WAR

ON WEED
Legalizing Marijuana

Mallory Ann Waggoner

University of New Mexico
ENGL 219

War on Weed: Legalization of Marijuana

Introduction
Marijuana is a plant that has been has been
grown and consumed for centuries. It has
been illegal in the United States for
approximately 79 years. In 1971 President
Nixon declared a war on drugs and
attempted to reduce drug abuses and
fatalities by increasing the amount of money
the United States government spent on drug
enforcement. His administration also
dramatically increased penalties for drug
offenses, including marijuana. Under the
Nixon administration, marijuana was
categorized as a category one crime, which
was the most severe category and it carried
the highest penalties. Almost 50 years later,
many now agree that this war on drugs
was a failure. Drug abuse has not decreased.
Over 88 percent of arrests in the United
States have been for small possession cases.
Consequently, thousands of people are
incarcerated for drug-related, non-violent
offenses. Millions of tax payer dollars are
being spent on detaining perpetrators of
petty crimes such as possession of
marijuana, while drug overdoses and deaths
from more serious narcotics continue to
increase.
This report will be divided into three
sections; a section describing the history of
marijuana in the United States; the status of
the proclaimed the war on drugs, specifically
marijuana; and examining Washington State
where marijuana is legalized.

Methodology
The approach of this study was to determine
if marijuana should be legalized in the United
States. The first step was to research why
marijuana is illegal. The next step researched
current crime statistics

Introduction Summary

Marijuana has been around for

centuries

The war on drugs is has failed

Tax dollars are spent on keeping

people incarcerated for small
possession charges

More people are set free for

violent crimes than people
arrested for small possession
charges

regarding the war on drugs within the last

decade. Lastly, Washington state was
chosen to investigate because Washington
legalized marijuana in 2012. The research in
Washington focused on tax revenue, crime
rates specifically violent crime, and any
other repercussions since legalization.
The public perception is that marijuana is
illegal because it is unhealthy, it leads to
other drug use, i.e., it is a gateway drug, it
may induce a mind-altering psychosis,
among other fears. Previously conducted
university studies were used to determine if
these hypotheses are valid. These studies
failed to confirm the harms of marijuana.
The next question for research is to uncover
the true reason marijuana became illegal in
1937. The next phase of research was to
discover the effectiveness of the war on
drugs, specifically involving marijuana: how
the war on drugs effects incarceration rates
and tax money usage. The research used
federal reports, including statistics from the
FBI and court reports. Since marijuana has
been legalized both recreationally and

War on Weed: Legalization of Marijuana

medically in a few states the next step was
to choose a specific state and find how crime
has been affected since the legalization.
Washington state became the best research
candidate. In Washington, marijuana is legal
for recreation and medical use. Moreover,
there has not been any other significant
changes to affect Washingtons reported
crime rates. This is important to correlate
the relationship between legalization and
crime.

resentment of Mexican immigrants

escalated. Citizens were blaming them for
taking their jobs, and hated everything they
brought with them. Below is an antimarijuana movie poster from a popular 1936
movie, Reefer Madness.

Seven states in addition to Washington have

legalized marijuana for both recreational
and medical use. In three of those seven
states the legislation is pending. Due to time
constraints, the state research postlegalization was narrowed down to only one
state, Washington. Other states crime may
yield different results, Washington State was
chosen as the best candidate.

History: Why Marijuana Is Illegal

In the early times of American culture
marijuana growth was encouraged. It was
used for rope, sails, clothing, as well as
medicinal products. According to PBS, in
1619 legislation was passed requiring every
farmer to grow hemp. Marijuana was sold
openly until 1906 when labeling cannabis
became required in any over the counter
medicine. The Mexican Revolution of 1910
introduced recreational marijuana to the
American culture. The influx of immigration
after the revolution increased fear and
prejudice among Mexican newcomers. As
time passed and hatred grew, citizens linked
marijuana usage with violence and social
deviance committed by underclass
communities. States in the Southwest began
to prohibit marijuana, largely due to a public
hatred of the Mexican immigrants. During
the Great Depression, this fear and

