what was the court case of the legallization of medical marijuana and was it legalized or not in the states?
404819
Although 11 states have legalized the use of marijuana for certain medicinal purposes, the federal government has laws on the book making it illegal for doctors to prescribe marijuana.  Last year, in Gonzales v. Raich, the Supreme Court upheld the federal government's right to regulate drug use in the states.  Effectively, then, medical marijuana use is illegal.
314571
pot was made illegal when lsd and all the hard druggs of the 60's were i think. instead of actually knowing what pot was or how it was different then acid and x and cocaine, and the other hard drugs, it was illegialized right along with it. so really for no good reason is it illegal.. yes it should be legalized.. we wouldnt spend so much money on the fight against drugs, and would be able to focus on the important things like coke, and crack, and heron, exc... the things that actually kill ppl
810403
it is illegal because it has to many uses and is far cheaper than what is currently available and so the big company's never want it to become legal but here is the real info.\nWhy is Marijuana Illegal\n\nMany people assume that marijuana was made illegal through some kind of process involving scientific, medical, and government hearings; that it was to protect the citizens from what was determined to be a dangerous drug.\n\nThe actual story shows a much different picture. Those who voted on the legal fate of this plant never had the facts, but were dependent on information supplied by those who had a specific agenda to deceive lawmakers. You'll see below that the very first federal vote to prohibit marijuana was based entirely on a documented lie on the floor of the Senate.\n\nYou'll also see that the history of marijuana's criminalization is filled with:\n\n    * Racism\n    * Fear\n    * Protection of Corporate Profits\n    * Yellow Journalism\n    * Ignorant, Incompetent, and/or Corrupt Legislators\n    * Personal Career Advancement and Greed\n\nThese are the actual reasons marijuana is illegal.\n\nA picture named leaf.gif Background\n\nFor most of human history, marijuana has been completely legal. It's not a recently discovered plant, nor is it a long-standing law. Marijuana has been illegal for less than 1% of the time that it's been in use. Its known uses go back further than 7,000 B.C. and it was legal as recently as when Ronald Reagan was a boy.\n\nThe marijuana (hemp) plant, of course, has an incredible number of uses. The earliest known woven fabric was apparently of hemp, and over the centuries the plant was used for food, incense, cloth, rope, and much more. This adds to some of the confusion over its introduction in the United States, as the plant was well known from the early 1600's, but did not reach public awareness as a recreational drug until the early 1900's.\n\nAmerica's first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia in 1619. It was a law "ordering" all farmers to grow Indian hempseed. There were several other "must grow" laws over the next 200 years (you could be jailed for not growing hemp during times of shortage in Virginia between 1763 and 1767), and during most of that time, hemp was legal tender (you could even pay your taxes with hemp -- try that today!) Hemp was such a critical crop for a number of purposes (including essential war requirements - rope, etc.) that the government went out of its way to encourage growth.\n\nThe United States Census of 1850 counted 8,327 hemp "plantations" (minimum 2,000-acre farm) growing cannabis hemp for cloth, canvas and even the cordage used for baling cotton.\n\nThe Mexican Connection\n\nIn the early 1900s, the western states developed significant tensions regarding the influx of Mexican-Americans. The revolution in Mexico in 1910 spilled over the border, with General Pershing's army clashing with bandit Pancho Villa. Later in that decade, bad feelings developed between the small farmer and the large farms that used cheaper Mexican labor. Then, the depression came and increased tensions, as jobs and welfare resources became scarce.\n\nOne of the "differences" seized upon during this time was the fact that many Mexicans smoked marijuana and had brought the plant with them.\n\nHowever, the first state law outlawing marijuana did so not because of Mexicans using the drug. Oddly enough, it was because of Mormons using it. Mormons who traveled to Mexico in 1910 came back to Salt Lake City with marijuana. The church was not pleased and ruled against use of the drug. Since the state of Utah automatically enshrined church doctrine into law, the first state marijuana prohibition was established in 1915. (Today, Senator Orrin Hatch serves as the prohibition arm of this heavily church-influenced state.)\n\nOther states quickly followed suit with marijuana prohibition laws, inclu
654471
The only reason that marihuana is not legal is because of the lumber lobby and the cotton lobby.  If marihana were to be legalized the hemp industry would put the lumber companies and the cotton companies out of business.  The drug itself is non addictive, you cant overdose, and its so widely accepted that you cant even get anyone prosecuted for possessing it, if they take it to jury trial.  I dont use marihuana but I strongly feel it should be legalized.  The government could mandate the amount of THC in each cigarette and tax the sales.  It would be a HUGE increase in revenue and and even BIGGER savings in trying to defeat it..besides its been my experience that dealing with someone high on marihuana is a non violent situation.  All they want to do is relax and enjoy life, not like Meth heads and Coke heads...they are the violent and unpredictable....
