Legalizing Marijuana The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 essentially outlawed the possession or sale of marijuana, it was considered a “demon weed”. In 1952, the Boggs Act provided stiff mandatory sentences for offences involving a variety of drugs including marijuana, heroin, morphine and several others. In 1971, it was deemed a Schedule 1 narcotic. “Schedule 1, the most restrictive category, contained drugs that the federal government deemed as having no valid medical uses and a high potential for