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Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention And Control Act Of 1970

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Legalization of Marijuana

Drugs are everywhere, from the caffeine in energy drinks to the Tylenol taken for minor headaches; they have become a huge part of today’s world. Drugs come in a plethora of forms and have thousands of uses. Drugs are substances that alter bodily functions. They can wake up a person, put them to sleep, cause hallucinations, the list goes on. A large group of drugs today in America are pharmaceutical drugs. Pharmaceutical drugs are substances that are used for medical diagnosis, cure, treatment, or prevention of disease. In the United States pharmaceutical drugs are a big business. As of 2008 the United States is the leader in medical research, which includes pharmaceutical development. Along with the high innovation, …show more content…

The CDER makes sure drugs are safe and effective, mainly working with prescription and over the counter drugs. The Controlled Substance Act (CSA), which is Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, is the foundation for the governments fight against drug abuse. It puts regulations on substances considered harmful. Drugs are classified in five Schedules. For a drug to be added, deleted, or changed in the Schedules it must be initiated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The DEA is the federal agency that enforces laws on illegal …show more content…

Cannabis criminalization first began in the United States in the early 1900s; by the mid 1930s the drug was regulated in every state in the country. In 1930, Harry J. Anslinger, the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics claimed the use of cannabis caused people to become increasingly violent, act irrational, and act overly sexual. Anslinger claimed that the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races. He also spoke on how marijuana is an addictive drug which makes the users insane, criminality, and death. In 1936 the film “Reefer Madness” was released, in the film the producers stated that use of marijuana would make the user insane. In the film a woman smokes marijuana while laughing as her friend beats a man to death. During these times the drug was very popular amongst Blacks and Mexicans. Anslinger proposed the Marijuana Tax Act to congress who then passed it in 1937, making marijuana illegal on the federal level. In 1970 the drug was categorized as a Schedule 1 drug. It was under Reagan that the war on drugs began, the DEA had turned their attention to marijuana farms in the United States. Throughout the rest of the 1900s the enforcement of punishments of possession have become much stricter.
In 1996, 56% of California voters approved of proposition 215. This legalized cannabis for medicinal use. Since then cannabis has been legalized for medical use in Alaska, Arizona,

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