952572
GREAT QUESTION !!!  I may not have your answer, but I think I can point you in the right direction.\n\nWhere a STATE STATUTE is in place, it SUPERSEDES a LOCAL ORDINANCE, and so on up the line, if there is a FEDERAL LAW in conflict with a STATE STATUTE, the FEDERAL LAW then SUPERSEDES the statute.\n\nWhat are "Federal" Marijuana Laws?\nFederal marijuana laws are the laws that the federal government enacts to criminalize marijuana possession, sale, and cultivation.  Each U.S. state also passes their own marijuana laws, but when these laws are in conflict with the federal rules, the federal rules control.  Traditionally drug crimes are prosecuted at the state level.  But because some states have decriminalized marijuana crimes (such as for medicinal purposes), federal prosecutions for marijuana possession/sale/cultivation are becoming more common.  \n\nThe distinction is important, because while many states have rather lax laws concerning marijuana use, the Federal Government has some extremely strict penalties, some of which involve decades of jail time. \n\nBut I am Licensed By My State to Grow Marijuana for Medicinal Purposes...\nBecause the Federal Government does not recognize the legality of "medical marijuana," if you are prosecuted under federal law you will not be able to use any defense involving it.  This means that even if your state has explicitly authorized you to grow marijuana, federal agents can still arrest you and you can be sentenced according to the guidelines above (and indeed this has happened).  So if you grow marijuana legally in your state, you should contact a criminal lawyer about your rights, even if you haven't been arrested.  An experienced criminal attorney will be able to explain all the risks in greater detail, as well as the complex interaction of federal and state laws in this issue.\n\n\nHere is a site that will explain all that and deals directly with the MJ issues.
985944
The question of the marijuana laws has been addressed by numerous major government commissions over the years. In order to understand why it is illegal, I recommend you read the short history of the marijuana laws at http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/whiteb1.htm \n\nSee also "Why marijuana was outlawed" at http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/mj_outlawed.htm\n\nIn short, it was outlawed for two major reasons. In the southwestern states it was outlawed because of racial prejudice against Mexican immigrants. In the northeastern states it was outlawed because of the fear that heroin addiction would lead to the use of marijuana -- exactly the opposite of the modern "gateway" myth.\n\nEvery major government commission report on the laws in the last 100 years has concluded that the marijuana laws were the result of ignorance and nonsense. They all found that there was no justification for making marijuana illegal and that the prohibition laws do more harm than good. You can find summaries of their conclusions, with links to the full text of the studies, at http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/studies.htm
1071928
no..it is illegal in every state under federal law. If you start a med. marijuan cooperative, Bush's DoJ will bust in and throw all the terminally ill cancer patients in jail.
