Marijuana and Schedule Classification
Marijuana is listed on the schedule of the Controlled compounds Act along with other psychoactive drugs and compounds like heroin, cocaine, and lidocaine. Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug. (Leonard, 2017). None of the medications or substances listed under Module I have any medical worth. As a result, marijuana has continued to be classified as a schedule I drug on the grounds that it has no medical uses. The Food and Drug Administration Act, however, states that marijuana has some medicinal benefits and can be helpful when given to children who have seizures. Despite the acclaim, marijuana continues to be subject to strict laws. In their report in 2017, FDA has rejected the use of marijuana for the treatment of any disease (FDA, 2017). Despite the strict regulations by the FDA and the criminal justice systems, some regions in the world have defied regulations and have continually used marijuana as a drug. This article discusses marijuana as one of the drugs under close regulations of the DEA.
History of Regulation of Marijuana
The history of regulation of marijuana as drug dates back to the colonial periods when the firms in America produced large quantities of marijuana for local and international use. This continued until the late 19th century when it was largely sold as constituent compound within certain drugs. The anti-marijuana campaigns emerged strongly immediately after the Mexican Revolution of 1910 when the immigrants filled America and publicly abused marijuana (Martin, 2016). The 'Marijuana Menace' error did spread and in 1931 marijuana was termed as an illegal drug within the United States. It was closely followed by the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 that imposed strict regulation against the use this drug. However, the Academy of Medicine in New York issued a report that indicated that marijuana does not have serious negative effects. This lead to the increased licensing of the hemp farms and a total of 3500 acres were licensed. Another supportive idea came from J. F. Kennedy in 1960 who expressed positive opinion towards the use of marijuana (Martin, 2016).
In 1970, the Shafer Commission decriminalized the use of this drug. This idea was rejected by the social groups and parents acted against the directives in 1980. The stiff regulation got more strength under the leadership of George Bush in the late 1980s. However, in 1996, another sale permit of marijuana was issued. This directive allowed for the sale of marijuana to the patients who have AIDS and cancer among other disease conditions (Martin, 2016). Up to date the use of marijuana has remained controversial, and the DEA has maintained its stance towards criminalizing the use of this drug.
Demographic Characteristics
Marijuana is widely misused in several places across the world. It is estimated that about 166 million people use this drug across the globe. In America alone, the figure stands at 14.4 million. This encompasses both the legal and illegal use. Precisely, about 900, 000 individuals were said to be legal users of this drug by 2007.
Despite the widespread use and the rates of addiction, some users still opt for a spontaneous stoppage, a phenomenon described by Copersino et al. (2010) as a 'spontaneous quitting.' A very few percentage of those that engage in the legal use of this drug ends up in the formal withdrawal from use/treatments. With the rates of quitting the formal use of marijuana elevating to impressive levels, the number of those who illegally engage in the abuse of this drug is reported by Copersino et al. (2010) to have doubled since 202. In his report, those who are the leading point in the abuse of this drug are the male youths who are in the casual employment sectors.
Wu et al. (2016) also give a report that is closely related to that of Copersino et al. (2010) by indicating that the young adults' exposure is slightly higher than that of the adults. They also recorded a disparity in use between the blacks (11.5%), Hispanic (13.8%) and the other unclassified group (6.8%).
Criminological Theory on the Misuse of Marijuana
The legalization of the use of marijuana has brought in debate among the social scientists, criminal justice departments and the users themselves. As the scientists base their argument on the positive effects that it has uncertain medical conditions the criminal justice department has been slow to legalize the use of marijuana claiming that it negatively affects behavior. The Medical Marijuana Legalization (MML) has successfully occurred in several states in the district of Colombia.
With the legalization in route course, social scientists have made inquiries and asked whether there are serious social problems that are associated with the widespread use of medical marijuana. In this argument, the criminal department would make their judgment as to whether the legalized use of marijuana should be allowed or blocked. With the continued trends of violence associated with the use of marijuana, the criminal justice department has strengthened the regulations around its use. Therefore, the legislative rules have depended upon the scientific reports that associate marijuana with the violent behavior. This is strongly evidenced by Morris et al. (2014) who analyzed the report that examined the adolescent users of marijuana in New Zeeland and the associated effects. Criminology has thus based their regulation on the use of marijuana in several nations across the globe due to its social and medical effects.
Efforts from the Criminal Justice System to Prevent the Misuse
Despite the heated debates between the criminal departments, medical scientists, and the lobby groups, the DEA has reaffirmed its stance and maintained that the use of marijuana is illegal. This follows the several attempts to legalize it or at least incorporate it into another drug. As early as 1906, the use of marijuana had already raised the concern from the criminal justice departments. With the increasing concern on the social effects, the US labeled this drug as a poisonous substance, and the use was strictly termed as illegal. The strict guidelines and regulations did spread too late 1930 where the over 30 states in the US had already heeded the legal command. This was given a lot of support by the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act of the early 1930s and the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics strongly reinforced this law and the rate of misuse dropped.
Several other efforts filed because the use of marijuana to treat certain diseases and disease conditions like AIDs and cancer were under the medical consideration. Nevertheless, the US Supreme Court supported the bid to criminalize the use of marijuana. Up to now, with the support from FDA and DEA, the criminal department is still against the use of marijuana.
Efficiency of the Efforts to Criminalize Marijuana
Most of the approaches that have been put in place have produced positive results. This could be due to the idea that they work collaboratively. However, it can be argued that the continued illegal use arises from the current medical research that has insisted on exhausting all the possible positive effects of marijuana on human and animal health.
Recommendation and Conclusion
With the major challenge being with the medical scientists that have insisted on unmasking all the possible medical benefits of marijuana, the strict regulations should be focused on the active farms that grow this drug. Besides, more laws and regulations should be passed on the use of this drug, especially to the medical research centers that would use to use human volunteers.
It can be noted that since the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, there has not been any other strong legislation that guides on the use of marijuana. This could pose challenges to the DEA. The DEA depends upon the criminal justice departments to reinforce the use of such drugs and substances. Therefore, the criminal departments should formulate fresher regulations to put the use of marijuana under proper schedule.
References
Copersino, L. and Boyd, S. J. et al. (2010). Sociodemographic Characteristics of Cannabis Smokers and the Experience of Cannabis Withdrawal. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 36(6), 311–319.
Wu, L., Swerts, M. and Zhu, H. (2016). Trends in cannabis use disorders among racial/ethnic population groups in the United States. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 165, 181–190
Morris, R. G., TenEyck, M., Barnes, J. C. and Kovandzic, T. V. (2014). The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Crime: Evidence from State Panel Data, 1990-2006, PLoS ONE, 9(3), e92816
Martin, C. (20th April, 2016). A Brief History of Marijuana Law in America. Retrieved from http://time.com/4298038/marijuana-history-in-america/
U.S Food and Drugs Administration (28th February, 2017). FDA warns companies marketing unproven products, derived from marijuana, that claim to treat or cure cancer. Accessed from https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm421163.htm
Leonard, K. (25th May, 2017). DEA chief: 'Marijuana is not medicine'. Accessed from http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/dea-chief-marijuana-is-not-medicine/article/2624211
