The Regulation And Taxation Of Marijuana Act

Cannabis began being outlawed all across the U.S. during the 1900’s and has remained illegal ever since, until recent years when states began legalizing it (huffpost.com). Although many people believe that the reason behind the prohibition of cannabis was based on genuine concern for the possible consequences it may have on the well-being of people if it remained accessible to all, the truth is that the drive behind the U.S.’s prohibition of cannabis was founded on racism. During the early 1900’s cannabis was considered an “ethnic drug” due to the fact that many Mexican immigrants smoked the plant (huffpost.com). With the tension in Western states regarding the migration of Mexicans into the states, laws concerning the use regulation of

The legalization of cannabis in the state of Massachusetts has proven to be a very controversial topic with many citizens for and against its legalization. Personally I am for the legalization of cannabis, and today I will be writing a totally opinion based paper regarding the economic benefits that legalization could offer this fine state.

Recent laws that regulate marijuana have been a hot topic of debate. On on eland, people argue that legalizing marijuana will result in more use of the drug and crime. On the other hand, people who favor marijuana reform laws suggest that marijuana actually improves health and decreases crime rates. This topic caught my attention because as a college student in an urban area, marijuana use is very prevalent. Although marijuana is illegal, it is still bought and sold on a regular basis underground or on the black market. In these circumstances, crime rate continues to rise. Therefore, my purpose is to compare crime rates in places where marijuana is legal, such as Colorado and Washington, to places that marijuana has yet to be legalized.

On November 8th 2016, Arizonans will exercise their right to vote for or against Proposition 205, the Regulation and Taxation Act, that could legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Arizona. Currently, in Arizona, marijuana has only been legalized for medicinal purposes and participants must be registered and carry a medical marijuana identification card. Similarly to when Colorado, Washington and Oregon all proposed the same measures to legalize the recreational use of marijuana over the last four years, there is strong opposition as well as solid support of the amendment in Arizona. In spite of the rhetoric from the opposition, the passing of proposition 205 will prove to be far more beneficial than risky as it will generate revenue

Adding history and background to the issues and conflicts that will be discussed later in the paper is critical in order to discern them. Following the Mexican revolution, the United States in the early 1900s experienced an increase of immigrants coming from Mexico. These immigrants brought their native language, culture, and customs. One of their customs was the use of cannabis plants, which at the time was used for medicinal purposes and as a major relaxant. These new Americans referred to the plant as marijuana, which is the same as cannabis. However, at this time many Americans were oblivious to that. Media reports supported the fears that had risen from the general population of believing immigrants were dangerous, claiming that they

On January 1st the states of Colorado and Washington officially began the regulation of legal marijuana sales. Thousands of people from all over the country including tourists from Wisconsin, Ohio, Chicago, and even Georgia lined up out front of dispensaries to make a purchase. Recreational marijuana is being regulated and monitored like alcohol; you must be at least 21 years old to make a purchase. The drug, which is controversial in many states’ legislations, is currently legal for medical use in 20 states, but Colorado and Washington were the first to approve of recreational use (Healy). The geographical concepts involved in the legalization of marijuana include migration, movement and flow, and private/public space.

Undertreatment of pain, nausea and vomiting related to cancer, seizures, PTSD, and anxiety have become a huge problem in the United States. Because of this undertreatment, many patients have begun to self-medicate with other measures to alleviate their symptoms. Some turn to alcohol, some to prescription drugs, and others to cannabis in one form or another. Some of these means are regulated more than others and some of these cause problems in themselves. Alcohol, while highly regulated leads to many problems; it can result in financial hardships, marital issues, addiction, family issues, as well as legal problems. Prescription drugs carry the same risks as alcohol, whether prescribed

In November 2000, voters in Colorado passed Amendment 20, which enabled patients and their caregivers to obtain a restricted amount of marijuana from medical dispensaries (Sensible Colorado, n.d). The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment faced legal charges for creating an informal rule prohibiting caregivers from providing medical marijuana to more than 5 patients at a time (Sensible Colorado, n,d). In 2007, Sensible Colorado, Colorado’s medical marijuana distribution system, won the lengthy hearing, and its victory made way for store-front dispensaries throughout Colorado. Fast forward November 2012, 55% of Colorado’s voters were pro-Amendment 64 (Sensible Colorado, n.d). Amendment 64 made recreational marijuana use legal to anyone age 21 or older. This law was effective January 2014, and almost two years later the changes in the state are astounding.

