Many states and Washington, D.C. have decriminalized “nominal” amounts of marijuana and have medical marijuana provisions. This means that many other states and the federal government continue to classify marijuana strictly as an illicit drug.
Review Marijuana overview and state medical marijuana laws, (http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-medical-marijuana-laws.aspx). with a focus on challenges for penalties and enforcement, then respond to the following:
Review the Drug Enforcement Agency’s Schedule of Drugs ( https://www.dea.gov/drug-information/drug-scheduling) Consider the criteria that is used to determine a drug’s classification provided on the DEA’s website, in addition to the effects of these drugs discussed in the assigned chapters in your text.
Consider the burden of enforcing marijuana laws.
Discuss the difficulties of classifying the same drug differently in different parts of the country.
Can we justify criminalizing behavior in one state that is legal in other states?
**NOTES**
Based on a drug’s need for medicinal use or likelihood to lead toward addictive or abusive behavior, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration developed a classification, or schedule of drugs, to lead enforcement activities for the criminal justice system. The schedule classifies drugs into five areas, with Schedule I drugs “defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and high potential for abuse” to Schedule V drugs defined as the least likely for abuse (Drug Enforcement Administration, n.d.). Substances that are used as ingredients to create drugs are also placed on the drug schedule based on their classifications.
Included in the list of Schedule I drugs are: heroin, LSD, cannabis, and ecstasy. Currently, the classification of cannabis, also known as marijuana, has created challenges for the criminal justice system and law enforcement. Despite the growing support of medical marijuana in many states, the federal government continues to classify marijuana as a Schedule I drug. Eight states and Washington D.C. have legalized possession of nominal amounts of marijuana, including recreational use (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2017). In addition, more than half of the states in the U.S. and the District of Columbia now have medical marijuana provisions permitting its use or decriminalizing its use to a civil infraction (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2017).
Levinthal, C. F. (2019). Drugs, society, and criminal justice (5th ed.).
Chapter 9: Opioids
Chapter 11: Marijuana
Chapter 12: Hallucinogens and Depressants
https://www.dea.gov/drug-information/drug-scheduling
http://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/marijuana-overview.aspx
http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-medical-marijuana-laws.aspx
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