Fig. 1 an anti-marijuana movie poster

during the great depression, congress began

to evaluate all departments including the
Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN). Harry
Anslinger, the head of FBN, knew of the
growing fear and hatred, in fear of losing
both his job and his department he began to
collect horror stories of the effects of
marijuana. They are called Anslingers Gore
Files. In 1937, Anslinger attended a
congressional hearing to prohibit marijuana
use nationwide and convince congress to
keep his department. Here are some quotes
from the congressional hearing found in the
transcripts from the Marihuana Tax Act:

Two weeks ago a sex-mad

degenerate brutally attacked a
young woman. He was convicted of
assault with intent to rape and

War on Weed: Legalization of Marijuana

sentenced to 10 to 14 years in the

state penitentiary. Police officers
know that he was under the
influence of marihuana. But this case
is one in hundreds of murders, rapes,
petty crimes, insanity that has
occurred in southern Colorado in
recent years.

I wish I could show you what a small

marihuana cigarette can do to one of
our degenerate Spanish-speaking
residents

It is commonly used as an
aphrodisiac, and its continued use
leads to impotency.

. . .a boy and a girl . . . lost their senses

so completely after smoking
marihuana that they eloped and
were married.

It is reported that Dr. William C. Woodward

of the American Medical Association spoke
in defense of cannabis medicines, country
wide agriculture uses and the way the bill
was handled. No certain data proved
marijuana use had increased and he stated
that he thought no federal legislation was
necessary. Here is a direct quote from Dr.
Woodward to Anslinger, "In all you have
heard here thus far, no mention has been
made of any excessive use of the drug or its
excessive distribution by any pharmacist.
And yet the burden of this bill is placed
heavily on the doctors and pharmacists of
the country, and may I say very heavily - most
heavily, possibly of all - on the farmers of this
country... We cannot understand yet ... why
this bill should have been prepared in secret
for two years without any initiative, even to
the profession, that it was being prepared ...
no medical man would identify this bill with
a medicine until he read it through, because

marijuana is not a drug, ... simply a name

given cannabis." Representative Fred Vinson
lied when summarizing that the medical
groups legislative counsel gave its support.
The Marijuana Tax Act passed without a roll
call vote.

Fig. 2 anti-marijuana campaign poster

In the 1980s under President Reagans

administration, there was a significant
increase in drug incarceration, largely
due to his unprecedented expansion of
drug crimes and penalties. The number
of people behind bars for nonviolent
drug offenses increased from 50,000 in
1980 to over 400,000 by 1997.

Status on Americas War on Drugs,

Specifically Marijuana
The criminalization of marijuana continues
to affect us today. According to the Drug
Policy Alliance, more than 51 billion dollars
are spent on the war on drugs. Half of drug
arrests are for marijuana. In 2015, 643,121
arrests were for marijuana and 89 percent of
those arrests were due to small amounts of
possession. The FBI reports, marijuana is the
highest arrested drug for possession at 42.4
percent in America, more than heroin and
cocaine combined. America currently has

War on Weed: Legalization of Marijuana

the highest incarceration rate in the world
due to the high amount of annual possession
arrests. In addition to these arrest statistics
57 percent of people incarcerated for drug
offenses belong to a black or Latino
minorities. The ACLU reports, blacks are four
times more likely to get arrested for
marijuana possession than a Caucasian as
shown in figure 3.

The research in figure 4 displays the progress

of the drug war. The chart concludes that the
war on drugs has been inefficient. Drug
possession arrests per 100,000 population
has significantly increased from 1980. The
percent of age 12 and over using illicit drugs
in the past year has risen and passed the
1980 use of approximately 17.3%. Keeping
marijuana illegal is causing the black market
to grow.

Fig. 3 crime statistics of white arrests vs. black arrests

Not only is the drug war hurting minorities,

but it has also affected students; over two
hundred thousand people have lost federal
financial aid eligibility due to drug
conviction. The Drug Policy Alliance
estimates tax revenue from drug sales would
be around 46.7 billion dollars. The estimated
state losses on enforcing marijuana
prohibition is around 3.6 billion.

Fig. 4 the progression of the drug war

Examining Washington State

In 2012 Washington and Colorado were the
first two states in the United States to
legalize marijuana, both for recreational use
and for medical use. Washington state is a
good model to examine because marijuana
has been fully legal without any other major
events to challenge their statistics. Some
states, like New Mexico have legalized
medical marijuana, but still criminalize
recreational use.

