Drug Legalization
A Guide to Selected Government Information
Available at WIU's Government Publications Library
(Prepared by - Andrea Francis 8/99; revised 4/04)

Web version of this guide includes links to web resources.

Federal Government Information

Medicinal Marijuana: Is It What the Doctor Ordered? Gallup Poll Tuesday Briefing: How do Americans feel about the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes? 2003

The Destructive Impact of Drugs on the United States: How the Legalization of Drugs Would Jeopardize the Health and Safety of the American People and Our Nation. A monograph summarizing the goals of drug legalization proponents, exposing the realities of what drug legalization would mean in America, and presenting an approach to cutting drug use and its consequences. 1999
PREX 26.2:D 47

The Brain and the Actions of Cocaine, Opiates, and Marijuana. On this website view a highly technical online teaching packet (includes graphics) for use in explaining both the effects of drugs on brain chemistry and the science of addiction. 1998

Still Crazy After All These Years: Marijuana Prohibition 1937-1997. A reporting of the history of marijuana in America, current usage levels and arrest trends, and enforcement costs. 1997
Current Issues SourceFile CD-ROM A294-4

Needle Exchange, Legalization, and the Failure of the Swiss Heroin Experiments. This hearing was conducted to demonstrate the failure of the Swiss Experiment, which started out as a needle-exchange program but grew into a free doctor-injected heroin program. 1997
Y 4.G74/7:N28

Killing Them Softly. This is an article against needle exchange programs. Stipulating that no study of NEPs shows a reduction in HIV/AIDS transmission, the author shows they may even intensify the addiction problem and increase risky behavior associated with HIV infection. 1998
Current Issues SourceFile CD-ROM R028-93

The Brain and the Actions of Cocaine, Opiates, and Marijuana. On this website view a highly technical online teaching packet (includes graphics) for use in explaining both the effects of drugs on brain chemistry and the science of addiction. 1998

Pros and Cons of drug legalization, decriminalization, and harm reduction: Hearing before the subcommittee and Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources of the Committee on Government Reform. 1999. Y 4.G 74/7:D 84/42

Don't Legalize Drugs. This article argues against the philosophical rhetoric in favor of legalizing drugs, offering the viewpoint of a physician on the front lines of the drug addiction problem. 1997
Current Issues SourceFile CD-ROM R140-15

Goldstein, et al on Drug Use and Crime. This report analyzes study results concerning the link between drug use and crime, theorizing that some drugs don't contribute to violent crime. 1997
Current Issues SourceFile CD-ROM A294-2

Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs. Three ways to abuse health, family and self-esteem. Here are U.S. government publications to help understand and treat addictions. 2001 GP3.2: AL 1

Prescription for Addiction? The Arizona and California Medical Drug Use Initiatives. Views from both sides on the propositions passed by California and Arizona voters. Issues concerning fair play, campaign funding, and possible consequences are discussed in this hearing. 1996
Y 4.J89/2:S.HRG.104-874

Workshop on the Medical Utility of Marijuana. (Website) Cannabinoid receptors were discovered in the brain in 1988 making the potential for medical use of marijuana great, especially in the areas of neuropathic pain, Multiple Sclerosis, and epilepsy. Read here the findings of the Ad Hoc Group of Experts assembled by the National Institutes of Health. 1997

National Drug Control Strategy. Detailed government policies and objectives for the war on drugs are underscored with facts and statistics on drug use and crime. 2003
PREX 26.1/2:2000/SUMM

Speaking Out Against Drug Legalization This manual was developed by and for DEA and FBI employees to enhance their effectiveness in the debate on the legalization of drugs. 2002

Marijuana : weeding out the hype! : myths, facts & illicit drugs : what you should know.. This report is to provide useful information on what marijuana is, what it does, why it seems appealing, and why using it is risky. 2002
HE 20.402:M99

"Medical" Marijuana, Federal Drug Law adn the Constitution's Supremacy Clause. In this hearing , the debate is whether the state has the right to legalize marijuana, and what the federal government can do based on the constitution's supremacy clause. 2001
Y4.G 74/7: M33/4

Legal Information

The Marihuana Tax Act. This is the Federal government's first attempt to regulate marijuana by imposing taxes for harvesting, prescribing, or possessing it. 1937
50 STAT. 551

Illinois Laws:

Illinois Controlled Substances Act. 720 ILCS 570
Illinois Cannabis Control Act. 720 ILCS 550
Drug Paraphernalia Act. 720 ILCS 600

Other Historical Sources

Decriminalization of Marijuana Y 4.N16:95-1-7 (1977)
Therapeutic Uses of Marijuana and Schedule I Drugs Y 4.N16:96-2-8 (1980)
Health Consequences of Marijuana Abuse: Recent Findings and the Therapeutic Uses of Marijuana and the Use of Heroin to Reduce Pain Y 4.N16:96-2-5 (1980)
Legalization of Illicit Drugs: Impact and Feasibility--Part I Y 4.N16:100-2-10 (1988)
Legalization of Illicit Drugs--Part II Y 4.N16:100-2-11 (1988)
Legalization of Illicit Drugs: Impact and Feasibility (A Review of Recent Hearings) Y 4.N16:101-1-2 (1989)
Drug Legalization--Catastrophe for Black Americans Y 4.N16:100-2-9 (1988)


www.wiu.edu/library/govpubs/guides/legalize.htm