Word: marijuana
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Penalties against the possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself." So said Jimmy Carter in urging Congress last week to reduce federal penalties for possession of up to 1 oz. of marijuana, enough for about four dozen joints. For a first offense, the maximum penalty now is a year in jail and a $5,000 fine for possession of any amount...
...criticism comes at a time when the bar should, in theory, be more amenable to progress and new ideas than ever before. Nearly half the 218,000 A.B.A. members are now under 36 years old, and recent meetings have approved such once scandalous proposals as the decriminalization of marijuana possession. Says John Douglas, past president of the District of Columbia Bar: "There's more reform now, but it still isn't coming fast enough...
...First developed in the 1950s by Parke, Davis & Co. as an anesthetic, PCP produced such extreme reactions during trials that the drug was quickly shelved-although it is now sometimes used legally as an animal tranquilizer. The substance is cheaper than cocaine or heroin and nearly as available as marijuana in many major cities. The drug's ingredients are not only widely known but easy to assemble in basement labs. Equally important, the drug stirs a reaction within minutes. Hence it has become what one California official calls an instant macho symbol: "If you can take it and survive...
...strong psychological dependence, if not a direct physical addiction. While he endorses the relaxation of stiff penalties for smoking pot, NIDA Director Dr. Robert DuPont opposes any easing of the legal restrictions on what he regards as a far more dangerous trip. Insists DuPont: "Cocaine is not like marijuana...
...that drug, NIDA estimates that some 36 million Americans have now tried pot. By far the largest concentration of users is in the 18-to-25 age bracket; 53% of those surveyed said they had smoked marijuana at least once. Says NIDA: "Despite significant attempts to discourage marijuana use, cannabis is more than a fad and may well prove to be an enduring cultural pattern in the U.S." Other than suggesting that smoking pot might cause lung damage. NIDA ducks the issue of whether the drug poses a serious, long-term health hazard, explaining that the question requires further study...