The Early Days Marijuana Use in the USA
During the early 1900s, marijuana was a common product used in the United States for a number of purposes. It was incorporated into many medicinal products and could even be sold openly through many drugstores. However, once Mexican immigrants began to enter the US in greater numbers during the Mexican Revolution, the use of marijuana became associated with these immigrants, which rose some anti-immigrant sentiment.
The Criminalization of Marijuana
In 1937, the Marihuana Tax Act took legal effect and, for all practical purposes, criminalized marijuana nationwide. The Act levied a tax on sales of cannabis hemp and marijuana, as well as required all buyers and sellers to register with the federal government. That law had as its principal aim the control of the Mexican immigrant population and was stirred by racist propaganda and fear-mongering.
The criminalization of marijuana further continued with the Boggs Act of 1952 and the Narcotics Control Act of 1956, which established obligatory sentences for drug offenses including those for marijuana possession. These laws hit the hardest within communities of color and led to a massive explosion in the prison population.
The War on Drugs and Its Impact
In 1971, President Richard Nixon declared a “War on Drugs,” which further ramped up criminalization and enforcement of drug laws including those involving marijuana. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 classified marijuana as a Schedule I drug, ranking it with heroin and LSD for having a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use.
This was where the War on Drugs took the most devastating toll, siphoning Black and Latino citizens into arrest and incarceration at rates three, four, and even five times that of white Americans. While drug use was at similar rates across racial groups, the enforcement in drug laws was highly skewed, leading to the mass incarceration of people of color.
Chapter Three: The Fight for Legalization
As the devastating effects of marijuana prohibition became apparent, activists and advocates began to organize for its legalization or decriminalization. In 1996, California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana, and the list continued to grow throughout the rest of the decade.
That fight for legalization gained some serious steam in 2012 when Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana. Since then, several more states have legalized marijuana for adult use, and many others have decriminalized possession or approved medical marijuana programs.
Yet marijuana remains illegal under federal law, which has built a complex often convoluted legal landscape for the various businesses and entrepreneurs working in the cannabis industry.
Legalization: A Couple Bright Spots
Proponents of legalizing marijuana cite the many advantages it could offer, which include:
Reducing burden within the criminal justice system and allowing law enforcement agencies to focus on more serious crimes
- Safe and regulated access to marijuana for either medical or recreational purposes.
Discussion on Legalization of Marijuana and Its Future
The marijuana debate keeps going on, even against a background of progress within the last years. This is against some opposing views that insist legalization can only increase usage and abuse, especially among the youth, and further long-term health effect studies on the use of marijuana.
Supporters, however, counter that legalization allows for regulation and control of the substance better, while prohibition has been highly ineffective and even harmful to communities of color.
With most states continuing to legalize marijuana, and public opinion trending toward legalization, further legalization seems all but inevitable. Yet at the federal level, the future of marijuana legalization remains highly uncertain and likely will hinge on political will in the years to come.
Conclusion
The prohibition history of marijuana in the USA is complex and often troubling, from racism and fearmongering to devastating outcomes of the War on Drugs. In recent years, however, this struggle for legalization has gained significant momentum. More and more states recognize potential benefits associated with a regulated legal cannabis industry. As the debate over marijuana legalization continues, it’s clear: the tides change, and the future of marijuana in the USA will be very different from its past.
