The End of the Federal

Prohibition of Marijuana

Economy• The federal government spent 3.4 billion dollars in 2008 to enforce laws

against Marijuana.• In 2014, the Colorado pot market generated 76 million in tax revenue.

Matt Figi hugs his 7-year-old daughter Charlotte inside a Colorado greenhouse. The plants are a special strain of medical marijuana known as Charlotte's Web, which was named for Charlotte after she used the plant to treat epileptic seizures.

“Jayden’s life was being tortured by pharmaceutical drugs and from seizures,” said Jason David, father of 7-year-old Jayden who suffered from the seizures caused by his dravet syndrome nearly every day of his life until he was about five.“Many of Jayden’s seizures lasted up to two hours according to Jason, who had no choice but to stand by and watch his son suffer for years of his life. This is until Jason discovered cannabidiol (CBD), the second most abundant cannabinoid found in Cannabis.”

“I gave it to my son in a liquid form. It is non-psychoactive and it was the first day he went seizure free in his life.” – Jason David

“Jayden’s seizures are down approximately 80%. Jayden is functioning now. The doctors told me Jayden would never walk or talk.”

Kristen CourtneyJuicing raw cannabis is the Crohn’s Disease health cure that Kristen claims saved her life. Diagnosed at 16 with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, the illness quickly turned into an auto immune disorder that left her bedridden for four years. Finally, the teen and her mother began to look for alternative treatments. Kristen began juicing raw cannabis, and after a month she claims her pain stopped and her recovery began. She is now an advocate for medical marijuana treatment for fellow sufferers.

David TriplettDavid claims to have cured himself of two cancerous lesions using cannabis oil from his dispensary. He initially received a prescription chemo cream, but David decided not to apply the treatment after seeing disturbing images of people who had used it. Instead, he began treating the lesions with cannabis ointment which, after three to four weeks of application, removed the cancer.

Cheryl ShumanAfter being diagnosed with cancer, Beverly Hills celebrity Cheryl Shuman began taking a cocktail of medications and up to 27 morphine tablets a day in a bid to overcome the disease. However, after learning about cannabis oil, Cheryl started to treat herself. She says the treatment cured her in 90 days and remains in remission to this day.

Rick SimpsonRick Simpson is known for inventing hemp-oil medicine that he claims treated his own skin cancer after he was a ‘chemical zombie’ from all the drugs he had taken as a cancer sufferer. After curing himself and hundreds of others with his cannabis oil, Rick tried to take his medicine to Canadian authorities. However, the move backfired and the authorities tried to prosecute him. Today, Rick is considered a hero in the medical marijuana world with a huge following of believers.

“Whether you are for its legalization or not, you are paying for marijuana to be illegal. According the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 43.3% of all "Arrests for Drug Abuse Violation" are of people who are in possession of marijuana. Six percent of all drug-abuse violation arrests were for the "Sale/Manufacturing" of marijuana. In other words, a whopping 49.5% of all drug-violation arrests are connected to marijuana. Half of the population that is in prison for substance abuse is in prison for marijuana-related crimes.” – Anthony Papastrat

In October 2010, Bernard Noble, a 45-year-old trucker and father of seven with two previous nonviolent offenses, was stopped on a New Orleans street with a small amount of marijuana in his pocket. His sentence: more than thirteen years.At least he will be released. Jeff Mizanskey, a Missouri man, was arrested in December 1993, for participating (unknowingly, he said) in the purchase of a five-pound brick of marijuana. Because he had two prior nonviolent marijuana conviction, he was sentenced to life without parole.

America’s four-decade war on drugs is responsible for many casualties, but the criminalization of marijuana has been perhaps the most destructive part of that war. The toll can be measured in dollars — billions of which are thrown away each year in the aggressive enforcement of pointless laws. It can be measured in years — whether wasted behind bars or stolen from a child who grows up fatherless. And it can be measured in lives — those damaged if not destroyed by the shockingly harsh consequences that can follow even the most minor offenses.

The Injustice of Marijuana ArrestsBy JESSE WEGMANJULY 28, 2014

The Opinion Pages High Time: An Editorial Series on Marijuana Legalization

Current progress: 2015