Several pressing issues have arose throughout time, such as abortion and capitol punishment. The controversies have been addressed and decisions have been made. A new topic has emerged l states (1986, Congress), (Buchsbaum, 8). This crowds court rooms and jail cells, often times forcing judges to release violent offenders. In 1994 alone, 1.35 million people were incarcerated because of possession and use of marijuana (Buckley, 70). Even though only an estimates ten million Americans use marijuana on a monthly basis, about seventy million have at some time tried it. The current laws would justify putting all seventy million citizens in jail (Buckley, 70).
             Several pressing issues have arose throughout time, such as abortion and capitol punishment. The controversies have been addressed and decisions have been made. A new topic has emerged and demands recognition. It is the legalization of marijuana. Legalizing marijuana has become a widely discussed topic in the United States and the world for several reasons, including its role in industry and in recreation.
             Over the centuries, marijuana has been used to make such things as rope, sails, paper, cloth, oil, birdseed, and other various products. It was a major cash crop in the United States until 1937 when the Marijuana Tax Act was enacted by Congress. Harry Aslinger is responsible for leading the nation in an anti-marijuana movement. He initiated the uproar by publishing false stories of people in Mexico dying and going insane due to the use of hemp, or marijuana, products. Aslinger created a myth of the "killer reefer" and the "assassin of youth", in which he depicted marijuana as the plant of evilness. The public naively presumed his stories were true, and avidly protested the growth of marijuana. The government had no choice but to act on the issue, outlawing the production of marijuana in an effort to satisfy the public's demand.
             Today, however, there is a...