Marijuana Prohibition Is A Violation Of First Amendment Rights

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Term Paper Title	Marijuana Prohibition Is A Violation Of First Amendment Rights
# of Words	1694
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	6.78

Marijuana Prohibition is a Violation of First Amendment Rights
     "Let me ask you something… if you had a choice, what would it be:  Marijuana or Martinis?"  This question appeared in the New York Times on Tuesday, May 12th, 1998.  Due to the "Marijuana Tax Act" of 1937 the only legal choice that you and the 18 million other adults who used marijuana last year can make is the martini ("Against Drug Prohibition" ix).  The legal acceptance of alcohol, however, does not exclude it from the category of a "drug," even in the eyes of the Food and Drug Administration.  The prohibition of marijuana is historically counteractive and a direct defiance of First Amendment rights.  This prohibition has denied thousands of critically ill patients a drug that would effectively treat their illness and relieve their pain.  The basis upon which marijuana is prohibited has been proven by the very government which has banned the drug to be false.
Since 1914, our nation has outwardly protested against the use of any "drug," contrary to our past acceptance of the market.  Before and during the Civil War, morphine (a derivative of opium) was implemented for it's anesthetic qualities and was used as a main ingredient in many medicines.  Marijuana was also implemented by the medical community in the treatment of migraine headaches, insomnia and rheumatism and cocaine to treat sinusitis, hay fever, and chronic fatigue.  These drugs were not only medicinal, however, and they became popular for recreation, and cocaine, specifically became an ingredient in wines and soft drinks, namely Coca Cola (Encarta, "Cocaine").
Just following the turn of the century, a new climate of temperance swept the nation and in 1914 Congress passed the Harrison Act, banning opiates and cocaine, and the prohibition of alcohol soon followed in 1918, making the U.S. officially a "dry" nation.  This prohibition led to a rise in a black market trade of narcotics and alcohol.  In 1933, the prohibition on alcohol was lifted due to an overwhelming public concern with widespread organized crime, police corruption and violence (Encarta, "Prohibition").
Much like the money spent on maintaining the prohibition of alcohol, since 1981, $150 million tax dollars have been spent in the attempt to prevent Colombian cocaine, Burmese heroine and Jamaican marijuana from entering U.S. borders.  In light of this, evidence shows that for every ton of narcotics seized, hundreds more prevail.  Also in relation to alcohol prohibition...

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