Summary: Sociological Analysis Of Marijuana
During a time when it was legal:
Sociological analysis of Marijuana
Mia Mogavero
Sociology 442
Professor Poole
Intro: Before the age of technology, World War I, The Constitution and the Pyramids there was Marijuana or also known as Cannabis or Hemp. This resourceful, medicinal, and overall popular plant has been used as far back as 2900 BC by the ancient Chinese and later by Egyptians and survived more than 4,913 years to continue to be one of the longest and most profitable crop in history. The Cannabis plant has some of the most versatile usage’s amongst any other plant that has lived even half its life, ranging from: creation of oils from the seeds, extract of THC for medicinal use and now most commonly known as a recreational …show more content…
drug. The most common issue is the connotation of Marijuana and the limitations that have superseded its original usage. Since 1937 the Marihuana Tax Act prohibited the use, growth and selling of the substance and if caught is now a federal crime (Reinarman and Levine, 1997). This once useful substance had quickly transformed, with the help of white dominant rich men like Harry Anslinger (former Treasury agent) and newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst (protection of lumber and paper industry- (procon.org) for their own self preservation. The act of criminalizing Marijuana comes from the media’s spin of a popular movie, “Reefer Madness” and accusations that it is the “killer weed” or the “dropout drug” (Himmelstein, 1983). Stories that the drug made Mexican Nationals violent and others go crazy and kill people were just fuel the label of Marijuana as deviant and those who did the drug as criminal; that just so happened to be Mexican’s and other non-white individuals. It has now been 77 years since the federal outlaw of Marijuana but, due to the constant deviation or what Reinarman and Levine explain as “pharmacological determinism,” when “the social context of drug use has helped create our drug problems is heretical.” This has a direct correlation to the idea of “deviant sub-cultures” that break the social construct of what drug use does to a group of people (Reinarman and Levine, 1997). Over time the consequences of drug sentences have become longer and the active federal and state fight to keep this drug illegal has grown to enormous economic losses. I argue that with less stringent laws and regulations surrounding Marijuana, it will allow for decrease crime, reduce the criminality of the drug and those that profit off of the drug, and provide economical profit for the community. Lit Review Before there was crime there need to be a law that criminalized Marijuana and the use or the possession of the drug.
In 37 states, offenses are punishable by imprisonment (Blumenson and Nilsen, 2010). Federal and many state laws have resulted in more than 700,000 Americans annually arrested and that almost 100 million Americans have committed (Blumenson and Nilsen, 2010). According to Norml.org, Marijuana possession to the sale and cultivation can range from 15 days in jail and $1,000 as a misdemeanor to a felony, from 10 year sentence to life in prison. The Harrison Act of 1914 which resulted with our nation’s first “federal antidrug law” (Reinarman and Levine, 1997) although this law was created to regulate and prohibit the use of cocaine and opiates, it was a catalyst for many states to outlaw the use or possession of Marijuana. Than in 1937, the “Marihuana Tax Act” denounced effects that Marijuana does to the body (although incorrect) and criminalized the possession and use of it both medicinal and recreationally. 33 years later the Control Substances Act of 1970 that gave way for even more power to groups like the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to control and enforce the laws already in place. Finally in a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled for the usage of Marijuana for the medicinal use only in the case U.S. v. Randall in 1976. The relevance of the historical background of Marijuana is the basic key to how it has grown to …show more content…
become the “drug” that it is today. Over the last century the American public has allowed for more and more control by the federal government, releasing its individualized power of the state. In 1996 California passed Proposition 215 also known as the Compassionate Care Act which after 20 year of research proving the productive use of Marijuana as a feasible course of treatment, legalized the use medicinally. California still placed many restrictions to this drug, such as the amount, how it is sold and obtained and that a licensed doctor must make the prescription. Currently upwards of 29 sections in California’s policies, laws and code’s that provide criminal statutes and consequences if any were to be broken. Since the federal laws still do not recognize Marijuana for medicinal use, the criminality of those that use this drug are still extremely prevalent in our national culture today. Over time, the stigma of Marijuana has decreased substantially and with the decriminalization of this drug as its uses are no longer discredited but now supported by scientific evidence has allowed for more leniency within the criminal justice system and less arrest for its use or the cultivation of the product. “Khatapoush et al., for example, found that while perceived harm of