Drugs

Legalization of Marijuana I. Statement of Issue a. Should marijuana be legalized in the United States' b. The House of Representatives and the FDA c. This is a very big issue now because New Jersey legalized it for medicinal purposes. II. Historical Background of the Issue a. There as always been a problem with the usage of marijuana. People for years have tried to get around the law and sell this drug for money and other things of that kind. The drug has always been illegal for any purpose. It refers to governmental programs intended to suppress the consumption of certain recreational drugs. First used by US President, Richard Nixon, in 1972 to describe US’s programs, equivalent terms are now used in many countries. The Marijuana Tax Act was introduced in 1937. It required sellers to obtain a license. Blanket prohibition was not the intention. Harry Anslinger (Bureau of Narcotics Commissioner) testified in hearings on the subject that the hemp plant needed to be banned because it had a violent "effect on the degenerate races." This specifically referred to Mexican immigrants who had entered the country, seeking jobs during the Great Depression. Some People thought they were spending too much money on trying to stop the situation. Other people thought that the states were doing an amazing job keeping the drugs off the streets. i. This became an issue when people started selling drugs. b. The War on Drugs utilizes several techniques to achieve its goal of eliminating recreational drug use: specialized law enforcement agencies, officers and techniques information campaigns to educate the public on the dangers of recreational drug use critics often cite these campaigns as a primary reason to end the War on Drugs; they claim the campaigns are frequently misleading or outright lying streamlined enforcement and evidence-gathering procedures. c. It is a concern because people are fighting over the issue. People feel there is to much money and time being spent. If they were to just legalize marijuana then there would be more time to get real criminal. III. Affected Parties a. All the parties will be affected in different ways the FDA is a major player in this situation.