720841
Many people assume that marijuana was made illegal through some kind of process involving scientific, medical, and government hearings; that it was to protect the citizens from what was determined to be a dangerous drug.\n\nThe actual story shows a much different picture. Those who voted on the legal fate of this plant never had the facts, but were dependent on information supplied by those who had a specific agenda to deceive lawmakers. You'll see below that the very first federal vote to prohibit marijuana was based entirely on a documented lie on the floor of the Senate.\n\nYou'll also see that the history of marijuana's criminalization is filled with: \n\nRacism \nFear \nProtection of Corporate Profits \nYellow Journalism \nIgnorant, Incompetent, and/or Corrupt Legislators \nPersonal Career Advancement and Greed \nThese are the actual reasons marijuana is illegal.\n\nThe Mexican Connection\n\nIn the early 1900s, the western states developed significant tensions regarding the influx of Mexican-Americans. The revolution in Mexico in 1910 spilled over the border, with General Pershing's army clashing with bandit Pancho Villa. Later in that decade, bad feelings developed between the small farmer and the large farms that used cheaper Mexican labor. Then, the depression came and increased tensions, as jobs and welfare resources became scarce.\n\nOne of the "differences" seized upon during this time was the fact that many Mexicans smoked marijuana and had brought the plant with them.\n\nHowever, the first state law outlawing marijuana did so not because of Mexicans using the drug. Oddly enough, it was because of Mormons using it. Mormons who traveled to Mexico in 1910 came back to Salt Lake City with marijuana. The church was not pleased and ruled against use of the drug. Since the state of Utah automatically enshrined church doctrine into law, the first state marijuana prohibition was established in 1915. (Today, Senator Orrin Hatch serves as the prohibition arm of this heavily church-influenced state.)\n\nOther states quickly followed suit with marijuana prohibition laws, including Wyoming (1915), Texas (1919), Iowa (1923), Nevada (1923), Oregon (1923), Washington (1923), Arkansas (1923), and Nebraska (1927). These laws tended to be specifically targeted against the Mexican-American population.\n\nWhen Montana outlawed marijuana in 1927, the Butte Montana Standard reported a legislator's comment: "When some beet field peon takes a few traces of this stuff... he thinks he has just been elected president of Mexico, so he starts out to execute all his political enemies." In Texas, a senator said on the floor of the Senate: "All Mexicans are crazy, and this stuff [marijuana] is what makes them crazy."\n\nJazz and Assassins\n\nIn the eastern states, the "problem" was attributed to a combination of Latin Americans and black jazz musicians. Marijuana and jazz traveled from New Orleans to Chicago, and then to Harlem, where marijuana became an indispensable part of the music scene, even entering the language of the black hits of the time (Louis Armstrong's "Muggles", Cab Calloway's "That Funny Reefer Man", Fats Waller's "Viper's Drag").\n\nAgain, racism was part of the charge against marijuana, as newspapers in 1934 editorialized: "Marihuana influences Negroes to look at white people in the eye, step on white men's shadows and look at a white woman twice." \n\nTwo other fear-tactic rumors started to spread: one, that Mexicans, Blacks and other foreigners were snaring white children with marijuana; and two, the story of the "assassins." Early stories of Marco Polo had told of "hasheesh-eaters" or hashashin, from which derived the term "assassin." In the original stories, these professional killers were given large doses of hashish and brought to the ruler's garden (to give them a glimps
1177670
It should never have been made illegal in the first place. For info on WHY it was made illegal, I recommend the book "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" by Jack Herer. Of course, you can also just google "marijuana prohibition" too.\n\nYes, it is a drug, but so is caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, sugar, etc...\n\nLaws prohibiting certain substances should be based on facts and the inherent danger to the individual of the substance in question, not ideology or narrow-minded morality.\n\n-Pot is non-toxic, i.e. it is IMPOSSIBLE to overdose.\n-Pot does NOT cause cancer. The active psychotropic chemical in it, THC, has been shown in studies to inhibit the growth of tumors and to destroy existing tumors by cutting off the blood supply to them.\n-Pot is not physiologically addictive. It can be psychologically addictive, but so can sex, chocolate, sugar, etc.... There are just a certain percentage of people who take EVERYTHING to the extreme and have addictive personalities which lead them to overuse/abuse pot.\n-Pot does not lead to the use of harder drugs inasmuch as there is a causal relationship between its use and the use of harder drugs. Very few people (less than 10%) of people who use marijuana go on to use harder drugs. The gateway theory has been thoroughly discredited in recent years but many still cling to it as a pillar of anti-drug rhetoric.\n-Pot makes people more mellow and relaxed, whereas a legal drug like alcohol typically causes irrational, aggressive and even violent behavior in certain people.\n-The negative health effects of smoking pot can be negated by using a device known as a vaporizer which heats the herb to the point of vaporizing its active components without combustion. It can also be cooked into certain foods or made into a beverage.\n-Studies show little or no long-term damage in the brains of even heavy long-term users. The negative effects (short-term memory loss, motor impairment, etc.) are temporary and only last as long as the high itself.\n-It brings creativity, insight, relaxation, pain relief, sleep for insomniacs and a whole host of other positive effects to its users. Can the same be said for alcohol or tobacco?\n-It has been shown to induce a process known as neurogenesis in the brain. Literally, the creation of new neurons and a strengthening of connections between exisiting neurons which may account for the profound insights and philosophical thoughts it brings to many users.\n\nTo sum up, pot is perhaps one of the safest psychotropic substances known to man and the laws prohibiting its use are based on lies, fabrications, misunderstanding and stereotypes which are still far too common in this country as a result of its demonization by the powers that be for the last 70 years.\n\nLegalize it! Regulate and tax it! Stop treating pot smokers like criminals! Support organizations working to end pot prohibiton like NORML, Marijuana Policy Project, Drug Policy Alliance, et al.
