“Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed.” Jimmy Carter, the 39th U.S. President, declared. marijuana’s legality has remained a controversial topic for decades. The current illicit nature of marijuana has lead to over seven million convictions, between 2001 and 2010, for possession of marijuana. Unwarranted and excessive convictions can dismantle convicts’ life, and must cease. Not only does the federal prohibition of marijuana violate several Constitutional Amendments, but it maintains a preconceived notion of criminal activity, despite its medical benefits. The legalisation of marijuana in The United States of America will vindicate this infringement of U.S. citizens’ inalienable rights.
To maintain citizens’ right to privacy, the Founding Fathers ratified the Fourth Amendment. Stated in the Fourth Amendment: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects.” The use of marijuana is a private matter, thus the government must not impede upon this with unreasonable searches and seizures of marijuana. Ravin v. State, a precedent case to this topic, dealt with the revolt of Irwin Ravin, after being charged for the possession of
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Due to the lack of address towards marijuana in The Constitution, the ones intended to determine marijuana’s legality are the states or the people. Nevertheless, marijuana’s federal prohibition and criminalisation remains. The “Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act” was set forth to propose legalisation of marijuana federally, by removing marijuana from the “Controlled Substance Act,” consequently removing criminal charges for marijuana possession. Though, this act was never ratified, ergo the ongoing inequitable federal prohibition of