Causes and Effects of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970

In 1970 the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) was put into place by the Congress of the United States Government. This Act, Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, is the federal U.S. drug policy which regulates the possession, use, manufacturing and importation of certain controlled substances. The substances controlled under this act fall under various classifications. These classifications are known as schedules. The legislation created 5 schedules with different qualifications for a substance to be included in each. Schedule I includes some of the drugs that are viewed as seriously threatening while schedule V includes drugs that are viewed as not as threatening. A Schedule I drug must fall under one of†¦show more content†¦Later, in the early to mid 1900s, cocaine would be linked to blacks and marijuana would be linked to Mexicans. Many people believe that many of the drug laws put into place were done so because of racism. When the Uni ted States banned opium importation, many other nations began to have concerns about the growing drug abuse problem throughout the world, specifically the abuse of opium in many of the nations of Asia. This concern led to meetings of several nations whose mission was to restrict narcotics to medical use [2]. During the 1920s many mexican immigrants fled to the United States for work. With them, many of them brought marijuana. The act of smoking marijuana was picked up on by many black and white jazz musicians during the 1920s and 1930s, but was not used widespread until the 1960s. During the 1930s, Louis Artmstrong was arrested in California and given a sentence of six months for possession of Marijuana [3]. In 1937, the Treasury Department established a marijuana transfer tax known as the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, after testifying before Congress. After 1937 up until the passing of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Act of 1970, which include the Controlled Substance Act of 1970, marijuana was legally controlled through a transfer tax. [2] During the 40s and 50s, drug use was seen as a symbol of counterculture. Jack Kerouac and other important figures of the Beat Generation allShow MoreRelated`` Reefer Madness `` : An Act Of Young People From Using Cannabis, The Government Released The Film1386 Words   |  6 Pages â€Å"Reefer Madness† As an act to discourage young people from using cannabis, the government released the film Reefer Madness. The 1936 propaganda film revolves around the melodramatic events that ensue when high school students are lured by â€Å"pushers† to try marijuana. The film was very successful and by 1937, 46 states had laws outlawing marijuana use. 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