The futility of pot prohibition
11/05/2009
Seventy-two years ago, the federal government took marijuana off the market through the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act, based on various reports and hearings about the effects of the substance, which included testimonies that cannabis caused “murder, insanity and death.” Although the act did not criminalize the usage or possession of the herb, it levied a tax of about one dollar for anyone who dealt it and included penalty provisions and complex rules of enforcement that, if they weren’t followed, would lead to heavy fines and even prison time. The act made it extremely difficult to sell pot and increased the risk in doing so.
While today it has become generally accepted that those hearings included incorrect, excessive and unfounded arguments, it wouldn’t have mattered, because in 1951, the Boggs Act was passed and the penalties for dealing marijuana quadrupled.
And the reason for it, former commissioner H. J. Anslinger of the Bureau of Narcotics testified that, while admitting marijuana wasn’t addictive or that it led to murder or death, it was the stepping stone to heroin. This was the first time marijuana had been lumped together with other narcotics and the passage of the Boggs Act was the defining moment that began the official national pot prohibition.
Eighteen years later in 1969, former president Richard Nixon officially declared war on drugs. Since then, billions of dollars have been spent enforcing the marijuana prohibition, thousands of people have been incarcerated for marijuana-related offenses and violence related to obtaining, not due to consuming, the Schedule I narcotic continues to make headlines.
Despite all the laws and penalties as well as the national movements to get a handle on the growing issue, including the War on Drugs and the Just Say No campaign, we are no closer to ridding society of marijuana than we were before the prohibition. In fact, our feature story on page 12, “How does your pot grow?” goes into detail about the multimillion industry that exists legally right under our noses in California, thanks to the Compassionate Use Act, passed in 1996, which decriminalized growing and selling pot for medicinal purposes. We talk with local growers who make hand over fist in profits while avoiding taxation, revealing one industry that can and will weather any recession.
Now that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has decided to put an end to the federal government raiding properties and arresting medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, it is time for society to make another decision. In election season 2010, California voters may be presented with several pot legalization measures. The measures, if passed, would eliminate the harsh penalties now placed on marijuana dealers and users. It is estimated hundreds of millions of dollars would be saved every year as law enforcement and prisons scale back prosecution and incarceration of such offenders. California could begin taxing marijuana sales and start to close the budget deficit as well as fund treatment and education services to stem the tide of substance demand and abuse.
The fact is that marijuana isn’t going anywhere. Its usage has remained steady for decades and has been shown to improve the quality of life for cancer and AIDS patients and others with chronic pain issues. Legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco create greater ills to society, causing hundreds of thousands of people to die from disease and incidents related to their uses. The reasons for keeping pot illegal are antiquated and unfounded.
Perhaps in 2010, we can start to undo the damage done to our society by legalizing marijuana, saving taxpayers billions of dollars, generating revenue for local, state and federal coffers through taxation and relieving our prison system by letting nonviolent marijuana users and dealers out. By legalizing pot, we may also reduce gang violence related to the illegal manufacturing and importing of pot.
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Valid medicinal value, it’s a victimless crime, the War on Drugs WAY too costly, too many arrests for simple possession, tax it and use the money to pay for health insurance and to reduce the deficit…Need I say more?
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The original posting of the La Guardia Committee report was in the Schaffer Library of Drug Policy at http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Libr...
The transcripts of the hearings for the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 can be found at http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/tax...
The short history of the marijuana laws, with all the essential points mentioned in this piece can be found at http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/...
The full text of every major government commission on the marijuana laws from around the world over the last 100 years can be found at http://druglibrary.org/schaffer under Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy.
During the Boggs hearings, the LaGuardia report proved Anslinger's reefer madness claims were all lies. The lawmakers were ready to strike marijuana prohibition from the books. (see: The La Guardia Committee Report - 1944 http://www.420magazine.com/forums/cannab...)
That's when Anslinger dragged the Stepping-Stone-Gateway claim out of his vest pocket the same way he came up with assertions that smoking a joint would cause murder and mayhem. Anslinger never offered any proof other than his own perjury.
The bottom line is that marijuana prohibition is entirely based on absurd fictions.