Marijuana, Morality, and the Law

Abstract

The increasing use of marijuana in the United States despite the harsh penalties for violation of anti-marijuana laws suggests the need for a reassessment of our present policies. Are the effects of the use of the marijuana drug sufficiently injurious to either the individual or society to warrant such severe legal intervention by the government? What are the social consequences of pursuing a prohibitionist policy backed up by the threat of severe penal sanctions? Just what are the limits of curbing deviant behavior through punitive legal control in a free and heterogeneous soci ety with diverse moral codes and life styles? These questions— along with a review of the development of the major anti-mari juana legislation, the changing composition of marijuana users, and some of the known effects of the drug—are explored in order to stimulate the kind of research and inquiry that will lead to a more realistic and informed basis for formulating and evaluating public policy on drug use.