Stamp act

The first federal law in the U.S. prohibiting cannabis as an intoxicant was the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. It was enacted primarily out of economic fears and immigration worries. During the depression, migrant workers from Mexico were no longer needed or welcome in the south and southwest states. People there were afraid that Mexican immigrants were undercutting American workers for jobs so they were trying to get them to return to Mexico. Since many of these immigrants smoked marijuana, it was thought that banning marijuana would help. So, in 1937 Congress passed The Marijuana Tax Stamp Act. The Act itself did not actually criminalize possession or use of marijuana, but required anyone doing so to pay roughly one dollar to receive the stamp. In the 1930’s, this would have been prohibitively expensive to migrant farm workers, however, it didn’t matter ..the government was only issuing them to doctors and dentists. This created a catch-22 for recreational users ..the penalty for not having the stamp was a fine of up to $2000 and five years’ imprisonment. This put recreational users at great risk, and for the Mexican immigrant, it meant certain deportation. In 1969, the case of Leary v. United States ruled that the Act was unconstitutional because it violated Fifth Amendment rights. Unless you were a doctor or dentist, applying for the tax stamp was an act of self-incrimination. In response, Congress repealed the 1937 marijuana stamp act and replaced it with the Title II of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. This made it a felony to cultivate, possess or use marijuana for any reason ..including research. Although California law has lightened up and reduced some penalties to a misdemeanor, law enforcement agencies vigorously pursue cultivation in order to take advantage of property forfeiture and seizure laws.