Crime statistics from Washington court

reports are as follows; all category marijuana
violations are down 63 percent, convictions
are down 81 percent, and low level
marijuana offenses are down 98 percent.
The state estimates every possession of
marijuana arrest cost the state between
1,000 to 2,000 dollars. In ten years
Washington state spent over 200 million
dollars enforcing marijuana laws. After
legalization, the state has not only benefited
from the significant drop of crime, but has

War on Weed: Legalization of Marijuana

also earned close to 83 million dollars solely
in marijuana tax revenue, per a press release
in 2015. Violent crime has decreased by ten
percent; murder specifically has decreased
by 13 percent. The causation for these
significant violent crime decreases is
uncertain, but since the decrease began
shortly after legalization, it is safe to infer
some correlation between the two. Other
concerns in legalizing marijuana include
driving under the influence and increased
youth use of marijuana. The National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration
reported a decrease traffic fatalities during
the first year of legalization and have
remained stable. The tax revenue from
legalizing marijuana in Washington has
funded a program called Washington State
Healthy Youth. According to Washington
State Heathy Youth, there is no significant
change in youth use of marijuana. If legalized
nationwide these statistics would spread

through each state. The federal tax money

spent on prohibition would be wiped away
while revenue would sore from sales. It is
safe to conclude the United States would
earn over 200 million dollars every year in
marijuana tax revenue and the amount of
marijuana related incarceration would
decrease by eighty percent.
From these figures, it is safe to conclude the
legalization of marijuana has benefitted
Washington State. Violent crime has
decreased and state revenue has increased.
The state has earned money to spend on
programs educating youth. Washington
state has become a model for marijuana
legalization. Since 2012, 26 states and the
District of Columbia currently have laws
legalizing marijuana in some form. Eight of
those states legalized marijuana for
recreational use, and the other 18 legalized
for medical use only.

Summary
The findings of this research conclude it would be beneficial if marijuana was recreationally
legalized in all 50 states. Enforcing marijuana laws is costing each state money that could be
better spent on schools, incarcerating violent crime offenders rather than petty crime offenders,
or focusing on more serious and harmful drugs. Criminalizing marijuana was unjustly put into
place decades ago. This paper summarizes the original uses of marijuana as well as the unjust
illegalization in 1937. It analyzes the current effects illegal marijuana currently has over our
society. Research founded that marijuana accounts for over 42.4 percent of arrests in the United
States and that blacks are nearly four times more likely to get arrested for marijuana possession
than whites. This research proves the fundamental reasons of criminalizing marijuana have not
ended. The illegalization is still founded on hatred and racism. Washington State led the way to
a better tomorrow. After legalizing marijuana, the state showed a sharp decrease in violent crime
and a large increase in tax revenue. A final picture is shown below to offer a summary of
marijuana facts.


Fig. 5 Summary of marijuana facts

Legalization of Marijuana

References
ACLU. "Marijuana Arrests by the Numbers." American Civil Liberties Union. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Dec.
2016.

Anti-Marijuana Campaign Figure 2: http://earthlymission.com/wpcontent/uploads/2014/10/marijuana_reefer_madness_211014_2.jpg

"Drug War Statistics." Drug War Statistics | Marijuana Statistics | Mexico Drug War Deaths | Drug

Marijuana Summary Figure 5: http://badboysbailbondsutah.com/wpcontent/uploads/2014/11/Marijuana-Facts.png

Policy Alliance. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Dec. 2016.
"How Marijuana Became Illegal." How Marijuana Became Illegal. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Dec. 2016.
New Mexico Compassionate Use Act 26-2B-1 et. seq.
PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 28 Dec. 2016.
"Persons Arrested." FBI. FBI, 16 May 2013. Web. 28 Dec. 2016.

Reefer Madness Figure:

http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/0OiXbAiro3bWl36jq0hQAWkpsR4=/http%3A%2F%2Fa.amz.mshcdn.c
om%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F04%2Freefermadness-9.jpg
""The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937." The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Dec. 2016.
"The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937." Additional Statement of Harry J. Anslinger. N.p., n.d. Web. 28
Dec. 2016.
When and Why Was Marijuana Outlawed?" When and Why Was Marijuana Outlawed? N.p., n.d.
Web. 28 Dec. 2016.

http://www.drugpolicy.org/facts/new-solutions-drug-policy/brief-history-drug-war-0