Marijuana Power

Words: 1160
Pages: 5

Marijuana: Who holds the power?
The use of marijuana as a leisurely activity in the United States has become increasingly popular among not only teenagers, but people of all ages. Currently marijuana has been considered a “Schedule I Drug”. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, a “Schedule I Drug” is “drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse” (DEA). In the recent decade, the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana has been approached and opposed by multiple different views ,raising the question of whether or not the recreational use of marijuana should be legalized or prohibited and who should have the power to legalize or prohibit it. This situation only leaves three
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In order to allow the state to decide, the federal government needs to permanently legalize marijuana by repealing or modifying the Controlled Substance Act. The CSA is basically the federal government's way of regulating and monitoring the use of specific narcotics, hallucinogens, depressants and stimulants and it banned the possession of marijuana.The CSA considers marijuana a prohibited and illegal drug. Under the Controlled Substance Act, the Attorney General can “add to such a schedule or transfer between such schedules any drug or other substance” and “remove any drug or other substance from the schedules if he finds that the drug or other substance does not meet the requirements for inclusion in any schedule.” (U.S Department of Justice and Drug enforcement Administration) . With this act modified or no longer valid, states could legalize marijuana and have zero interference with federal …show more content…
Furthermore, just as it is a legal right, it is also the best representation of the state's citizens. The most effective way to legalize or prohibit recreation use of marijuana would be through the state legislative branch. Elected representatives would have a say in the final decision. Not only does this representative form of democracy encompass the general population's beliefs, it also limits the amount personal and temporary bias that could come from the citizens. Naturally people vote for what they believe, but, these beliefs are ever changing and can result in bias and inaccuracy. Unlike a direct democracy and the use of a proposition, representative democracy would allow for more educated people involved in making major decisions such as the legalization of