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Medical Marijuana

Ever since marijuana was first introduced to the United States in the 1600's, the small plant has been surrounded by conflict. Despite numerous medical accounts stating the medicinal properties in marijuana, concerns regarding the legalization of marijuana, even for medical purposes only, has left Congress struggling to reach a decision. Although there are many health benefits, the United States has been having a hard time adjusting to the fact that medical marijuana is a good thing. If our society and judicial system could just look to the scientifically proven benefits of marijuana and realize that the use of it for medical reasons only is a necessary thing, it would be sure to be legalized nationwide.
In 1937, Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act, putting a tax on the distribution and possession of marijuana. It was established to restrict the number of people possessing and using the drug, which was said to cause "murder, insanity and death". This belief in the "evils" of marijuana was in fact one without scientific evidence to support it. In the 1960's, the judicial system began penalizing people who used marijuana for not only recreational purposes, but also for medicinal reasons as well. During this era, the government came into this "war on drugs" state, and doctors began to run tests on medical benefits of marijuana. ("1937.")
In 1969 the Marijuana Tax Act was found to be an unconstitutional policy in the court case Leary v. United States. Timothy Leary, a professor and activist, was arrested for the possession of marijuana in violation of the Marijuana Tax Act. Leary challenged the Act on the ground that the Act required self incrimination, which violated the Fifth Amendment. Leary's case was overturned but it was agreed unanimously by the Supreme Court that the Marijuana Tax Act was unconstitutional. Due to this fact, Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) as Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control...