Marijuana Prohibition

“The greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its culture.”-Thomas Jefferson. One of the biggest controversies that currently plague the U.S. is the debate over the legalization of marijuana. There are numerous factors to be considered in the debate, the drug’s effects, how it affects crime, and it’s medicinal uses. Federal law has prohibited marijuana since 1937. It is currently illegal to buy, sell, grow, or possess marijuana in the U.S.
Marijuana goes by more than 200 names, the most common being weed, pot, and herb (Ravage 6). Marijuana is made from the dried leaves of the cannabis sativa plant. The active ingredient is THC and when smoked it produces a “high” (Ravage 7). Marijuana is considered a mind-altering drug (Monroe 16).
The effects that marijuana has on its user varies from person to person. It depends on how it is taken, other drugs involved, and the expectations of the user (Monroe 17). The “high” consists...