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The Role Of Marijuana In Today's Society

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The Role Of Marijuana In Today's Society
Society is constantly evolving and reforming ideas on what is acceptable and what is completely wrong. The ideas and social norms that we follow in today’s society is not what they followed twenty years ago. Same-sex marriage was not majority accepted, the way women dress now was not socially correct, and the use and abuse of drugs was not something that everyone did or tried in their lives. Drugs are substances that can be inhaled or injected that alter a person’s actions and thoughts. Majority of drugs are used to treat medical conditions, however there some that are recreational drugs (Citation).
The use of recreational drugs has become a more widely done activity. There is only a small amount of people who claim to have never tried recreational …show more content…
Campaigns against marijuana really took off in 1930 when the drug was associated with the Mexican Americans and Latinos. Under President Nixon, the modern day war on drugs began giving society yet another way to go after minorities in this country. During 1910 to 1920’s, immigrants from Mexico and the Indies popularized the use of marijuana. In 1936, a popular anti-marijuana film was released called Reefer Madness. The following year marijuana was officially criminalized by the Marijuana Tax Act. Marijuana is classified as a schedule I drug. Baby boomers of the 1960’s and the 1970’s started to destigmatize the use of the drug.Though once they became adults, they feared that the drug would lead their teens into trying drugs of harsher consequences. The harsh punishments for the consumption of marijuana continue into today’s society. By 2010, more than 52% of drug arrests were for the possession of …show more content…
Since then the government and criminal justice system has been greatly affected by the use and abuse of drugs. The most effect it has had on the government is the money that the government spends on this war. The spend money on the jails that house those who are arrested due to drugs and on treatment programs. Since the late 1960’s, state and federal law enforcement policy has become increasingly focused on stamping out drug use, though recent trends have seen laws relax for the use of marijuana. The annual criminal justice system costs related to illicit drug use is up to fifty six billion. That number has more than doubled since the 1980’s
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