Decriminalization: The Dual Purpose Of Marijuana

Marijuana Decriminalization:
The Dual Purpose of Marijuana
There is more than one purpose for marijuana in this world. If the criminal justice system took the time to explore the endless possibilities that marijuana provides then there would be a positive change made within society. When hearing about marijuana or weed one may instantly think of someone smoking out of a bong with a tie-dye shirt on listening to reggae music or one may picture a drug dealer who happens to be African American dealing drugs out of an abandoned apartment. The negative connotations that marijuana has allowed stereotypes like these to not only paint a negative image in the minds of Americans, but it also defines marijuana in a way that is more damaging to its reputation.

There are a massive number of serious criminal cases in the criminal justice system that needs to be prioritized by prosecutors like robbery, rape, and murder. However, there are less serious criminal cases like possession of marijuana that get more attention than it should. With the large use of marijuana and the large number of cases that is placed in the criminal justice system, the decriminalization of America 's biggest illegal cash crop, marijuana, will put a stop to the many problems that is legalization creates. With marijuana having such a negative stigma attached by the government and the public, it is hard to identify the positive effects that the marijuana plant has to offer. The decriminalization of marijuana would benefit the economy, lower the

California decriminalized marijuana use for medical purposes in the mid-1990’s (Rabe, 2002, p. 293). There are several remarkable cases that have proven marijuana for be a medical aid for many people of all ages. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon and CNN 's chief medical correspondent, spent the last couple of years examining marijuana to combine all of his research into a documentary called “Weed”. He traveled around the world to interview medical leaders, experts, growers and patients. During his study, he met a young girl, Charlotte Figi, who had been having seizures since birth and by age three she was having approximately 300 seizures a week. Charlotte had been on several medications and none of them helped. In fact, some of the medications were life threatening and did nothing but was eventually given medical marijuana that has calmed her brain, limiting her seizures. If this plant can be used for medicinal purposes then what harm is it doing to the world if a girl as young as three years old can use it to aid her illness? Currently, 35 states and Washington D.C. have laws that allow, or will allow in the future, access to medical marijuana to qualified patients (Scherf, 2015). In 1937 the Marijuana Tax Act was passed, placing a tax on the sale of marijuana. The Controlled Substances Act, CSA, eventually replaced the Marijuana Tax Act in 1970. Even though marijuana is still considered a Schedule 1 drug,