marijuana decreased after legalization of medical marijuana in California, approval of recreational use and actual recreational use did not change with the change in the laws” (Khatapoush and Hallfors, 2004; Certa et al., 2012). The recreational use of the drug has created a conflicting dichotomy as the same product is used to help as alleviation of nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy, wasting in AIDS patients, and chronic pain unresponsive to opioids (Procon.org; Certa et al., 2012) and recreationally for individuals to use to feel euphoric or “high.” As of 2014 there are 20 states that allow the use of medicinal Marijuana and so far only Washington and Colorado prohibit the use recreationally, as I will be going more in depth about their growing economy from this adjustment and how it has benefited their overall community. The majority of Marijuana or Pot smokers or “pot heads” around this nation are growing in popularity with the increasing acceptance of this drug. 48 states that have not allowed for the recreational use of the substance but, the use medicinally provides a lack of criminality. This is not limited to the growers and producers of the drug itself. ( need to connect paragraph to racial issues - how many people are locked up because of drug crimes (drug trafficking) who is benefiting from less laws in those areas - who is keeping all the laws in place hurting – less people sought out 4 drugs – less people in prison for these charges – more occupations in the fields Economy – debt crisis – Washington and Colorado – taxes on the product itself and how we can implement the same practices in San Diego with the desperencies that we already have
Theoretical Analysis He (Arislinger) then told policy makers and all others who would listen that the use of this ‘killer weed’ was spreading among Anglo youth, who would soon spread violence across society.
These new crusaders did not view marijuana as the ‘killer weed,’ but rather as the ‘dropout drug’ They claimed that marijuana was causing youth to lose the achievement ethic and to become "un-American” (Reinarman and Levine, 1997). Not only was marijuana considered all the above connotations, but it was racialized to Mexicans and Native Americans which made the dominant white class fear for its youth and culture. Marijuana received the label of illicit during the 1930’s according to the national government. Illicit also known as criminal, the public identified this drug that was considered helpful not harmful for so many years, so thus a paradigm shift from the use of a negative drug to the individual using it not for its culturally acceptable use. One of the original theorists Becker discussed how a label is stigmatizing and that people will no longer associate positive thoughts when society has changed the identity of that person, and in this case an item. In regards to the label of the individuals that use cannabis during the 1930’s through the 1960’s and even now, without a medicinal card, are considered deviant. The label’s placed on individuals that use the drug illegally are known as pot heads, stoners, hippie just to name a few; these negative labels have
some of the same issues that the original “crusaders” were trying to use as the deterrent for society to turn on the popular drug. By doing this drug as Becker explains as the “master status” when a characteristic molds a person’s identify around the label or the deviant behavior it makes it attractive to others that already have a deviant label. The prevalence of crime for these individuals, especially when it comes to drugs increases with the perceived threat of the criminalization of the substance.{ Since marijuana is still technically illegal federally but}(not a full thought), in Colorado and Washington where the criminality of the drug has decreased substantially, current statistics will concur that use has risen, but over time is projected to decrease similar to Prohibition (Harper et al., 2012; Cerda et al., 2012).
Suggested public Policy: Law’s are a reflection of the people that are forced to conform to the laws themselves, but by changing the peoples’ perception or opinion the laws overtime the laws will change to fit to the climate. Adopting the labeling theory to both marijuana users (and?), it provides a need by the overall economy for marijuana to be deemed legal in the state of California. The amount of people that are currently incarcerated in our state or even local city for these crimes would not be using up so much needed state funding to give back to benefit the community as a whole and allow for more recourses for individuals. One prisoner on average costs the state that they are in $33,000 per year and currently we have 34,838 inmates in California and San Diego, the third highest with 4,318 inmates currently incarcerated for marijuana possession (Norml, 2014). Without those individual’s being charged or incarcerated the state would save profit 1.1 billion per year and the city with 142 million. Retribution is one of the strongest ways that a criminal will assist in the profitability and the success of the community that they potentially harmed. Programs that would not allow thousands of tax payer’s dollars to just sit in a cell or have such overcrowding that criminals are turned away from the very facilities that they have been sentenced too. The result from this shift would be significant.
