Marijuana Should be Legalized

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According to Martin Luther King Jr., “There are two types of laws: there are just and there are unjust laws” (King 293). During his time as civil rights leader, he advocated civil disobedience to fight the unjust laws against African-Americans in America. For instance, there was no punishment for the beatings imposed upon African-Americans or for the burning of their houses despite their blatant violent, criminal, and immoral demeanor. Yet, an African-American could be sentenced to jail for a passive disagreement with a white person such as not wanting to give up their seat to a white passenger on a public bus. Although these unjust laws have been righted, Americans still face other unjust laws in the twenty-first century.

In America,—the so called “home of the free” and well-known for being just and right—the federal law states that it is illegal to possess, grow, sell, or anything else related to marijuana—a natural, safe, and beneficial substance. If anyone is found guilty of these actions, they could face a fine anywhere from one thousand dollars to four million dollars and/or serve a prison sentence anywhere from fifteen days to life. However, the sale, use and even abuse of alcohol or tobacco—which is scientifically tested not natural, safe, or beneficial—is not seen to the government as illegal and is only punishable if sold to a minor or if the use of the substances causes a crime to occur. The illegal status of marijuana is an unjust law. The DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) currently lists marijuana as a schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA). The CSA states that, “Schedule I drugs are classified as having a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the...

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...n. Marijuana use does not cause brain cell death.

Work Cited

http://www.thehia.org/facts.html

http://www.drugscience.org/amu/amu_medprof.html

http://www.naihc.org/hemp_information/hemp_facts.html

http://www.justice.gov/dea/concern/marijuana.html

https://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-2002-25028

King, Martin Luther. A Testament of Hope. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1991. Print.

http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?wtm_view=&Group_ID=4575

Abrahamov A, Abrahamov A, Mechoulam R. An efficient new cannabinoid antiemetic in pediatric oncology. Life Sci 1995; 56(23-24): 2097-102

http://science.iowamedicalmarijuana.org/pdfs/clincal/Musty-Rossi%20JCANT.pdf

http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/Marijuana/marijuana3.html

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00248378

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