Laws governing drugs inside the United States began in the early 1900’s. It was not until Ronald Reagan was in office that the laws changed and had to become far more specific. By combining what were the then current laws governing drug administration and prosecution, and classifying the drugs into schedules, the existing state of drug laws and enforcement would change noticeably for the benefit of the government. The changes expanding the power of the government and police in their ability to seek out and persecute those found guilty of being in violation of the act.

Marijuana has a funny history with the drug classification administration. In 1970 after the initial passing of laws governing drug classifications a group was formed within government to do research on marijuana abuse in America. Raymond P Shafer, the chairman of this committee, presented his findings to government which concluded that the current criminal laws for persecution of those found guilty in dealing with Marijuana were far too harsh. The conclusions were that the actual harm and potential for abuse of Marijuana were not great enough to justify such unforgiving punishments.

Reforms of the Controlled Substances Act have been going on for years, or at least people have been trying. But despite the years, the only reforms that have been accepted and allowed have been the ones classifying the drugs even further as dangerous substances, and allowing for even harsher punishments for those found guilty of violating these laws