The Controlled Substance Act was passed by the federal government of the United States of America in the year 1970. It was signed by the president of the time, Richard Nixon. The law prohibited the importation, production, manufacturing, and consumption of various drugs, e.g. marijuana (Plume, 2012) . This paper tries to look into the historical and constitutional basis of the American government's structure and how the Controlled Substance Act is involved in the process of checks and balances. The paper also aims at discovering how the policy of Controlled Substances Act relates to public policy and elections. Lastly, the paper investigates on how the policy of Controlled Substances Act of 1970 impacts voting and the voting process at large.
The government of the United States of America is divided into federal and states government. The federal government is made up of the national government, and according to the constitution of the country, it constitutes of the President, the Congress, and the Judiciary. The state's government is made of representative members from the state. The government- both federal and states- has for a long time been trying to fight drugs that have been prevalent in the country since the 17 th century (Dusen & Spies, 2017) . The main way of trying to fight substance abuse has been by trying coming up with laws that warrant the arrest and prosecution of any person who is found peddling or abusing drugs, rather than educating its citizens on the negative effects of drug and substance abuse. As a result, the government has seemingly been losing on the battle on slow but sure motion. Most of the commonly abused drugs were at first legally used in small proportions for different purposes. For instance, morphine was used for medicinal purposes, heroin was used in the treatment of diseases in the respiratory system, and morphine was a pain reliever while cocaine was used as an anesthetic and also in the shrinking of the mucous membranes. However, it was later realized that the drugs have a high potential for making people addicted to them.
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Due to that revelation, the local authorities started banning the use and importation of the drugs. In the year 1890, the first-ever congressional act was passed and accepted by a majority of the members of the Congress. It was through the act that the levying of taxes on both opium and morphine was introduced. In the year 1909, the Smoking Opium exclusive Act, which banned the use of opium and anyway in which one could acquire it, was introduced. Less than six years later, in 1914, a tougher drug policy- the Harrison Narcotics Act- was passed (Behr, 1994) .
The Act’s main aim was bringing to an end the sale of cocaine, opium, morphine, and heroin. It was also decreed that the manufacture of those drugs was illegal. This led to the arrest and prosecution of more than five thousand physicians who were found to be still using the banned drugs in treating their patients. Another high number of physicians were fined due to the same act of breaking the law. Citizens who were found to be using the drugs were also arrested and taken to court.
From the year 1919 to the year 1933, different laws were passed on alcohol. The first law was to ban the use, exportation and manufacturing liquor- the 18 th Amendment. The law was however changed when the 19 th Amendment was voted in. The latter amendment allowed the importation, manufacture, and consumption of alcoholic beverages to all the people who have attained the legal age. The law is still prevalent to date. The year 1937 led to the successful enactment of the Marijuana Tax Act which required that a tax is passed on the use of marijuana. Failure to pay the tax on marijuana would attract to heavy penalties of up to 5 years in prison. It was not until 1970 that the Controlled Substance Act was passed through the federal government. The law was signed by the president who had been elected during that time, Richard M. Nixon (Plume, 2012) .
The Federal law in the United States of America, through the enactment of the Controlled Substance act of 1970, makes the use, importation, and manufacturing of drugs like opium, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana illegal. However, since the passing of the law in 1970, more than twenty-six states have legalized the use of one banned drug- marijuana- for medical purposes. Eight more states have made the use of the drug for recreation. In addition to those states, the District of Colombia has also legalized marijuana for recreation and also that of having the drug used for its medicinal value. The example of marijuana serves as a good basis on how the process of checks and balances is handled in the United States of America (Plume, 2012) .
The federal government is made up of three arms namely the President, the Judiciary and the Legislature, mostly referred to as the Congress. Each of the three arms of the government has its role that is different from the others, but to some extent, the laws seem to be the same. This is referred to as separation of powers. The constitution clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of each branch of the government (Sacco, 2014) . It also outlines the roles of the federal government and differentiates them from those of the government of the state. Most of the roles and powers of the two governments- the federal and that of the states- are intertwined. However, some powers like the making of money are owned exclusively by the national government. Any other power that is not given to the federal government fully belongs to the government of the state.