I would suggest that the recreational use of this drug should be regulated and continue to be controlled by the state to increase states rights away from the federal agenda. The abolishment of the medicinal use of the cannabis plant would be found to profit the medical field and the current testing that is happening with THC as a the cancer enzymes (FIND ARTICLE FOR SUPPORT ). This improvements to our overall society would allow for research to flourish, and the unknown chemicals that come from this plant will release an overwhelming insight on the scientific community and potentially health field.
By legalizing this drug for a product use, it will deter the need for criminalizing it, the commodity or the label of the drug itself will no longer be there, as it will once again be part of the scientific and healing community. The availability of this substance will make the stigma as an illicit drug dissipate, while finding the drug on the street will still be obtainable, the perceived threat of this drug will pale in comparison with comparable drugs.
To further complicate
Citations
Himmelstein, Jerome. The Strange Career of Marihuana. (Westport, CT) 1983.
Reinarman, Craig and Levine, Harry G. One crack in Context: America’s latest Demon Drug. “Crack in America, Demon Drugs and Social Justice.” (University of California Press) 1997.
Medical Marijuana. 4/16/2014 . ProCon.org http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000026
Federal Laws & Penalties. 4/16/2014. Norml.org http://norml.org/laws/item/federal-penalties-2
Gettman, Jon B. "US Marijuana Arrests. Part Two - Racial Differences in Drug Arrests". Washington, D.C.: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. (2000)
Blumenson, Eric and Nilsen, Eva. “Liberty Lost: The Moral Case for Marijuana Law Reform. Indiana Law Journal. 85 Ind. L.J. 279. Trustees of Indiana University (2010)
US. V. Randall 1976
Khatapoush, S., Hallfors, D., 2004. “Sending the wrong message”: did medical marijuana legalization in California change attitudes about and use of marijuana? J. Drug Issues 34, 751–770.
Cerda, Magdalena., Wall, Melanie., Keyes, Katherine M., Galea, Sandro. Hasin, Deborah. (2012) Medical marijuana laws in 50 states: Investigating the relationship between state legalization of medical marijuana and marijuana use, abuse and dependence. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 120 22-27
Becker – 1963 Outsiders
Harper, Sam. Strumpf, Erin C. Kaufman, Jay S. Medical Marijuana Laws and Marijuana Use. AEP Vol. 22 No. 3 207-212. (March 2012)
Sociological analysis of Marijuana
Mia Mogavero
Sociology 442
Professor Poole
Intro: Before the age of technology, World War I, The Constitution and the Pyramids there was Marijuana or also known as Cannabis or Hemp. This resourceful, medicinal, and overall popular plant has been used as far back as 2900 BC by the ancient Chinese and later by Egyptians and survived more than 4,913 years to continue to be one of the longest and most profitable crop in history. The Cannabis plant has some of the most versatile usage’s amongst any other plant that has lived even half its life, ranging from: creation of oils from the seeds, extract of THC for medicinal use and now most commonly known as a recreational …show more content…
drug. The most common issue is the connotation of Marijuana and the limitations that have superseded its original usage. Since 1937 the Marihuana Tax Act prohibited the use, growth and selling of the substance and if caught is now a federal crime (Reinarman and Levine, 1997). This once useful substance had quickly transformed, with the help of white dominant rich men like Harry Anslinger (former Treasury agent) and newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst (protection of lumber and paper industry- (procon.org) for their own self preservation. The act of criminalizing Marijuana comes from the media’s spin of a popular movie, “Reefer Madness” and accusations that it is the “killer weed” or the “dropout drug” (Himmelstein, 1983). Stories that the drug made Mexican Nationals violent and others go crazy and kill people were just fuel the label of Marijuana as deviant and those who did the drug as criminal; that just so happened to be Mexican’s and other non-white individuals. It has now been 77 years since the federal outlaw of Marijuana but, due to the constant deviation or what Reinarman and Levine explain as “pharmacological determinism,” when “the social context of drug use has helped create our drug problems is heretical.” This has a direct correlation to the idea of “deviant sub-cultures” that break the social construct of what drug use does to a group of people (Reinarman and Levine, 1997). Over time the consequences of drug sentences have become longer and the active federal and state fight to keep this drug illegal has grown to enormous economic losses. I argue that with less stringent laws and regulations surrounding Marijuana, it will allow for decrease crime, reduce the criminality of the drug and those that profit off of the drug, and provide economical profit for the community. Lit Review Before there was crime there need to be a law that criminalized Marijuana and the use or the possession of the drug.
