Isaac Schick

Honey 1

Meg Honey
Period. 2
10/22/15
Research Paper

Many people site abolition as one of the most ineffective and irrational wars on a substance, why
then does this kind of mentality not extent to the governments war of Marijuana. Many people believe
that the war on Marijuana has already been lost, but this has not changed the governments policy on the
issue. Even when from the state of Washington to the District of Washington, Marijuana has been
legalized for medical and recreational uses. Though according to the federal government, all these
legalization are completely illegal, and even though the current administration is letting it slide, there is
no tell what the next administration will do. The reason for this total disparage between the federal and
local governments is rooted in Nixons war on drugs, in which his administration signed off on the first
major classification of substances. This classification was listed under the Controlled Substances Act of
1970, and used numbered schedules at a classification system, with the closer to 1 the schedule is, the
more dangerous it is. Marijuana was listed as a schedule I drug. Though Marijuana still has obvious
downsides to its use, it is far from being a schedule I drug, and the fact that it is listed as such makes it
hard for legal Marijuana businesses to operate, takes money away from fighting other harder drugs, and
undermines the beneficial medical aspects of Marijuana.
With Marijuana being illegal in accordance to the federal government, it becomes very difficult
for anyone who wants to start a Marijuana business in a state where it is legal to do so. This derives from
several key things the federal government is needed in developing businesses, one of which is the use of
banking. According to Controlled Substances Act, any financial institution that uses the Federal Reserve
Systems money transfer system, can not take any proceedings from a business that works in the sale of

Marijuana (Stinson, Jeffery.). This has been attempted to be solved through the assuring by the Justice
Department that there wont be any movements against banks that work with industries that adhere to state
laws, as well as a congressional bill that made it illegal for the Justice Department to spend money in
pursuing legal Marijuana businesses. Nothing has truly minimized the risks, says senior counsel for the
American Bankers Association, Megan Michiels. Now many of these problems stem not just from the
state department, but from the federal government as a whole, with most agencies that deal with drugs
still fighting against even Marijuanas medical application. As to date, the federal Food and Drug
Administration has not approved the legal use of Marijuana for any use ("U.S. Food and Drug
Administration."). This continued prosecution of Marijuana use within most federal agencies many be
another large reason banks and other such finical industries have not be willing to interact with legal
marijuana producers and suppliers. All organizations that get their guidelines from the federal government
and the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.
Marijuana has been listed under a broad group of drugs that have been deemed a threat to
American society, and have been targeted in the War on Drugs, beginning under Nixon in 1970. This
War on Drugs is often blamed for being the reason why America holds the largest number of prisoners
in the world, being that, one-third of [prisoners] are imprisoned for nonviolent drug crimes. About half of
these criminals are marijuana offenders, which means one-sixth of our countrys prisoners are in jail for
marijuana-related charges.(Wolff, Madeline.). Many of these criminals are also prosecuted as an effort by
the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) or the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), which are both
directed following federal laws set up in the Controlled Substances Act. So under these guidelines,
removal of Marijuana as a schedule I drug would theoretically reduce the number of prisoners who would
other wise be put in jail for non-violent marijuana producing and supplying. This very aggressive use of
the DEA in finding and destroying Marijuana producers nationwide is best seen in the DEAs self

proclaimed Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program, a program that according to the DEA
itself, does not recognize the legality of Cannabis despite state efforts to legalize (Marijuana Resource
Center: State Laws Related to Marijuana."). This eradication program was responsible for 9,076 total
eradication indoor and outdoor grow sites, as well as 6,310 total arrests. (Babson, Kimberly A.). These
statistics only include people who were arrested in as a result of one of the DEAs administrations and
dont even factor in the number of people arrested by state and local authorities working on behalf of the
DEA. Since the DEA is a federal body, and operates under federal law, it is not surprising that cases in
which legal growers have been targeted or harassed by them exist. Though the DEA is simply fulfilling
the role it was created to do, and has no reason not to target legal industries when according to the
government they serve, Marijuana is still illegal.
According to the Controlled Substances Act itself, a schedule I drug has three defining
characteristics,

(A) The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
(B) The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States
(C) There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.

("Title 21 United States Code (USC) Controlled Substances Act."). This means that according to the
federal government, there is no potential medical use for Marijuana, which in it of itself, goes complete
against many claims by scientific institution investigating the subject. One such scientific group, which
the result of state legislator passed by Governor Gray Davis, is the Center for Medicinal Cannabis
Research, has lead studies into Marijuanas effectiveness in a multitude of medical fields. There studies
have found a range of medical applications from improving HIV-infected individuals appetites, to
minimizing neurological pains ("CMCR."). Scientific research is currently limited to many state level

institutions, all while being technically illegal at a federal level. Currently there is only one was to attain
legal ability to grow Marijuana for medical research, and this is through the admittance of a license by the
DEA, which to this date has only done so once, to the University of Mississippi, and only under the
guidelines that the Marijuana would be used by the NIDA (National Institute of Drug Abuse). (NIDA's
Role in Providing Marijuana for Research."). This license policy has severely limited the amount of
research that can be legally preformed, completely hindering a field that would otherwise be able to
provide much needed research into a field that has been largely unexplored.
Many opponents of marijuana legalization site its harmful aspects both on society and on
persons, such allegations as Marijuana is worse for you then cigarettes and that as an irrational fear of
marijuana is diminished, marijuana use among teens increases. This idea that Marijuana is more harmful
then cigarettes comes from the fact that to inhale marijuana smoke many have to hold in the smoke for
much longer since it takes longer for the THC to absorb into the blood. This intact does make Marijuana
five to six times more likely to cause tar build-up on a hit to hit ratio with cigarettes. ("Marijuana Myths
& Facts: The Truth Behind 10 Popular Misperceptions."). This idea is quietly disproven however when
looking at the quantity of hits involved in an average tobacco smokers day, while most people who admit
to smoking Marijuana in the past year do not smoke daily. This is in accordance with the fact that nicotine
is far more addictive then any chemicals found in Marijuana. Another popular idea is that as people begin
to think marijuana is less harmful, more people, especial teens, will become users. This goes completely
against current trends, with marijuana use among 8th, 10th and 12th graders being on the decline since
there usage rates in 2000 and 2013 (What Is the Scope of Marijuana Use in the United States?"). This is
all during years in which the perceived risks of marijuana are also on the decline, which would directly
contradict allegations made by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 is responsible for the overly aggressive, and overly
funded DEA war on marijuana as well as the infringement of business and the restriction of scientific
research, all due to a simple and outdated classification system. All these uses have to due with the

governments inability to come to an agreement on federal acts. The federal governments increasing
inability to get things done is made clearest in the current marijuana situation, with state legislatures being
able to accomplish far more in the way of marijuana reform then the stalemated dome on Capital Hill. As
a governing body we owe an obligation to progress with our people, and to not hinder individual citizens
as well as states in their pursuit of property and prosperity.

Bibliography
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3) Wolff, Madeline. "Legalizing Marijuana Can Reduce Crime, Increase Revenue for State." The Sundial.
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