Marijuana penalties

Different penalties apply for cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, LSD, methamphetamine, PCP, flunitrazepam, marijuana, and hashish ... 

Some abusers mix barbiturates with alcohol or marijuana in order to create a better high. A different kind of abuse occurs when rapists mix another drug, Rohypnol (flunitrazepam), into a woman s drink in order to render her incapable of resisting a sexual assault. The capacity for criminal abuse has led to higher penalties for its possession or use. 

Sanchez argued that the 100 levy in the Marijuana Tax Act was really a penalty, not a tax. He argued that the law s purpose was not primarily to raise revenue but rather to regulate the sale of marijuana. 

Further, the Court did not really question the law s other intended effect—discouraging sale of marijuana by putting sellers between the rock of a federal tax and the hard place of numerous state laws that criminalized the sale of marijuana. They simply observed that federal tax law did not make the transfer of marijuana a criminal act but did impose a civil penalty. 

Campaigning for the presidency, Jimmy Carter calls for removing federal penalties for possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. 

NORML is one of the nation s oldest drug policy reform organizations. Its focus is to change public opinion so as to achieve the repeal of laws against marijuana use. It believes that responsible use rather than prohibition is the proper way to deal with the drug. NORML has played an important role in decriminalizing minor marijuana offenses in 11 states and in lowering penalties elsewhere. 

Penalties for possession of Schedule I and II drugs (methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, PCP, LSD, and marijuana among others) are far more severe than are the penalties for possession of Schedule III drugs, but they should not be dismissed entirely. Federal sentencing guidelines for possession of ketamine, regardless of the quantity, stipulate prison terms of not more than five years and individual fines of not more than 250,000. Second time offenders will almost certainly earn jail time, with a sentence determined by the judge but not to exceed 10 years. The fine is also doubled, to 500,000. 

The 1950s marked the end of a phase of American drug policy regarding marijuana. The century had begun with limited concern about marijuana by the 1950s, harsh penalties had been adopted on both the federal and state levels for its possession, use, or sale. By the end of the 1950s, many states had passed laws that made the possession of even small amounts of marijuana subject to the same penalties as for those who had committed violent crimes. 

The Uniform Controlled Substance Act of 1970, drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, was designed to make state laws more compatible with the new federal law. Like the federal act, the Uniform Act recommended reducing penalties for marijuana possession... 

State penalties for second-offense possession and for selling marijuana vary widely. Sale is almost always a felony, with maximum sentences ranging from two years to life. Casual transfer is usually treated similarly to simple possession and does not tend to be treated as a felony. Most states treat the production/cultivation of marijuana as severely as they do sale of marijuana. 

Despite President Nixon s stance, in 1973, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Ten more states quickly followed, although specific legal definitions and penalties associated with decriminalization varied from state to state. In 1975, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that the possession of marijuana for personal use by adults at home was protected by a constitutional right... 

As part of its support for the legalization of medical marijuana, NORML advocates the complete decriminalization of marijuana, a step that would remove all penalties for the private possession and the responsible use of marijuana by adults. Under this scenario, private marijuana users, including those with serious medical conditions, would not be arrested, but large-scale commercial sellers would still be violating drug laws. NORML also calls for the development of a legally controlled market for marijuana in which adult consumers could buy marijuana for personal use from safe, legal sources. 

Laws about marijuana have been the subject of controversy for many years. When marijuana use spread to the middle class in the 1960s and 1970s, public attitudes toward it softened. In 1970, President Richard Nixon created the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse. In 1972, the Commission issued its report, "Marijuana A Signal of Misunderstanding." This report recommended the elimination of criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.,—... 

With the coincidental retirement in 1962 of Commissioner Anslinger and the Supreme Court s decision that addiction was a disease, and with the arrival of President Kennedy s New Frontier, the Bureau s approach was becoming anachronistic. The prevailing mood of the day encouraged reduced penalties, more medical treatment, possible development of maintenance clinics, and a reevaluation of drug laws. In 1962 a White House Panel on Narcotic and Drug Abuse reported that It is the opinion of the Panel that the hazards of marijuana per se have been exaggerated and... 

During our bicentennial year, California, Colorado, Ohio, South Dakota, Minnesota and Maine made possession of small quantities (generally an ounce) a misdemeanor to be settled with a small fine. Massachusetts and Texas, which had enforced some of the harshest anti-marijuana laws in the world, lowered their penalties drastically. Texas released just under 300 prisoners convicted under its previous marijuana laws. In New York, in spite of the unreasonably harsh "Rockefeller laws, only cases of excess have been tried and many of these have been reversed since. 

The panel did find short-term effects on "immediate memory, "oral communication and "learning, and said that it sometimes "may trigger temporary confusion and delirium. Noting that "about a quarter of the entire [U.S.] population has tried it at least once, Reiman reported the study group s recommendations (1) more work to produce marijuana derivatives with increased therapeutic action and less side effects, (2) a high-priority national effort to find out more about this drug, and (3) the decriminalization of penalties for personal marijuana use. 

Each state has the opportunity to modify current drug laws according to its own needs and preferences. Most states have adopted guidelines, but many have changed certain components. For example, marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 substance, but the penalties for possession in many states arc less severe than those applied to other Schedule I substances. In fact, at least 11 states at some time have passed legislation to decriminalize marijuana possc,ssion. 

There was little public concern over the use of marijuana during this period, with one notable exception. In 1926 a scries of articles was printed in two New Orleans newspapers. They sensationally exposed the menacing presence of marijuana and attributed a number of crimes and heinous acts to use of the drug. Although many of these lurid reports were ridiculous and fabricated, a Louisiana law mandating a maximum penalty of a 500 fine and/or six months imprisonment for conviction of possession or sale of marijuana was passed the next year. This law had little effect on... 

Since 1970, the penalties for marijuana possession and use have been moderated significantly. In addition there has been a gradual movement toward decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana, much of this trend spurred by grassroots movements and public referendums. Nevertheless, there continues to be a strong political emphasis on zero tolerance and the war on drugs. ... 

Criminal penalties in the United States for the possession and use of marijuana have increased steadily since the 1960s. 

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