In 37 states, offenses are punishable by imprisonment (Blumenson and Nilsen, 2010). Federal and many state laws have resulted in more than 700,000 Americans annually arrested and that almost 100 million Americans have committed (Blumenson and Nilsen, 2010). According to Norml.org, Marijuana possession to the sale and cultivation can range from 15 days in jail and $1,000 as a misdemeanor to a felony, from 10 year sentence to life in prison. The Harrison Act of 1914 which resulted with our nation’s first “federal antidrug law” (Reinarman and Levine, 1997) although this law was created to regulate and prohibit the use of cocaine and opiates, it was a catalyst for many states to outlaw the use or possession of Marijuana. Than in 1937, the “Marihuana Tax Act” denounced effects that Marijuana does to the body (although incorrect) and criminalized the possession and use of it both medicinal and recreationally. 33 years later the Control Substances Act of 1970 that gave way for even more power to groups like the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to control and enforce the laws already in place. Finally in a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled for the usage of Marijuana for the medicinal use only in the case U.S. v. Randall in 1976. The relevance of the historical background of Marijuana is the basic key to how it has grown to …show more content…
become the “drug” that it is today. Over the last century the American public has allowed for more and more control by the federal government, releasing its individualized power of the state. In 1996 California passed Proposition 215 also known as the Compassionate Care Act which after 20 year of research proving the productive use of Marijuana as a feasible course of treatment, legalized the use medicinally. California still placed many restrictions to this drug, such as the amount, how it is sold and obtained and that a licensed doctor must make the prescription. Currently upwards of 29 sections in California’s policies, laws and code’s that provide criminal statutes and consequences if any were to be broken. Since the federal laws still do not recognize Marijuana for medicinal use, the criminality of those that use this drug are still extremely prevalent in our national culture today. Over time, the stigma of Marijuana has decreased substantially and with the decriminalization of this drug as its uses are no longer discredited but now supported by scientific evidence has allowed for more leniency within the criminal justice system and less arrest for its use or the cultivation of the product. “Khatapoush et al., for example, found that while perceived harm of marijuana decreased after legalization of medical marijuana in California, approval of recreational use and actual recreational use did not change with the change in the laws” (Khatapoush and Hallfors, 2004; Certa et al., 2012). The recreational use of the drug has created a conflicting dichotomy as the same product is used to help as alleviation of nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy, wasting in AIDS patients, and chronic pain unresponsive to opioids (Procon.org; Certa et al., 2012) and recreationally for individuals to use to feel euphoric or “high.” As of 2014 there are 20 states that allow the use of medicinal Marijuana and so far only Washington and Colorado prohibit the use recreationally, as I will be going more in depth about their growing economy from this adjustment and how it has benefited their overall community. The majority of Marijuana or Pot smokers or “pot heads” around this nation are growing in popularity with the increasing acceptance of this drug. 48 states that have not allowed for the recreational use of the substance but, the use medicinally provides a lack of criminality. This is not limited to the growers and producers of the drug itself. ( need to connect paragraph to racial issues - how many people are locked up because of drug crimes (drug trafficking) who is benefiting from less laws in those areas - who is keeping all the laws in place hurting – less people sought out 4 drugs – less people in prison for these charges – more occupations in the fields Economy – debt crisis – Washington and Colorado – taxes on the product itself and how we can implement the same practices in San Diego with the desperencies that we already have
Theoretical Analysis He (Arislinger) then told policy makers and all others who would listen that the use of this ‘killer weed’ was spreading among Anglo youth, who would soon spread violence across society.
