California has always been on the progressive side when it comes to legislation involving popular issues. It has been a major player in the legislation surrounding notorious issues, one of which being the legalization of marijuana. The issue of medical marijuana in California has always been one of controversy and controversy is usually stemmed from confusion. The best way for the controversy surrounding California's medical marijuana policy to be cleared up is to clear up the confusion by defining the policy exactly by examining the past, present, and future of medical marijuana in California legislation. Marijuana has been a topic in California government for quite some time. Marijuana was definitively controlled by the Controlled Substances …show more content…
Act of 1970. Patrick Marshall laid out the structure of the act in his article "Marijuana Laws," "The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 categorized drugs into five "schedules" based on their medicinal value, potential danger and potential for abuse or addiction" (Marshall 130).
The schedules descend in risk. Marijuana is listed as a Schedule one substance. This means that marijuana, according to the act, had no medical use, very dangerous, and a high risk of addiction and abuse. It's schedule one ranking makes it completely illegal to possess or distribute marijuana. California's first major step towards marijuana legalization came in November 1996 when Proposition 215, California's Compassionate Use Act passed. Gina Chon explains the basics of the proposition in her article "Medical Marijuana: A Dream Up in Smoke?", "in the November 1996 elections when voters in California and Arizona passed proposals allowing for the medical use of marijuana" (Chon 16). The Proposition lays out that marijuana can be possessed and grown for personal medicinal use only. It still outlawed distribution and recreational use. In 1998 the federal government put six California marijuana dispensaries out of business. This caused the …show more content…
cooperatives to band together to sue the federal government for shutting down their legal distribution of medical marijuana. The case that ensued in 2001, "United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative" ruled "that medical necessity is not sufficient grounds to violate the federal law against marijuana possession" (Marshall 135). This ruling brought out the major issue surrounding marijuana legalization, where does the power to legalize lie, with the state government or the federal government. In more recent years California has sent up initiatives, like the one in 2010, but none have been able to stick. The proposed policies that handle marijuana are always changing and updating.
Laws regarding marijuana must fall into specific categories and address specific issues to be considered for policy. Rosalie Liccardo Pacula lays out these contingencies in her article "State Medical Marijuana Laws: Understanding the Laws and Their Limitations." There are "three main policy dimensions that influence the ultimate scope of the state laws that have been passed to date: (a) type of provision, (b) illnesses and symptoms covered, and (c) supply of marijuana" (Pacula 414). Provisions designate the conditions that will be instated for the use of medical marijuana and there are four types of laws that the provisions would divide them into "therapeutic research programs, rescheduling laws, physician prescription laws, and medical necessity defense laws" (Pacula 414). Each one of these groups protects specific consumers of marijuana. For example, therapeutic programs are given specific legalization for only the individuals involved in the studies. Physician prescription laws "only provide protection from prosecution to physicians- not their patients" so that they may "discuss openly with their patients the potential merits of medicinal marijuana" (Pacula 425). Medical necessity laws protect the patients buying the marijuana. They are only allowed to procure marijuana if it is under their physicians recommendation and prescription. The two other dimensions of marijuana legislations,
illnesses covered and supply must also be specified in the policy. A major push for positive medical marijuana legislation is the usefulness that has been proven for the cure of symptoms of major illnesses. In particular nausea caused by cancer treatments and HIV/ AIDS medications and these and other illnesses that marijuana can help the ailments of must be specifically stated in the policy. State laws must also specify where the marijuana can be purchased and who is allowed to grow and distribute it. The rescheduling laws major focus in medical marijuana reform is trying to change the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970. The Schedule one classification of marijuana means that, under federal law, marijuana has no medicinal use so there is no legal reason for its distribution or possession. So the rescheduling of marijuana from a schedule one to something lower would then allow for it to be able to gain some footing in legalization. This lower schedule will allow for at least the medical usage of marijuana to be possible not only on the state but federal level as well. The National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws is one of the major developer of potential policy regarding medical marijuana. Their major focus is proving the medicinal benefits of marijuana should be grounds enough for positive legislation. The Marijuana Policy Project, another proponent for legalized medical marijuana, bring up again the idea of this being a state level issue not a federal one and argue "the best option for state legislation… is to establish that it is no longer a state-level crime for patients to possess or cultivate marijuana for medicinal purposes" (Chon 17). The current developments surrounding medical marijuana are just the beginning. With the continual conversation regarding medical marijuana in California government, new legislation is on the horizon. The major opposition to medical marijuana policy comes from the federal government. Alex Kreit, in his article "The Future of Medical Marijuana: Should the States Grow Their Own?", explains how the "federal side, early efforts to stop medical marijuana by keeping physicians from recommending the drug or obtaining in junctions against medical marijuana dispensaries have given way to full-blown rains" (Kreit 1789). Because the federal government has made such a proactive effort to stop the expansion of medical marijuana and states seem to be leaning towards the support of legalization, it has become clear that it will soon have to be decided whether the legalization falls to the responsibility of the states or the federal government. The states have begun to realize the potential positive benefits that could be reaped from legalization. Peter Reuter makes this same observation in his article "Why Has US Drug Policy Changed So Little Over 30 Years?". He discusses how this and other social benefits such as lower crime and prison overcrowding have been noted by the public and will push the medical marijuana policy forward. California's policy towards medical marijuana will continue to grow. Medical marijuana is a major policy issue on both the federal and state levels of government. California's predominant liberal leaning legislation makes it a prime candidate for successful marijuana legalization in the near future. But this can only happen if the controversy surrounding it can be eliminated. This can be achieved by ensuring that the confusion about the issues surrounding marijuana legalization is cleared. The growing public support and understanding, and the development of substantial positive evidence for medical marijuana use will lead California into the new age of legalization.
