marijauna
...on of marijuana illegal in 1937, but it only has been a heated issue since the 1960's. In 1970, Congress passed the Controlled Substance Act, which placed all illicit drugs into 5 categories. Marijuana was placed under the category of "Schedule 1," because Congress decided that it has no medical use and a high potential for abuse of the "drug." But in 1970, Congress hardly new the potential benefits of marijuana for medical purposes because chemo-therapy wasn't even an issue back then, just as NORML pointed out in their petition to change the scheduling in 1972. NORML (National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws) insisted that Congress had made their decision without accurate information about the plant. In 1975, the IND began a program that would allow patients to receive marijuana from the government. This program lasted until 1992, when Congress discontinued it. Not more than a year ago, the same request for the rescheduling of marijuana was presented to Congress and it was once again, denied. In 1990, the Drug Advisory Board stated that "personal use and cultivation should be legalized." The Drug Advisory Board wanted to legalize marijuana for all purposes, not just for medical use because it would benefit our economy by being a taxable good and it would decrease crime over obtaining the "drug." Opponents to the legalization of marijuana are those who consider marijuana a "gateway" drug, which lead users to more harmful drugs. These assumptions have no real facts supporting them because in 1995, a survey was taken by the National Survey on Drug Abu...