These new crusaders did not view marijuana as the ‘killer weed,’ but rather as the ‘dropout drug’ They claimed that marijuana was causing youth to lose the achievement ethic and to become "un-American” (Reinarman and Levine, 1997). Not only was marijuana considered all the above connotations, but it was racialized to Mexicans and Native Americans which made the dominant white class fear for its youth and culture. Marijuana received the label of illicit during the 1930’s according to the national government. Illicit also known as criminal, the public identified this drug that was considered helpful not harmful for so many years, so thus a paradigm shift from the use of a negative drug to the individual using it not for its culturally acceptable use. One of the original theorists Becker discussed how a label is stigmatizing and that people will no longer associate positive thoughts when society has changed the identity of that person, and in this case an item. In regards to the label of the individuals that use cannabis during the 1930’s through the 1960’s and even now, without a medicinal card, are considered deviant. The label’s placed on individuals that use the drug illegally are known as pot heads, stoners, hippie just to name a few; these negative labels have
some of the same issues that the original “crusaders” were trying to use as the deterrent for society to turn on the popular drug. By doing this drug as Becker explains as the “master status” when a characteristic molds a person’s identify around the label or the deviant behavior it makes it attractive to others that already have a deviant label. The prevalence of crime for these individuals, especially when it comes to drugs increases with the perceived threat of the criminalization of the substance.{ Since marijuana is still technically illegal federally but}(not a full thought), in Colorado and Washington where the criminality of the drug has decreased substantially, current statistics will concur that use has risen, but over time is projected to decrease similar to Prohibition (Harper et al., 2012; Cerda et al., 2012).
Suggested public Policy: Law’s are a reflection of the people that are forced to conform to the laws themselves, but by changing the peoples’ perception or opinion the laws overtime the laws will change to fit to the climate. Adopting the labeling theory to both marijuana users (and?), it provides a need by the overall economy for marijuana to be deemed legal in the state of California. The amount of people that are currently incarcerated in our state or even local city for these crimes would not be using up so much needed state funding to give back to benefit the community as a whole and allow for more recourses for individuals. One prisoner on average costs the state that they are in $33,000 per year and currently we have 34,838 inmates in California and San Diego, the third highest with 4,318 inmates currently incarcerated for marijuana possession (Norml, 2014). Without those individual’s being charged or incarcerated the state would save profit 1.1 billion per year and the city with 142 million. Retribution is one of the strongest ways that a criminal will assist in the profitability and the success of the community that they potentially harmed. Programs that would not allow thousands of tax payer’s dollars to just sit in a cell or have such overcrowding that criminals are turned away from the very facilities that they have been sentenced too. The result from this shift would be significant.
I would suggest that the recreational use of this drug should be regulated and continue to be controlled by the state to increase states rights away from the federal agenda. The abolishment of the medicinal use of the cannabis plant would be found to profit the medical field and the current testing that is happening with THC as a the cancer enzymes (FIND ARTICLE FOR SUPPORT ). This improvements to our overall society would allow for research to flourish, and the unknown chemicals that come from this plant will release an overwhelming insight on the scientific community and potentially health field.
By legalizing this drug for a product use, it will deter the need for criminalizing it, the commodity or the label of the drug itself will no longer be there, as it will once again be part of the scientific and healing community. The availability of this substance will make the stigma as an illicit drug dissipate, while finding the drug on the street will still be obtainable, the perceived threat of this drug will pale in comparison with comparable drugs.
To further complicate
Citations
Himmelstein, Jerome. The Strange Career of Marihuana. (Westport, CT) 1983.
Reinarman, Craig and Levine, Harry G. One crack in Context: America’s latest Demon Drug. “Crack in America, Demon Drugs and Social Justice.” (University of California Press) 1997.
Medical Marijuana. 4/16/2014 . ProCon.org http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000026
Federal Laws & Penalties. 4/16/2014. Norml.org http://norml.org/laws/item/federal-penalties-2
Gettman, Jon B. "US Marijuana Arrests. Part Two - Racial Differences in Drug Arrests". Washington, D.C.: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. (2000)
Blumenson, Eric and Nilsen, Eva. “Liberty Lost: The Moral Case for Marijuana Law Reform. Indiana Law Journal. 85 Ind. L.J. 279. Trustees of Indiana University (2010)
US. V. Randall 1976
Khatapoush, S., Hallfors, D., 2004. “Sending the wrong message”: did medical marijuana legalization in California change attitudes about and use of marijuana? J. Drug Issues 34, 751–770.
Cerda, Magdalena., Wall, Melanie., Keyes, Katherine M., Galea, Sandro. Hasin, Deborah. (2012) Medical marijuana laws in 50 states: Investigating the relationship between state legalization of medical marijuana and marijuana use, abuse and dependence. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 120 22-27
Becker – 1963 Outsiders
Harper, Sam. Strumpf, Erin C. Kaufman, Jay S. Medical Marijuana Laws and Marijuana Use. AEP Vol. 22 No. 3 207-212. (March 2012)