Why California Legalized the Use of Recreational Marijuana

Before Proposition 64, there was Proposition 19 in 1972. It proposed to allow Californians legally use, possess, and grow cannabis. The proposition did not pass through, but it paved the way for the legalization of medical marijuana.

In the intervening time between Proposition 19 and Proposition 64, what changed in the minds of Californians that allowed for the passage of the law forty-six years later?

The cannabis plant, also commonly known as marijuana, weed, and pot, is believed to originate from Central Asia. It was known as hemp plant, a variety of Cannabis sativa. Its fiber was used in the production of several products, like clothing and paper, while its seeds were used as food.

Historians believe that it was the work of Scythians, an ancient large nomadic tribe in Central Asian, that spread use of cannabis to the Arabian Peninsula and to Europe. Records by Greek historian Herodotus showed Scythians indulging in cannabis fumes.

Evidence of cannabis use was also found in ancient China during the reign of Emperor Shen Nung in 2727 BC. The plant was used in the treatment of gout, malaria, and rheumatism.

It spread to the Americas in the mid-1500s when Spanish colonizers brought hemp to Chile for cultivation. From 1600 to 1890s, farmers in the colonies of Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut were were required by law to grow hemp to use for industrial production.

Hemp production was an all-time high until the end of the American Civil War when it was replaced other materials. However, by the late nineteenth century, many people had found greater use of the marijuana in medicinal products, which made it very popular and well-distributed in the country.

Recreational marijuana use was introduced into American culture in the early 1900s by immigrants from Mexico, who sought refuge from the Mexican Revolution. By then, marijuana was openly used as an ingredient for medicines.

It wasn’t until the 1920s, at the height of the Prohibition era, when the attitude toward marijuana began to shift. By then, cannabis had been closely tied to Mexican immigrants. Fear and prejudice toward the Spanish-speaking foreigners colored American views of marijuana.

Temperance campaigners pushed launched aggressive campaigns against marijuana, associating the substance to criminal acts, indolence, and inferiority. They pushed for stricter laws against cannabis and urged the public to shun the “marijuana menace.”

By 1930, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), led by Harry J. Anslinger, was established to investigate marijuana and to push for a complete ban of recreational drugs. As the decade progressed, the government continued its black propaganda against the “evil weed.”

In 1937, Congress passed the Marihuana Tax Act, which effectively criminalized the drug. From 1951 to 1956, the government imposed stricter marijuana laws. The Boggs Act of 1952 imposed mandatory sentences for criminal acts related to marijuana and other drugs. Individuals who were caught possessing marijuana were sentenced two to ten years and asked to pay a fine of up to $20,000 on their first offense.

In 1970, the Congress repealed the Marihuana Tax Act, after it was deemed unconstitutional and contravened the Fifth Amendment. It was replaced by the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which regulated the “manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution” of a range of drugs, including marijuana.

While the government waged their battle against drugs, marijuana found its way across campuses in 1960s. Smoking pot rose to popularity among the young white middle- and upper-middle-class demographic. But even then, approval rates stayed stubbornly low at 12 percent, according to a Gallup survey.

In 1972, Californians challenged the status quo on marijuana with Proposition 19. Despite the bold move, a majority remained convinced that the dangers of cannabis far outweighed any of its benefits. The proposition lost with 33.5 percent votes to 66.5 percent.

In 1975, then mayor of California George Moscone introduced California Senate Bill 95, a move that lessened the severity of the crime of possessing an ounce or less of marijuana from probable felony to misdemeanor. Moscone’s decision came after his committee’s study found that the state was losing $100 million every year from a majority of marijuana-related arrests, which were only for simple possession.

California attitude toward marijuana underwent a major change in 1996. Citizens voted yes (55.58 percent) for Proposition 215, or the legalization of medical marijuana in the state. It marked an important event in the in the United States’ history of marijuana, which had been outlawed for over sixty years.

In 2003, Senate Bill 420 was passed to set the scope and limitations of the medical marijuana law in California. Verified medical marijuana patients could register for a state-sanctioned ID, which authorized the patient or the caregiver to use, possess, transport, and cultivate medical marijuana.

Possession of a maximum of one ounce of marijuana was downgraded from a misdemeanor to an infraction through Senate Bill 1449 in 2010. By then, half of California residents were in approval of legalizing marijuana.

In 2012, Colorado and Washington voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Four years later, California followed suit.

With public attitude toward marijuana gradually shifting, experts and nonexperts alike are anticipating more open discussions and scholarly interest on the subject. Supporters of cannabis are also looking forward to policy changes on passing a drug test in employment and other settings, as well as more programs to promote the safety and acceptance of marijuana users and distribution of fair information about the drug.

Although marijuana use is still illegal under the federal law, the growing number of states legalizing both medical and recreational marijuana shows a promising future for marijuana and cannabis studies. The challenge lies in the effective enforcement of policies and procedures that will protect public welfare.