The controversy of legalizing marijuana has been raging for quite a while in America. From some people pushing it for medical purposes to potheads just wanting to get high legally. Marijuana has been used for years as a popular drug for people who want to get a high. All this time it has been illegal and now it looks as if the drug may become legal. There has been heated debate by many sides giving there opinion in the issue. These people are not only left wing liberals either. Richard Brookhiser, a National Review Senior editor is openly supportive of medical marijuana yet extremely conservative in his writing for National Review (Brookhiser 27). He is for medical marijuana since he used it in his battle with testicular cancer. He says "I turned to [marijuana] when I got cancer because marijuana gives healthy people an appetite, and prevents people who are nauseated from throwing up. "(Brookhiser 27) Cancer patients are not the only benefactors from the appetite enhancer in marijuana, but so are any other nauseous people. Arizona and California have already passed a law allowing marijuana to be used as a medicinal drug. Fifty Six percent of the California voters voted for this law. "We've sent a message to Washington," says Dennis Peron. "They've had 25 years of this drug was, and they've only made things worse." (Simmons 111) The Arizona proposition garnished an even wider margin of separation between the fore's an against in a sixty five percent support tally. Ethan Nadelmann insists that " these propositions are not about legalization or decriminalization. They're about initiating some non radical, commonsense approaches to drug policy." General Barry McCaffery disagrees saying, "I...
"State Medical Marijuana Laws." Legislative News, Studies and Analysis. National Conference of State Legislatures, 2014. Web. Apr. 2014. .
Marijuana has been as issue from many years now. As a youtube document explains “Harry j. Anslinger united states first drugzar for him public enemy number one was marijuana. Turning the employers against their employee says that mexicans and such were using these drugs during work and it was messing with their minds and they would rape their children and wives.”(youtube.com) There have been movies made to prevent people from using it and an uncountable amount of protest for and against the use of the drug. “Marijuana first became illegal in 1937, and by 1970’s this drug was in high demand” (youtube.com) No matter how hard the laws that prevent the use of marijuana are enforced americans are still going to use it.
Right now in the United States one of the major concerns in the medicinal field is whether or not to use marijuana as a legitimate medicine. In states like California, it is already legal, with other states like Maryland and New Mexico are lobbying for the use of it for patients with terminal illnesses. If it were to be used as a legitimate medicine with good results in states like California and Arizona, then other states should follow suit, because it would help those in their state with those terminal diseases. While this is an issue states should approach, it should stay just that as is, more of a states right and not a federal issue because the people will still be voting for it of course. The federal government had already passed a law banning illegal drugs such as marijuana, but it started a big conflict because of the medicinal uses it could provide for patients with life-altering diseases. This drug is used illegally throughout the country as a way to get that rush or “high,” but patients in hospitals with critical condition diseases can use marijuana to sort of alleviate some of that pain to make living with the disease a little easier for them. While most are pushing for it to be legalized, it is only because those who use it illegally want to do so without getting in trouble. If it were to be legalized it would not only make an industry out of it like it did to tobacco, as well as making it hard for some who actually needs to use it for medicinal purposes. However with no intrusion by the federal government, because this concerns the individuals right in their respective state, it should be legalized for those with terminal diseases in all states consenting because it would ease the s...
...Marijuana is also a major cash crop and has the potential to be America’s largest cash crop. Medical Marijuana has been legalized in twelve United States including California. California has legalized medical marijuana and has had great success. Marijuana is California’s largest cash crop, raking in billions of dollars a year which is helping California’s debt. If America legalized and taxed marijuana, we could see the economy flourish and could help us break this recession.
