Summary Of Marijuana Decriminalization

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The legal ramifications of marijuana prohibition, have raged from fines to death sentences. The Controlled Substance Act of 1971, reduced the severity of the penalties for possession of marijuana, however there remains a stigma around users, and states that had laxer laws than the federal government wished to have (Inciardi, 1981: 146).
James Inciardi argues in Marijuana Decriminalization Research, that there is a need for a more through reevaluation of law policies with regards to a pro/con approach, and a redefining of research practices, so that the entirety of the information can be available to adequately disseminate if continued prohibition of marijuana is really in the best interests of the society. He argues that research criteria’s
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In the 1960’s the Shafer Commission evaluated marijuana, and the social implications, and determined that decriminalization was advised. This was due to finding that there was no increase in violent behaviors, it did not cause an increase in juvenile delinquency, and was not the gateway drug it had been promoted as in previous arguments (Slaughter, 1988: 422-423) There is little to no evidence that marijuana prohibition has decreased crime yet President Richard Nixon disregarded this research and continued forward with the “War on Drugs”. Although many states moved toward decriminalization, by lowering penalties, no state pushed to legalize marijuana until the 1990’s. California citizens felt that legalizing marijuana for medical use, was the best course of action for their citizens.
The push by Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan administrations further solidified the misconceptions, while eliciting the DEA to classify marijuana as a schedule I drug – having no medical uses, and more dangerous than
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further weighs the pros and cons of the public heath framework of medical marijuana regulation in terms of full legalization within the state of Colorado, in The Public Health Framework of Legalized Marijuana in Colorado. This study operates within a multifaceted approach by looking at data within the public health system in correlation with interviews, policy creation, enforcement, and reassessment (Ghosh, et al., 2016: 21-27). This study challenges ideas that legalizing marijuana across the board would minimize medical marijuana requests, yet this has not held true. This in turn causes the state to evaluate the mechanisms of use, and policy

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