A Brief View Of The History Of Marijuana Legalization

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The legalization of marijuana is, and has been a heavily disputed issue for decades. On one hand, marijuana could lead to a medical breakthrough, or at least provide relief to cancer and AIDS patients. On the other hand, legalizing a drug could expose it to too broad an audience. As a drug, marijuana has never proven to be anywhere near as harmful as cigarettes or alcohol. Each year in the United States, 400,000 people die from tobacco, 50,000 from alcohol, and from marijuana, zero. Regardless of what side one may take to this argument, there are some causes to this marijuana debate that everyone should know. Marijuana was not always illegal, and the reasons behind the history of narcotic regulation are interesting when viewed from today's perspective. The history of marijuana prohibition is a story of racism, political repression, and poorly represents the qualities this country claims to embody. The story of marijuana's prohibition goes back as far as the early 1900's. The Mexican revolution was bringing a large population of Mexicans into the southwestern United States. The Mexicans brought with them the habit of smoking "motas", marijuana cigarettes. (Gerber) The locals claimed that the marijuana "incited Mexican immigrants to violent crimes, aroused a ‘lust for blood' and generated superhuman strength." (Gerber) These statements stemmed more from the racist ideas of the time than from actual fact. There were similar claims made all over the states; by the 1930's, the New York Times was printing such headlines as "MARIJUANA MAKES FIENDS OF BOYS IN 30 DAYS; HASHISH GOADS USERS TO BLOOD LUST." (New York Times) This racism became, over time, a notion in the minds of Americans that marijuana was a dangerous narcotic. Marijuana... ... middle of paper ... ...ust reach a compromise, hopefully sooner rather than later. Works Cited Berger, Rudolph. Legalizing Marijuana. Praeger Publishers, London: 2004. Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 44, 46-75A, 1989 Connell, C., "Legalizing Drugs Would Reduce Crime Rate: Elders," L.A. Times, December 10, 1994. Eldridge, W.B., Narcotics and the Law. New York University Press: New York, 1962. 140-141 Helmke, M. "Quayle in Support of Taking a Look at Legalized Pot," Indianapolis Star, March 6, 1977. New York Times, September 16, 1934, Sec. 4, p. 6 Raspberry, W. "Likely Drug Czar Is Another Retread with Old Ideas," Arizona Republic, May 1, 2001, B7 Time Magazine, March 12, 1965, p. 49. Walters, John P., Bennett, William J., and DiIulio, John J. Jr.,, Body Count: Moral Poverty and How to Win America's War Against Crime and Drugs. Simon and Schuster, 1996.

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