Legalisation of Marijuana
The possession of, or intent to sell, marijuana is illegal today and has been legislated against since the passing of the Harrison Act in 1914. The Uniform Narcotics Act in 1932 listed it, and many other drugs illegal, although in many states and towns it has been illegal for longer. Before the passing of the Uniform Narcotic Drug act twenty-two states had already enacted anti-cannabis laws in some form. New York City sanitary laws had prohibited marijuana in 1914, and in 1915 Utah became the first state to restrict its possession and sale.The Harrison Act was a regulatory measure disguised as a tax act. Permits to distribute and grow marijuana were allowed by the act, but were often denied without reason. In 1932, just prior to the passing of the Uniform Narcotic Drug act, commissioner Harold Anslinger of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics admitted that few states had actually responded to the Harrison Act. The Uniform Narcotics act did not try to make marijuana illegal, but urged states to make prohibitive laws concerning its sale and use. During the early 1900's drug addiction and drug related crimes were growing at a rapid pace. This created an awareness and movement to stop the probl
President Nixon appointed the Schaeffer commission in 1972, which researched the plant and its effects. The results were used to review the penalties and laws concerning marijuana use and sale. Due to the findings of this commission many states lowered their penalties for marijuana related crimes during the 1970's. There are higher concentrations of cannibinoid receptors in the hippocampus than any other part of the brain. The hippocampus is what makes our brains learn when it is stimulated, and when marijuana is smoked, its performance can be impaired. This can cause impairment in the formation of new knowledge in the brain while intoxicated. Personal use legalization, another option to minimize change, carries many of the same benefits of non- commercial legalization. It would provide that growing or possessing a certain amount of marijuana for personal use is legal. The sale of marijuana could be kept illegal, although that would eliminate some of the benefits of legalization because some people would not want to grow their own. There would be a lot of difficulty in regulation this plan, and the only major benefit that remains is that not as many people would be in jail. Although it would be more available to the general public, those who would have easy access to the drug would be at an age (assumably twenty-one or over) when they could choose with more caution and intelligence. An age limit would help prevent young people from making a choice that they do not have the capacity to make wisely. There are several options for the legal status of marijuana in the United States. In most places right now it is strictly illegal, although in a growing number of states it is decriminalized. There are other options besides legalization, decriminalization, and keeping it illegal: non-commercialized legalization, or personal use legalization.
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Approximate Word count = 3666
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)
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