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Persuasive Essay On Legalizing Marijuana

928 Words4 Pages

The war on drugs has resulted in more problems than benefits. In 1970, Congress established the Controlled Substances Act which placed several plants, drugs, and chemicals into one of five schedules related to the substance’s medical use, potential for abuse, and safety or dependence liability. Marijuana was placed as a schedule I drug, which is a substance considered to have no accepted medical uses, high potential for abuse, and are deemed not safe to use. Marijuana should not be classified as a schedule I drug because there are proven medical uses, and needless arrests has led to population growth in prisons. As of 2018, medical marijuana has become legal for medical use in 29 states and Washington D.C., and more states allow for the use …show more content…

Prosecutors will also examine about 4,940 felony convictions and consider reducing these convictions to a misdemeanor, and they are doing so without effort necessary from the convicted (Doubek). California is not the only state that has been doing this as nine other states are reducing or clearing past marijuana related convictions. Although this doesn’t give those who were convicted the time they wasted in prison back, this is truly a step in the right direction as these nonviolent “felons” can have their civil liberties restored to them. Convicted felons can find it difficult to find employment and lose their ability to vote. In order for marijuana to be reclassified to another schedule or removed from the controlled substances list, the rulemaking process can be started by the DEA, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or by petition from an interested party (“Marijuana”). Congress is also capable of reclassifying a substance through legislation, but they have no intent on doing so. Unfortunately, people have fought to remove marijuana as a schedule I substance since the Controlled Substances Act was formulated, and petitions related to the rescheduling of marijuana have remained

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It is known the plant cannabis, grass etc. It is categorized as a schedule I drug, but 23 states including D. C. have legalized it as a prescription drug. In fourteen states, marijuana can be grown or bought legally. Marijuana is used for recreational purposes as well as for medical purposes like pain relief and increase appetite. There are many pros and cons about using and legalizing marijuana.

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Every 37 seconds, someone is busted for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Started by President Richard Nixon, the War on Drugs prohibits the possession of narcotics that are considered “poisons” by the government of the United States. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 does not allow any possession of the drugs listed in the act, which includes marijuana. People deserve the right to possess marijuana because crimes related to the drug will decrease overall and those that sell the drug illegally will no longer be able to stay in business. To begin with, legalizing the use of marijuana leads to a decrease in crime related towards possession, purchase, and use of the drug.

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Everyday patients are visiting their doctors in a desperate search for help with their problems, some physical and some psychological. Far too often in today’s troubled society a doctor is quick to hand their patient a prescription for a powerful and potentially harmful substance. The prescriptions could include drugs such as benzodiazepines for psychological problems and epilepsy, or opioids for pain. Both of those substances can have substantially dangerous and adverse effects and could lead to addiction and even death. Marijuana is a much safer and more naturally occurring substance that can be used for all of the previously listed purposes.

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Legalizing Marijuana The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 essentially outlawed the possession or sale of marijuana, it was considered a “demon weed”. In 1952, the Boggs Act provided stiff mandatory sentences for offences involving a variety of drugs including marijuana, heroin, morphine and several others. In 1971, it was deemed a Schedule 1 narcotic. “Schedule 1, the most restrictive category, contained drugs that the federal government deemed as having no valid medical uses and a high potential for abuse” ("Should Marijuana Be A Medical Option", 2016). Marijuana is considered a schedule 1 narcotic, so research has become very difficult to deem it medically safe.

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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,

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A final factor to consider when looking at the reformation of federal marijuana laws are the social costs associated with the criminalization of cannabis. The American federal government, through the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, categorizes drugs based on their potential for abuse and possible medical uses. A schedule V drug is considered to have clear medical efficacy and a low potential for abuse, while a schedule I drug is considered to be highly addictive and of no medical value. Of all the schedule I drugs, considered federally to be the most dangerous of controlled substances, only marijuana has been legalized on a state level, in direct conflict with Federal law. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, these federal laws, constituting America 's "war on drugs," have led America to imprison more people per capita than any other nation in the world (The Drug War).

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Should Marijuana Be Rescheduled? Since the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which created tiers that list how dangerous drugs are, marijuana has been listed at the highest tier of Schedule I. This means that marijuana is considered to have no accepted medical use and is considered to have a high risk of abuse and addiction. This rescheduling is certainly arguable as there are many who believe it should and many who believe it should not be rescheduled. While the lack of research makes scientists unaware to most of the effects of the drug, and the fear of business loss for those who already have the production in states where it’s legalized is high, marijuana should be rescheduled to a lower schedule because doing so would allow scientists to conduct more large scale researches on the effects of the drug, it would also allow a larger industry to pop up and stimulate our economy, and If it were rescheduled it would be easier to access

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Suppose everyone lived in fear for the rest of their lives, constantly pushing away change because no one knows the exact outcome. According to The Discovery House, researchers, scientists, and observists can proudly say that marijuana does not affect the same part of the brain as any of the other substances under the Schedule I Act. Any way of using marijuana is much safer as well, yet being under this schedule, it is tried as highly addictive with no medical value and no recognition for the differences in recreational and medicinal use. Criminalizing it has not affected general use either. My proposition is to clear out the clouded, avoided areas of our country’s problems and be rid of them forever by having everyone under the influence.

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Cannabis Prohibition: The Beginning of the End It is understandable that most Americans question the benefits and drawbacks associated with the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Federally, marijuana has been considered a Schedule I substance since 1970; it is classified amongst the most dangerous of drugs and is said to induce psychological and physical dependence or addiction. Regardless of its DEA classification, twenty-three states have legalized the medical use of marijuana to date.

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After marijuana was legalized in California twenty-two other states and Washington DC and Guam followed. (time.com) The medical marijuana was issued to patients who had medical issues like glaucoma and social anxiety. It could only be used if their doctor prescribed it to help their symptoms.

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Over several decades, marijuana has been frowned upon by the United States federal government; they passed the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 which effectively taxed the sales of marijuana. In the 1970’s, President Nixon put marijuana into the Controlled Substances Act. The Controlled Substance Act established Schedules for ranking substances according to their dangerousness and potential for addiction. As of recent years, some states have passed bills for the approved use of marijuana for medicinal use. Some use of medical marijuana include that is reduces severe seizures in children that have epilepsy, helps cancer patients deal pain, and helps people deal with poor appetite and weight loss caused by chronic illness, such as HIV.

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The Federal Statute governing marijuana as a Schedule 1 Drugs/Substance is flawed. Marijuana is labeled as a schedule one drug or substance. As a result of this classification, marijuana cannot be legal at the state or federal level. One part of the definition of a schedule one drug is: “no currently accepted medical use in the United States, a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and a high potential for abuse”, according to dea.gov. However, the United States is currently using marijuana as an accepted medical treatment.

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Marijuana, placed in Schedule One, turned into the most prohibited category for drugs to be put in. Working on the decriminalization of marijuana became a long drawn out process. For the next 5 years, eleven states proceeded to decriminalize the possession of marijuana. Within just a few short years after that, the focus of the drug war shifted. Moves to decriminalize marijuana disappeared and parents started to raise their voices.

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As of today the Drug Enforcement Agency, referred to as the DEA, still has this substance on the schedule one list. Marijuana is not a dangerous drug, in fact it has healing factors that help treat illness and psychological problems that modern medicine cannot even treat!

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