Aside from taking into consideration the possible tax revenues after legalization and adverse health effects associated with marijuana use, the issue of government enforcement of the laws still stands as a point of contention. Even five decades after the Equal Rights Act of 1964, there is disproportionate enforcement of the law on minorities, especially marijuana related laws. The anonymous author of “Government Must Legalize Marijuana” correctly claims that roughly 33% of marijuana related arrests were of African Americans, when Africans American comprise of only 14% of marijuana users. Federal laws call for equal enforcement of the law regardless of race or ethnicity. A disproportionate arrest of African Americans is a violation to their right to equality. In NYC from 1997-2006, 52% of those arrested for marijuana possession were African American, 31% Hispanic and 15% Caucasian (Levine). These numbers take on a new meaning when considering roughly 60% of Caucasians used marijuana at least once in their life, whereas 50% of African Americans and 44% of Hispanics used marijuana at least once in their life (Levine). The disparity between users and those arrested is the major argument for legalization of marijuana. Legalization of marijuana would circumvent the possibility of wrongful targeting of minorities. However, a harmful substance should not be legalized to alleviate wrongful targeting of minorities. In essence, laws should not be abolished because they are difficult to enforce.
Disproportionate arrests also inhibit minority members with records from attaining meaningful employment that would otherwise be within reach. Sabet argues that “isolating those with an arrest record” and preventing them from finding employment will ...
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Levine, Harry, and Deborah Small. "Marijuana Arrest Crusade." University of California, Berkley. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2014.
"Marijuana." National Institute on Drug Abuse. National Institute of Health, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
"Marijuana Resource Center: State Laws Related to Marijuana." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 4 May 2014.
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Miron, Jeffery, and Katherine Waldock. "The Budgetary Impact of Ending Drug Prohibition." CATO Institute. N.p., 27 Sept. 2010. Web. 3 May 2014.
"Ohio Laws & Penalties." Working to Reform Marijuana Laws. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2014.
Sabet, Kevin. "There Are Smarter Ways to Deal With Marijuana Than Legalization." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 30 Oct. 2012. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.
In the 2015 article “What will Federal Marijuana Reform Look Like?”, Alex Kreit states how the current stance towards marijuana has changed. For this reason, a need for a new policy is necessary, as the present strategy of implementing laws on federal marijuana prohibition is no longer sustainable. This shift of mindset towards legalization of marijuana leads Kreit to say that legalization is inevitable. As an illustration, in 1996, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Congress opposed California’s approval of medical marijuana. In contrast, the year 2013 was when the Department of Justice announced new guidance to deprioritize enforcement of marijuana laws. Because of this shift, Kreit propose that efforts should go to crafting marijuana
Zeese, Kevin and William Ruzzamenti. “Should marijuana be legalized for medical uses?” Health Nov./Dec. 1993 Vol.7 Issue 7 page 23. http://ehostvgw8.epnet.com/delivery.asp?…3F&startHitNu m=1&rlStartHit=1&delType=FT.
Works Cited "The California Marijuana Vote." New Yorker 23 Dec 1996: 62+. Brookhiser, Richard. "Pot Luck." National Review 11 Nov 1996: 27+ Simmons, Michael. "Give Pot a Chance." Rolling Stone 26 Dec 1996: 111+. Rist, Curtis and Harrison, Laird. "Weed the People." People 21 Oct. 1996: 75+. Funk and Wagnall's Volume 23 "Marijuana" 1996 Baum, Dan. "California's Separate Peace." Rolling Stone 30 Oct. 1997: 43+ Brookhiser, Richard. "Lost in the Weed." U.S. News & World Report 3 Jan. 1997: 9 Buckley, William "Legalization of Marijuana Long Overdue" The Albuquerque Journal. Online. 8 June 1993.
Marijuana in America became a popular ingredient in many medicinal products and was openly sold in pharmacies in the late nineteenth century (“Busted-America’s War on Marijuana Timeline”). The National Institute of Drug Abuse defines marijuana as, “The dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, which contains the psychoactive (mind-altering) chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as well as other related compounds” (“DrugFacts: Marijuana”). It was not until the Food and Drug act of 19...
Since the late 1970s different states have been changing laws of decriminalization of marijuana. Many states did not decriminalize and often dropped charges ...
Benson, Adam. "Brandeis U.: EDITORIAL: Recent ballot measures indicate need to legalize marijuana." America's Intelligence Wire 12 Nov. 2002. General OneFile. Web. 12 Oct. 2010.
“Prohibition does not work. Education and treatment are better ways to address the drug problem” (Marijuana, 1999). Prohibition has failed to ...
Wilson, Clare “The Case for Marijuana by Prescription." Marijuana (Contemporary Issues Companion). Tardiff, Joseph, ed. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press, 2008. 63-70. Print
Pacula, Rosalie Liccardo, et al. "Developing Public Health Regulations For Marijuana: Lessons From Alcohol And Tobacco." American Journal Of Public Health 104.6 (2014): 1021-1028. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 June 2014.
Ross, John K. "The State Of Marijuana Legalization." Reason 46.1 (2014): 32. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Marijuana prohibition stands as one of the most unwarranted policies of the United States. Every year we are spending billions of dollars on the War on Drugs with little benefit. Data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation show there were an estimated 1,552,432 arrests for drug-related crimes in 2014 – a slight uptick from the 1,531,251 drug arrests in 2013. Marijuana offenses accounted for 48.3 percent of all drug arrests. Most marijuana-related arrests were for possession of the drug. By mere possession, there was one marijuana arrest every 48 seconds in 2014. Including arrests for distribution, there was a pot-related arrest every 42 seconds. This prohibition makes no sense, especially in a country where alcohol use is completely acceptable. Many argue that marijuana use is much more safe than either alcohol or cigarettes, yet it has been illegal for almost 70 years (NORML).
Marshall, Patrick. "Marijuana Laws." CQ Researcher. CQ Press, 11 Feb. 2005. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
Stanley, Janet E., Stanley J. Watson, and John A. Benson. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. Washington D.C.: National Academy P, 1999.
"Legalization of Marijuana." Student Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Discovering Collection. Gale. MINITEX. 20 Mar. 2014
“Marijuana Abuse.” National Institute on Drug Abuse: The Science of Drug abuse and Addiction. NIH, n.d. Web. 4 Feb 2014.