Legalizing Marijuana In The United States

“MARIJUANA IS THE MOST VIOLENT-CAUSING DRUG IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.” Marijuana is a product of the hemp plant, which appears as a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers. Marijuana called by several street names such as pot, herb, weed, grass, boom, Mary Jane, gangster, chronic, among others by different people. Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in America being behind alcohol and tobacco, and has been used by nearly 100 million Americans. According to government surveys, some 25 million Americans have smoked marijuana in the past year, and more than 14 million do so regularly despite harsh laws against its use (Anthony 2002). Marijuana has a chemical, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol

In 1619 the Virginia Assembly passed legislation requiring every farmer to grow hemp. Hemp was allowed be exchanged as legal tender in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland. Domestic production flourished until after the Civil War, when imports and other domestic materials replaced hemp for many purposes. In the late nineteenth century, marijuana became a popular ingredient in many medicinal products and was sold openly in public pharmacies (Dionne 2013).

Concern about the rising use of marijuana and research linking its use with crime and other social problems created pressure on the federal government to take action. Rather than promoting federal legislation, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics strongly encouraged state governments to accept responsibility for control of the problem by adopting the Uniform State Narcotic

In conjunction with the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, the new law raised federal penalties for marijuana possession and dealing, basing the penalties on the amount of the drug involved (Tarrytown 2006). Possession of 100 marijuana plants received the same penalty as possession of 100 grams of heroin. A later amendment to the Anti-Drug Abuse Act established a "three strikes and you 're out" policy, requiring life sentences for repeat drug offenders, and providing for the death penalty for “drug kingpins” (Anthony 2002)." Marijuana has radically changed over the past years. During 1997, a total of 21% voted for the legalization of marijuana, which indicated that most people where still opposing it. Since 1996, 51% have voted for its legalization and over 20 states in the districts of Columbia passed laws for the legalization and sale of marijuana (WNYC 2013). Also, according to WNYC (2013), in March 2012, voters in Washington State and Colorado legalized marijuana in the 2012 election, and, it allows almost any Californian to walk into a dispensary and buy the