In case of a contradiction between the power of the federal government and that of states government, the power of the federal government prevails since the government has supreme power. When it comes to the regulation of drugs, the federal government through Congress has the power to employ all the necessary measures to ensure that the right laws are passed. It is the same power that the Congress used to pass the Controlled Substance Act in 1970, which was signed by the former president of the country, Richard M. Nixon (Behr, 1994) . However, Congress cannot control drug issues that are not related to interstate commerce. The system of checks and balances assume that if states continue legalizing drugs for both medicinal and recreational use, there will be pressure on the side of the federal government through Congress. At some point, the pressure will prove to be too much to them, and as a result, Congress will consider modifying or abandoning the policy entirely. In addition to that, state officials are the ones who are mostly involved in the enforcement of the law. That is a significant advantage that the state's government has over the federal government since for the case of drugs, the police officers will not concentrate much on arresting any people who are using the illegal drugs since the state's government has legalized the drugs.
Since the passing of the Controlled Substance use in 1970, many states have legalized one of the illegalized drugs, marijuana, either for medical use or for recreational use. As per the year 2012, statistics show that a total of 17 states had legalized the drug, either by ballot measure, proposition, ballot amendment, house bill, Senate bill, ballot question, ballot measure or by the proposition. The district of Colombia also legalized marijuana. The states of Alaska and Oregon legalized the drug through a ballot measure, whereas the states of Arizona, California, and Michigan legalized it through proposition. The state of Colorado and Dc made marijuana legal through ballot amendment while the state of Connecticut legalized it through house bill. In the states of Delaware, Hawaii, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Mount and Vermont, marijuana was legalized through the passing of a Senate bill. The ballot question was the method used to legalize marijuana in Maine and Nevada. In the remaining states- Montana and Washington, the way through which marijuana was legalized was combined initiative (Spillane, 2004) .
The legalizing of marijuana by those individual states is a violation of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Efforts to reclassify such drugs as drugs with less harm and potential have been constantly met with resistance by members of the Congress. This forced physicians to stop prescribing the drug but rather recommending it due to the strict resistance that was caused by the federal government. The DEA still pursued the physicians who did that because according to them, there was no difference between the two terms- prescription and recommendation because both of them encouraged the use of the drug. However, they were ruled against by the Ninth Circuit, which said that a recommendation just opened up more room for debate on the advantages and disadvantages of a certain product (Gabay, 2013) .
In the year 2009, the Department of Justice (DOA) declared that private users of marijuana would no longer be much targeted. It further directed that the main target group would be people who were doing the production and sale of drugs on large- scale basis. Another issue that emerged was whether it was advisable to continue having an employee even after it was realized that they are using marijuana. It was ruled that an employee should not be allowed to continue working while using drugs. It was also ruled that employees should undergo tests to determine whether or not they are abusing drugs. That decision was made in the state of Oregon, and similar decisions were made in other states apart from that of New Jersey which protected the rights of its citizens who were using marijuana for medicinal purposes at their places of work (Gabay, 2013) .
The Controlled Substances Act has been disapproved by not only by citizens but also by members of state government and local leaders. In 1996, the citizens of the state of California voted in significant support for the legalizing of marijuana, a drug that had been illegalized in 1970 by the Controlled Substance Act. Since then, the citizens of other more than ten states and two districts- Colombia and Guam- have voted in support of the process of legalizing the drug. It is also anticipated that other states that have not yet voted for the legalizing of marijuana will soon follow suit (Gabay, 2013) . This is made so because marijuana is said to have medicinal value that can be used in the treatment of various ailments, some of which include social anxiety and glaucoma.
