A Brief View Of The History Of Marijuana Legalization Essay

The legalization of marijuana is, and has been a heavily disputed issue for decades. On one hand, marijuana could lead to a medical breakthrough, or at least provide relief to cancer and AIDS patients. On the other hand, legalizing a drug could expose it to too broad an audience. As a drug, marijuana has never proven to be anywhere near as harmful as cigarettes or alcohol. Each year in the United States, 400,000 people die from tobacco, 50,000 from alcohol, and from marijuana, zero. Regardless of what side one may take to this argument, there are some causes to this marijuana debate that everyone should know. Marijuana was not always illegal, and the reasons behind the history of narcotic regulation are interesting when viewed from†¦show more content†¦In more recent history, the late 1900s were filled with important decisions by politicians regarding marijuana. During the Kennedy administration in the 1960s, Vietnam was a major issue, and the public, especially college stu dents, turned to marijuana as a form of dissent. As this happened, enforcement lessened; courts dismissed marijuana charges or imposed only modest fines. (Gerber) In 1960, there were only 169 marijuana related convictions in the entire United States. During this time, marijuana was seen more as an escape and protest. Time Magazine saw marijuana use as an attention worthy means of protest. (Time) Crime rates did not rise, and no major health problems had appeared to be caused by the drug. The 1962 White House Conference on Drug Abuse concluded that there was only weak evidence indicating that marijuana leads to using harder drugs. (Eldridge) At that point in time, it almost seems as if we were the closest weve ever been as a nation to decriminalizing the drug. By the 1970s, however, the war on drugs took a turn towards the more conservative end of the spectrum. The Nixon administration chose to attribute crime to drug use; Nixon personally disliked all illegal drugs, and convinced Am ericans that if more arrests were made on drug related charges the crime rates would go down. It is almost unbelievable that the drug has been unable to shake this stigma. Compared to the policies Nixon introduced, policies nowadays are evenShow MoreRelatedMarijuana: Drug or Cure? Essay1191 Words   |  5 Pageshappens to be over the legalization of Marijuana. As of 1970 with the passing of The Controlled Substances Act the Federal Government officially classified marijuana as a schedule 1 drug with no real accepted medicinal use at the time (History of Marijuana). As the capabilities of science have progressed over time more and more scientific challenges have bombarded this decision so that more tangible research can be garnered from this plant. 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