marijuana today. Governments on all three levels: local, state, and federal are trying desperately to find an appropriate policy involving marijuana. National polls show that more than 70% of the American people, from both ends of the political spectrum, support controlled access to marijuana for medicinal purposes. Despite fierce opposition from the federal government, voters in California and Arizona passed ballot initiatives in the fall of 1996 favoring the legalization of medicinal marijuana (Randall 33). If support for marijuana at least as a medicinal remedy is so high, then why have only a few states taken steps to change their policy? There
are several reasons why marijuana remains illegal. Mainly, it is a political issue kicked around by certain special interest groups. Some of these groups perceive marijuana as a threat to the home, tearing families apart and causing them to abandon traditional values. However these groups usually are not legitimate areas of legislation. The more powerful groups have other, more practical reasons for keeping marijuana illegal. Among the most powerful of these groups are the combined law enforcement-judiciary-penal systems. This group sees the elimination of marijuana laws as a threat to their jobs. Add to this group defense lawyers, who stand to make millions of dollars defending marijuana offenders. Consciously or not, they support anti-marijuana laws (Rosenthal 2). Another interest group includes the scientists whose marijuana research is funded by the government. If marijuana were legalized, they would lose millions of dollars in research grants intended to prove the detrimental effects of the substance. Two other unrelated and very influential groups are the liquor lobby and pharmaceutical companies. Their spending is usually very secretive and not publicized very much. Legalization of a competing product that can be produced with relative ease by anyone with access to a plot of land would cut deeply into their profits. And the drug companies want control, rather than just a ban, for they know the medicinal benefits of marijuana (Rosenthal 9). Therefore the major reason marijuana still remains illegal is that special interest groups are blocking legislation by extensive lobbying. Clearly it is seen that many people support its use, at least for medical reasons. It is obvious that the current policy for marijuana is not working very efficiently. The government spends billions of dollars every year to stop its use. This leads to the opening of a very extensive black market for marijuana, because the drug is still in high demand. With the black market comes all the crime and violent acts that create a new problem of overcrowding prison populations. In effect, the government does not really solve the marijuana problem; instead it just creates a new one in its place. Present Policy The present policy on marijuana is that it is classified as a Schedule I drug in the Controlled Substances Act. This law established criteria for determining which substances should be controlled, mechanisms for reducing the availability of controlled drugs, and a structure of penalties for illegal distribution and possession of controlled drugs (Roffman 4). The criteria for Schedule I substances are: The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse, the drug or other substance is not currently accepted for use in medical treatment in the United States, and the drug or other substance has not been proven safe for use under medical supervision. Along with marijuana, hashish, and THC, drugs listed in Schedule I are heroin, LSD, mescaline, peyote, and many other hallucinogens. This makes it illegal for anyone to buy, sell, grow, or possess any amount of marijuana anywhere in the United States. State laws vary in terms of penalties issued. Under New York State Law, a first possession of up to twenty-five grams of marijuana in private results in a $100 fine. If there is a second possession of the same amount, the fine is increased to $200. The cultivation of marijuana results in a $1000 fine and up to one-year imprisonment. The same applies to the sale of marijuana. There are harsher penalties issued if the offender is convicted of possession, cultivation, or sale of marijuana in public. Possession of marijuana in public results in a $500 fine and up to three months imprisonment. Cultivation results in up to one-year imprisonment and a $1000 fine. Sale of marijuana in public can result in a four-year imprisonment. Penalties become harsher depending upon the amount of marijuana in possession, cultivation, or sale. The apex is reached at a fifteen
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Approximate Word count = 3032
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
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