Up in Smoke: Removing Marijuana From Schedule I
37 Pages Posted: 22 Aug 2018
Date Written: 2018
Abstract
With over 600,000 marijuana arrests nationwide, and more Americans being incarcerated than for any other crime in the nation's history, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 should be amended to eliminate the inclusion of cannabis or marijuana from Schedule I. Americans spent nearly $6 billion on "legal" cannabis last year alone, and the trend among states has been to legalize the use of cannabis for both medicinal purposes and recreational purposes. The initial prohibition, the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 ,was largely influenced by racially charged propaganda and a lack of any scientific studies of the substance. By removing the substance altogether from federal regulatory control, states would be allowed to determine for themselves how to regulate the use and dissemination of the substance. The adoption of state laws recognizing the various medical benefits of the marijuana plant will not have full force until the federal regulatory scheme has been altered.
Keywords: marijuana, cannabis, controlled substances, criminal law, law and medicine
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