AAN: Marijuana should be legalized recreationally.

Before I begin on SHOULD the government keep marijuana illegal, I will start with CAN marijuana be illegal. The Commerce Clause: Congress has the power to: “To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States” [1] And part of the government’s responsibility is to “promote the general Welfare” [1] As we can see the government has the right to regulate commerce between states and promote the welfare of the people. We all know how almost everything eventually comes up in court, just as interstate commerce eventually did. To establish what will become known as the Commerce Clause, in 1824 in Gibbons v. Ogden the Supreme Court ruled that the government had the ability to regulate interstate commerce. [2] In 1940, the “substantial effects” test was established by a unanimous vote in court in favor of the government’s ability to regulate commerce that had a substantial effect on interstate commerce. [3] Finally the Court established the government’s ability to establish regulations that limit and control trade in Wickard v. Filburn. [4] The FDA: Next is the FDA, established in 1906 by the Food and Drug Act. [5] The FDA’s purpose was to regulate goods to be properly listed, not misbranded, and to hold a certain quality of goods. However the law did not extend to false claims of false therapeutic effects. The act was extended by the 1938 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that largely extended the FDA’s ability to ensure drugs are safe and effective. [5] The FDA was largely protected by the commerce clause and was for the welfare of the people. Laertrile: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” “The first wave was the legalization by 27 states of laetrile in the late 1970s. This drug was used as a treatment for cancer, but scientific studies both before and after this legislative trend found it to be ineffective. Federal law enforcement prevented interstate shipment, making the drug infeasible to manufacture and sell. Further studies based on a Mexican formulation also showed no effectiveness in treating cancer, but did find that some patients experienced symptoms of cyanide poisoning. Though the political movement died out in the 1980s, FDA enforcement actions against laetrile purveyors continued into the 2000s.” [5] Many believed that the drug Laetrile should have been sold openly because of its supposed ability to fight cancer and have a number of other positive effects. [6] It garnered support throughout the 1960s and 1970s until finally dying out in the 1980s. Repeated attempt to legalize it at the federal level failed. [6] It was shown that the drug was ineffective in a number of studies and was not considered “effective”. Eventually there was a court case supporting the control of Laetrile by the federal government though states had made it legal. [7] Many compare Laertile to marijuana in the legalization of it by the states till the federal government eventually took contorl again. Precedent leads for marijuana to have a similar journey. Tobacco, Lucky for a Little: Tobacco got out lucky at first. Tobacco was originally exempt from the FDA and purposely excluded from the law. Though regulations over time were imposed, court cases eventually ruled in favor of the tobacco companies, stating they were exempt from the regulations imposed by the FDA. [8] Eventually tobacco’s luck ran out and the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act passed in 2009 approved the FDA for regulating tobacco and tobacco products. [9] Marijuana: We finally reach the stuff of this debate. Marijuana is a drug, and listed by the FDA as a medicine. [10] It has been shown to relieve pain and nausea while being an irritant to the lungs. [10] Connecting marijuana increased rate of lung cancer have been hard because most marijuana smokers have also smoked tobacco or a tobacco like product (hooka) at some point. [10] Marijuana is not addictive but does have negative effects on life style. [10] Marijuana has recently been shown to alter the structure of the brain even in casual use.[11] Making Marijuana Legal: Before marijuana can be legal for consumers it must be shown to be a “safe and effective” drug because marijuana use is often confounded by other drugs or studies. [12] As far as I could find, marijuana has not been approved to be “safe” for consumers. Its effectiveness in medical applications is questioned and it includes a number of the same chemicals and tars leading to cancer found in tobacco. [13] P1: Drugs must be “safe and effective” to be sold. P2: Marijuana is a drug. P3: Marijuana has not been proven effective for its possible risks. P4: Marijuana research has not shown it to be safe. C1: Marijuana has not been proven “safe and effective” and should not be legalized for sale. *To read up on what the FDA regulates and how they regulate, source 14. [1] Constitution: http://www.archives.gov... [2] Gibbon v. Ogden: http://www.streetlaw.org... [3] US v. Darby: http://www.oyez.org... [4] Wickard v Filburn: http://www.law.cornell.edu... [5] Wikipedia Article on the history of the FDA and links to all the Acts connected to it: http://en.wikipedia.org... [6] Laertile: http://www.quackwatch.com... [7] Laertile Court Case: http://www.law.cornell.edu... [8] First Tobacco Court Case: http://www.law.cornell.edu... [9] Regulating Tobacco: http://en.wikipedia.org... [10] Marijuana Info: http://www.drugabuse.gov... [11] Marijuana effects on the brain: http://www.sfn.org... [12] Drug Approval: http://www.fda.gov... [13] Cancer Chemicals: http://www.lung.org... [14] FDA: http://www.fda.gov...