Marijuana

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many of societies most powerful members. Marijuana prohibition
threatened far fewer Americans, and they had relatively little influence in the
districts of power. Only the prohibition of marijuana, which some sixty million
Americans have violated since 1965 has come close to approximating the
prohibition experience, but marijuana smokers consist mostly of young and
relatively powerless Americans (American Heritage, pg 47). Alcohol prohibition
was repealed and marijuana prohibition was retained, not because scientists had
proved that alcohol was the less dangerous of the various psychoactive drugs,
but because of the prejudices and preferences of most Americans (American
Heritage, pg 47).

In 1937 the government issued the Marijuana Tax Act, which levied a dollar an
ounce tax on marijuana, coupled with fines of $2,000 for drug posession and jail
sentences for evasion of the tax. For this reason marijuana use in the United
States appears to have gone into decline in the late 30's ...

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