With the passage of Amendment 64 to the state constitution, Colorado became the first state ever to legalize the sale, possession, and use of marijuana. On November 6, 2012, voters passed the amendment with a 9% margin. Interestingly, “Amendment 64 received 53,281 more votes in the state than Barack Obama did during the last presidential election” (Charlton). However, actual sales of marijuana for recreational purposes were delayed until the start of 2014. Amid of flurry of media scandals and protests from anti-marijuana activist groups across the country, Colorado opened its doors to the pot industry with the entire nation watching.

Before 1937, marijuana, or marihuana at the time, had served a 5000 year history as a therapeutic plant within many different cultures(Burnett). During the 30s people were fed the lie that marijuana had the capability to make people very violent toward women, these men were usually stereotyped as men of color. According to Dr. Burnett this is one of the main reasons that the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed, which banned all the usage and the selling of marijuana. The legalization of marijuana has its pros and cons like any argument but I believe the pros outweigh the cons in this debate. With the side effects thought to decrease anxiety, control epileptic seizures, and even stop cancer from spreading(Loria) should be enough to legalize

· New Recreational Marijuana Law: passed under prop 64 in 2016. Legalized marijuana under state law for those over 21 years of age for “recreational” use. The law allows these adults to grow, use, and possess marijuana for “nonmedical” use. It is regulated locally and includes state taxes on sale and growth of marijuana for businesses supplying non-medical marijuana. State tax revenue would be funneled into supporting communities and organizations such as youth outreach, drug treatment, and law enforcement (Proposition

Marijuana legislation in the United States seems to be divided between very subjective and objective credence’s. The objective perspective seems to be that marijuana is a substance that has medicinal properties and merits further research into its utilize as a substance that can be utilized for medical treatment. While the subjective perspective seems to be more fueled by propaganda than scientific research. All too often, arguments for and against the utilization of marijuana have been predicated more on emotion and personal opinion shaped by propaganda and the taboo subject of illicit drug use, than genuine scientific fact. This should not be what decides if there should be legitimate scientific research on the subject. Currently, marijuana is a schedule I controlled substance, indicating it is considered highly addictive and of no medical use. Due to the many claims that marijuana is of medical benefit, many states have passed laws that allows limited access of

The inception of cannabis prohibition in the United States began no more than a century ago. During the colonization of the free nation, the consumption, production, and sale of cannabis was legal due to high reliance on hemp at the time. By the close of the nineteenth century cannabis became, alongside tobacco and cotton, one of the leading crops produced in the Americas. During this time physicians often prescribed cannabis for medical, however, after a rise in opiate addiction following the Civil War, cannabis fell under the same fate as many other commonly stigmatized drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Moreover, early restrictions on cannabis are documented as being under the guise of federal drug regulatory objectives backed with discriminatory

Marijuana has a long standing history of being one of the most controversial substances in America. While the history or the Cannabis plant indicates not only acceptance as a useful plant, but even advocated as a source of revenue and medicinal usage, much of the United States government propaganda over the last 100+ years has led Americans to accept very slighted and often false information about the plant and its uses. Based on the origin of the illegalization of marijuana and the inconsistent findings of its effects in comparison to other substances, both legal and illegal, marijuana should be decriminalized and treated as a recreational substance just as alcohol and tobacco are.

The organization I choose to do was the Marijuana Reform Laws. In this organization the goals are to let marijuna be a legal in the states desired.In many states its banned because its considered a drug and having possession of this drug can lead up to many years in jail or even prison.In some states marijuana its legal because its medical and its used to help many patients out there in world.There are many foundation out there fighting to legalize medicinal marijuana out there in th world because its proven that marijuana is not in fact a drug but a mediceine that has help many disabilties such as (PTSD) shorter for Post Tramtic Stress Disorder, muscle spams, nausea, suizures and so.As an advocacy group called NORML has been active in spreading