Simoni-Wastila, Linda, and Francis B. Palumbo. "Medical Marijuana Legislation: What We Know-- And Don't." Journal Of Health Care Law & Policy 16.1 (2013): 59-75. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
In determining the ethicality of legalizing marijuana, it is necessary to understand the background of the issue, and to identify the most important stakeholders. In the 1930s, many states began outlawing the substance; ironically California was the first of these states (Rendon). In 1937, the federal government outlawed the substance, which pushed the growth and sale underground (Rendon). In 1970, President Nixon declared the substance a Schedule I Substance, which indicates that the substance has “a high potential for abuse” and “no currently accepted medical use” (Controlled Substances Act). The federal government has specified that for marijuana to have an accepted medical use, it must “be subjected to the same rigorous clinical trials and scientific scrutiny that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) applies to all other new medications” ("Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Marijuana"). There are numerous stakeholders in an ethical dilemma of this magnitude, which...
Not everyone feel that legalizing medical marijuana would be the right thing to do. Most opponents concerns are about the ...
and loss of appetite caused by the disease itself and by treatment with AZT and
Recently, the California elections proposed a controversial new law for the state to apply a new tax on cannabis, Proposition 19. Many reasons arise to contest this new proposition. Firstly, we currently do not have a sufficient system in place to prevent the dispersion of cannabis to minors. Secondly, drivers already have enough to be concerned about, such as drunk drivers and people using cell-phones, therefore we should not add marijuana as an additional influence for people to have open access to. Moreover, once we compromise by sanctioning a recognized drug, what is stopping us from eventually legalizing far more serious drugs, like cocaine and heroin? Say no to legalizing marijuana, and keep our country safe.
Marijuana has been illegal for less than 1% of the time that it’s been in use (Guither, 2014). Going back to 1619, the Virginia Assembly passed legislation requiring every farmer to grow hemp. Hemp was allowed to be exchanged as legal tender in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland (Block, 2014). It was actually a crime in some states to refuse to grow hemp in the 1700's. In the late 19th century, marijuana was a popular ingredient in many medicinal products and was sold openly in public pharmacies (PBS, 2014). However, in the early 1900’s things changed, a prejudice and fear began to develop around marijuana because it was being used and associated with Mexican immigrants. In the 1930’s, the massive unemployment rates increased public resentment and disgust of Mexican immigrants, which escalated public and governmental concern (PBS, 2014). In 1930 a new federal law enforcement agency, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) was created. Harry J. Anslinger was appointed the first commissioner of the FBN in 1930 (...
Legalization of Marijuana has quickly become a controversial issue in America. In the United States, legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes is spreading to the state level. For example, in November 1996, the people of California and Arizona voted to legalize marijuana for medicinal reasons. As a result of Proposition 215 in California, patients now smoke marijuana provided their physician recommends its usage. A prescription is not required, and marijuana continues to be illegal to prescribe. The Clinton administration responded that it “would not recognize these decisions, and would prosecute physicians who recommend or provide marijuana to their patients.” Although California and Arizona are the only two states to have already passed laws regulating marijuana usage, twenty-six states and the District of Columbia have laws and resolutions regarding marijuana usage. These laws and resolutions range from establishing therapeutic research programs, to allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana, to asking the federal government to lift the ban. Despite the states’ desires to have marijuana legalized for medicinal purposes, the US National Institutes of Health examined all existing clinical evidence about smoked marijuana and concluded that, “There is no scientifically sound evidence that smoked marijuana is medically superior to currently available therapies.”
Despite the 1976 ruling by the federal government that marijuana has “no acceptable medical use”, sixteen states have passed medical marijuana laws that allow for patient use o...
The first law that regarded marijuana in America required farmers to grow hemp in the year 1619 for clothing, rope, and other materials, but “as early as 1840, doctors recognized the medical applications of marijuana, and the drug was freely sold in pharmacies for over a century.” (Rich and Stingl). In 1937, the use and possession of marijuana was made illegal, but “before 1937 marijuana was freely bought, sold, grown, and used.”(Rich and Stingl). In 1970 the congress decided to classify marijuana as a schedule one drug, which has made the legalization more difficult, “schedule one drugs are considered dangerous, addictive, and have no medical benefits.”(Rich and Stingl). Marijuana fits the schedule one drug classification because marijuana is dangerous to people’s health, has been found to be addictive if used daily, and also has no medical benefits because marijuana can cause more health problems than it can cure.
Cannabis is a natural plant that has been made illegal by the United States, and has been a controversial topic ever since the 1920’s. Marijuana is a substance that has been used hundreds of years ago as an herbal medicine and also can be used for textile products from hemp, which is from the Cannabis Sativa plant. Because of marijuana being categorized as a schedule one substance, it has no medical value and cannot be researched in the United States. Marijuana is said to be a gateway drug and is very unhealthy for adolescents with premature brains. The marijuana prohibition should finally come to a close because there are many benefits from cannabis and it is less harmful than both alcohol and tobacco.