Despite all that need to legalize marijuana, the federal government through the Congress remains unmoved and as a result, marijuana, irrespective of whether its use is recreational or for medicinal purpose, remains illegal. In the Controlled substance Act of 1970, marijuana is categorized in the first schedule. The schedule consists of drugs that are said to be of no medicinal value at all. However, it is argued that it was put in the schedule because Richards Nixon's attitude towards the drug was neither scientific nor medical (Spillane, 2004) . This made it impossible for physicians or scientists to conduct more research on the drug. This ensured that marijuana could never be used for further research on its medicinal value and was thus deemed as useless. The need to legalize marijuana has primarily come as a result of high demand by the citizens of various states to have it legalized. At first, groups like the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) fought for the legalizing of marijuana for medicinal purposes only. As time moved, successful campaigns to legalize marijuana for recreational use were carried out. Most citizens of the United States of America view successful campaigns as a victory against the legal system of government (Plume, 2012) . As expected, most of the citizens mainly tend to vote for leaders whose objectives concern the legalizing of marijuana at the national level. This is because most of them view marijuana as a way of solving a good number of their medical problems. On top of that, they consider the drug as a suitable method of relaxing their mind due to the worldwide acclaimed enjoyment effect brought about by the drug.
However, the use of drugs could have an adverse effect on the voting process. This is made true by the fact that if used in large amounts, marijuana impairs one's judgment. As a result, the affected voters would end up voting wrongly. Some of the voters would not even avail themselves due to the effect of marijuana in their bodies (Gabay, 2013) . There could also be security issues since the people who use large amounts of the drug tend to act in a way that is not right.
Although the Controlled Substance Act of 1970 prohibited the use of various drugs, there is a possibility that that will change soon. This likely hood is made more realistic by the fact that most citizens of the United States of America are willing to have that changed to enjoy the benefits that come with the use of such drugs. For instance, the citizens in a number of states have already voted in favor of legalizing marijuana, a drug that is illegalized by the federal government. This is due to the belief that the drug has some medicinal value and is also useful in reducing stress. Despite all those attempts by the citizens and the representative members of the states in conjunction with the local leaders, the federal government still maintains that the drugs are still prohibited by the law and should neither be produced nor consumed. It is worth noting that federalism- the sharing of powers between the federal government and the government of the state- plays a significant role in maintaining the balance between in the legalizing of the drugs. However, it is expected that as time goes by and people start demanding for the legalizing of some illegalized drugs, the pressure will increase on the side of the federal government. This may make them reconsider their decision on the prohibited drugs by either legalizing them or by redefining the law. However, it is highly recommendable that the government engages in educating the citizens on the effects of abusing drugs instead of arresting the people who are found doing the same.
References
Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. (2010). A.R.S. Sect. 36-2814 (A)–(B).
Controlled Substances Act. (1970). Pub. L. 91-513, 84 Stat. 1236, enacted October 27, 1970, codified at 21 U.S.C. § 801 et. seq.
Behr, D. J. (1994). Prescription Drug Control Under the Federal Controlled Substances Act: A Web of Administrative, Civil, and Criminal Law Controls. Journal of Urban Law , 45 (41): 41-119.
Dusen, V. V., & Spies, A. R. (2017, Febraury 01). An Overview and Update of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Pharmacy Times .
Gabay, M. (2013). The Federal Controlled Substances Act: Schedules and Pharmacy Registration. Hospital Pharmacy , 48(6): 473-474.
Plume, J. S. (2012, December). Cultivating Reform: Richard Nixon Substance Control Legacy, Medical Marijuana Social Movement Organizations, And Venue Shpping. Retrieved from Syracuse University Surface: https://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1110&context=psc_etd
Sacco, L. N. (2014, October 2). Drug Enforcement in the United States: History, Policy, and Trends. Congressional Research Service , p. 30.
Spillane, J. F. (2004). Debating the Controlled Substances Act. Drug and Alcohol Dependence , 76(1): 17-29.
