Throughout American history, drug laws and policies have impacted research on controlled substances as well than on our judicial system. Over the past century, the United States has strengthened border security, increased arrests and lengthened sentences for drug crimes. Many of today's illegal drugs, such as opium and psychedelics, have been used for thousands of years for medical and spiritual purposes. The first anti-cocaine laws were created in the early 1900s, followed by anti-marijuana laws in the 1920s; these laws targeted black men in the South. Likewise, today, Black and Latino communities are still subject to disproportionate enforcement and sentencing practices. Since the 1970s, when Nixon declared the “war on drugs,” there has been political hysteria about drugs. Because of this, incarceration rates and the number of people incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenses have increased. But under President Barack Obama, his administration focused on preventing and treating drug abuse. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Today, marijuana has undergone unprecedented reform by becoming legal in many states. Drug policies are constantly evolving and adapting to our society. These laws, however, affect how we research controlled substances. Research on controlled substances is something that must be done to ensure the safety and importance of “drugs”. Sometimes state laws differ from those of the federal government, which can impact how people research controlled substances. Currently, it is extremely difficult to search for Schedule 1 drugs. To be a Schedule 1 drug, it must be susceptible to abuse, have no accepted medical use, and lack safety under medical supervision. Even if medical use has been discovered, there is no agreed policy to remove drugs from Schedule 1; this is also true for marijuana. Many believe that the difficulty in drug research is due to politics. For example, in the UK, to carry out research you need a license which can take up to a year to obtain and costs thousands of pounds (Nutt p. 579). Similarly, in Canada it took 4 years to import MDMA from Switzerland to be tested for research (Nutt p. 579). This difficulty hinders not only research but also the results and development of society. Studies have shown that people suffering from PTSD can be helped by the use of MDMA; indeed, MDMA can reduce the brain's response to threats (Nutt p. 581). Similarly, marijuana has been shown to help HIV-positive people regain their appetite and reduce nausea (Andreae p. 36), while LSD helps people with terminal cancer "do better face” (Nutt p. 581). These facts are ignored because governments want to control the population, not benefit them. Not only is research slowed down by the requirements of Schedule 1 drug laws, but we're also studying the wrong things. More and more research is being done to prove how addictive something is rather than its benefits. Although it is important to know the side effects of drugs, it is!