Marijuana legalization has become a hot topic in recent years. Almost half of the United States has some form of legalized marijuana use; four of these states, plus the District of Columbia, have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Colorado was the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Research shows that legalizing marijuana in Colorado has brought in large revenues and is also improving the safety of the public. History has shown that marijuana was first medically used in 2737 B.C. China and used for recreational purposes back to 1000 B.C. India. It was not until the 1920’s that abuse of the drug began. In 1937, the government imposed a marijuana tax on the distribution of marijuana, but there was a stipulation. In order to distribute marijuana, the seller would need a stamp. However, the government would not issue any stamps. This was the government’s way of making marijuana illegal without creating a …show more content…
Funny because California was also the first state to legalize marijuana for medical use. Within fifteen years forty-six more states followed. Researchers from Arizona State University, M. Millhorn et al states in 1956 there were 1.6 million arrests in the United States and when possession of marijuana became a criminal offense in 1965 arrests tripled within the next five years. (Milhorn et al., 2009) Selling less than an ounce of marijuana could mean fifty years in jail. The war on drugs began in 1971 and President Nixon placed marijuana in Schedule One. Schedule One, or Schedule I as it is more commonly seen, is a list of what is considered to be the most dangerous drugs. This placed marijuana in a category with LSD, meth, heroin and ecstasy. Although President Nixon may not have agreed with marijuana, times were changing. Within a year of the war on drugs, eleven states decriminalized the possession of marijuana and surprisingly usage did not