797756
Not comletely legal...and even if it were federal law over rides states...haven't you seen the med marijauna in CA??\n\nIt's not now...but we are still working on it...\n\nThe government can't keep the lie up much longer...people know that marijuana is not nearly as harmful as they try making it out to be.\n\nI am more concerned with my son trying harder drugs than pot...in fact I would be more angry if he come home drunk than if he come home high....but I would still be pi**ed!
853053
A little known and forgotten fact: Marijuana wasn't illegal until the 1930's during Prohibition when booze was made illegal.\n\nBooze kills brain cells, where grass only puts them to sleep for awhile and relaxes the person.\n\nI say if she isn't pushing this onto others, then it should be her choice.  Only advise her that if she has too much in her possession,and gets caught is is still illegal.
504301
I would cancel the law that made marijuana illegal.  It has so many beneficial uses for cancer patients, anorexics, and people who suffer from other ailments.  It's a shame that truly sick people have to buy it off of the black market just for some relief.
409587
read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legalization_of_marijuana
710726
Yes I believe it should be legalized, because in relation to other drugs that are currently legal, the deleterious effects of marijuana simply don’t compare. I think the distribution of it should be controlled as to where it can be smoked, and who is licensed to sell it.
251606
theres a lots of words report on Marijuana \n\n\n Street terms for marijuana: grass, pot, weed, bud, Mary Jane, dope, indo, hydro1\n\nWhat does marijuana look like?\n\nA green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant. ("Cannabis" refers to marijuana and other drugs made from the same plant.) \nOther forms, less common in the United States, are hashish and hashish oil. \nWhat are the methods of usage?\n\nMarijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette (called a joint) or in a pipe or bong. \nWhat are some consequences of marijuana use?\n\nMay cause frequent respiratory infections, impaired memory and learning, increased heart rate, anxiety, panic attacks, tolerance, and physical dependence.2 \nUse of marijuana during the first month of breast-feeding can impair infant motor development.3 \nChronic smokers may have many of the same respiratory problems as tobacco smokers including daily cough and phlegm, chronic bronchitis symptoms, frequent chest colds; chronic abuse can also lead to abnormal functioning of lung tissues.4 \nA study of college students has shown that skills related to attention, memory, and learning are impaired among people who use marijuana heavily, even after discontinuing its use for at least 24 hours.5 \nWho uses marijuana?\n\nMarijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug. \nAt least one-third of Americans have used marijuana sometime in their lives.6 \nHow does marijuana get to the United States?\n\nMarijuana produced in Mexico and smuggled into the U.S. remains the most widely available. \nHigh-potency marijuana also enters the U.S. drug market from Canada. \nU.S. drug law enforcement reporting suggests increased availability of domestically grown marijuana.7 \nThe availability of marijuana from Southeast Asia generally is limited to the West Coast. \nHow much does marijuana cost?\n\nPrices for commercial-grade marijuana have remained relatively stable over the past decade, ranging from approximately $400 to $1,000 per pound in U.S. Southwest border areas to between $700 to $2000 per pound in the Midwest and northeastern United States. \nThe national price range for sinsemilla, a higher quality marijuana usually grown domestically, is between $900 and $6,000 per pound
538741
Drug if taken recreationally, medicine if taken under the care and supervision of a doctor.  Same for morphine!\n\nEDIT:  To the person below me, many countries currently permit doctors to prescribe medicinal marijuana, and many doctors do so.  The world is a lot bigger than the USA.
1164997
Watch a documentary called "Grass."  It's narrated by Woody Harrelson, and it's the entire history of the United State's war on marijuana, from the 1800s to the present.  It's pretty incredible.  It shows that marijuana is basically harmless and that the government studies saying it's not were complete lies.  \nIn fact, the reason marijuana is not legal right now is beause one politician screwed it up for the rest of the country.  Jimmy Carter ALMOST legalized it when he was president.  He was about to do so, when one of his aids got caught with a breifcase full of cocaine.  Because of that aid, Carter could not afford to look soft on drugs, so he didn't legalize pot.  That one aid and his coke ruined it for the rest of the country.  If it weren't for him, you'd be able to toke up right now -- legally.