Introduction
America’s most used illegal substance, marijuana, has been a growing issue around the nation. With the collapse of our economy, and an increasing number of marijuana users, people have begun to raise the question of whether or not we should legalize marijuana. Would legalization be the best solution for our nation? We first must look into facts and details from both sides of the argument and which one our nation would be better off with.
History of Marijuana in the United States
Marijuana also known as Cannabis, has been used for thousands of years. It was believed to be first used as medicine by the Chinese. Marijuana was brought into the United States in 1619, when the colony of Jamestown required all settlers to grow Cannabis by Law.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI78vlSbdho
After years of growth and use, the media had
depicted marijuana as a dangerous, addictive drug that led to insanity and
death. Rumors of Mexicans and African
Americans smoking marijuana and going insane and killing people were common in
the early 20th century. These
over-exaggerated truths led to the signing of the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937,
which prohibited marijuana in the United States.
Over the years, more people have admitted to
trying and using marijuana in the United States. Today 17 states have legalized medical marijuana. Medicinal marijuana is legal for patients who
have been prescribed cannabis by a doctor.
Each of the 17 states has different restrictions on the law that allows
the use of medical marijuana.
Science and Side-effects of Marijuana
Marijuana is the name of the plant that contains the chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolor THC. THC is the substance that is delivered to the brain’s cannaboid receptors when smoked or consumed. This creates cellular reactions that cause a “high” feeling. The use of marijuana causes both short term and long term effects that have both positives and negatives.
Short Term effects (negative): poor memory and
thinking, poor muscle coordination, poor attention span, altered sense of time
and space, altered driving skills, delusions, depression, food craving, and
anxiety.
Short Term effects (positive): reduced
spasticity, increased appetite, reduced pain, and helps manage ADHD.
Long Term effects (negative): cancer,
breathing problems, loss of memory, decreased immune system, energy impaired,
and birth defects.
Long Term effects (positive): reduced anxiety,
increased empathy, and improved brain function.
Who are the major players?
A few of the sides on this topic of marijuana legalization are those who are for legalizing marijuana, those for decriminalizing marijuana, and those for non-legalization of marijuana. Along with these three sides are people who believe medical marijuana should be legalized and those who believe it should not.
Legalization of
marijuana means that the American people have the right to use marijuana. Although marijuana will be legal to use in
this case, there may be some restrictions for public safety. Restrictions include who can buy it, where it
can be bought/used, how much can be bought/used, driving laws, etc. Each person or party in favor of legalization
has a different opinion on what restrictions should be enforced. The Presidential Candidate for the
Libertarian Party, Gary Johnson is in favor of legalization. Legalization claims to eliminate the drug war
in the black market along with saving our government billions through law
enforcement cuts and creating a marijuana tax for consumers.
Decriminalization
of marijuana can is in between legalization and non-legalization. Decriminalization can range from limiting the
number of marijuana arrests for small possession charges and first time
offenders to eliminating jail-time completely for marijuana possession. Decriminalization
has been viewed to help protect the futures of many charged with possession of
marijuana. Current President, BarackObama is in favor of this approach.
Non-legalization
means that marijuana should be illegal in all forms. Current Presidential Candidate, Mitt Romney,
is in favor of this approach. Drug Watch
International believes marijuana should remain illegal because “The legalization or decriminalization
of drugs would make harmful, psychoactive, and addictive substances affordable,
available, convenient, and marketable. It would expand the use of drugs. It
would remove the social stigma attached to illicit drug use, and would send a
message of tolerance for drug use, especially to youth.”
Medical Marijuana Legalization
means that marijuana should be allowed use for medicinal purposes. Patients must receive a prescription for the
substance by a doctor. The degree of
illness to qualify for medical marijuana differs in the states it has been
legalized in. Research has stated that
medical marijuana has many health benefits for many illnesses. http://www.cmcr.ucsd.edu/
Analysis: What is best for Our Nation?
In order to find out which solution is the best for America, one must look at each side’s effect from an economic and societal perspective. The solution that would give our country the most economic and societal success is the correct choice for America.
Legalizing
marijuana has been estimated to save the United States roughly 10-14 Billion
dollars per year by Harvard Economics Professor, Jeffrey Miron.
This
number comes from law enforcement savings along with the government creating a
tax on the sales of marijuana. With less
law enforcement and marijuana sold legally, more people would be encouraged and
feel less ashamed to try the substance.
With more people using the substance, they will be spending more on
marijuana and less on other resources and products in the economy. As people begin to spend less on those other
resources, those companies selling those products will lose money, thus
negatively impacting the economy. Although
the marijuana companies and government will be gaining from sales and tax
revenue, other companies will be negatively affected. Miron had estimated that about half of that
10-14 Billion comes from the tax revenue, which is essentially coming out of
the pockets of the American people. The
American people should be spending their money on other more important things
in life and not on drugs.
The
non-legalization of marijuana will decrease the amount of people wasting money
on marijuana with strict law enforcement.
Strict law enforcement will keep marijuana out of the hands of minors
and people who would abuse the drug if legal.
The Huffington Post claims that 9 percent of people who use eventually “meet clinical criteria for dependence”. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/04/marijuana-legalization-research_n_1850470.html
The numbers of people becoming physically
dependent on marijuana would increase dramatically if the laws were
diminished. Physical dependence leads to
many long-term negative effects. http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana
Marijuana could decrease the health and
lifestyle of millions of Americans without law enforcement of marijuana.
Although non-legalization decreases substance abuse, the drug war in the black market still continues to go on in America.
This report states that drug trafficking has
claimed the lives of over 55,000. Because drug cartels have been killing people
over the distribution into the United States, it is believed that legalization
would put an end to these drug cartels.
What many people do not see is that if marijuana were to be legalized,
drug cartels would still continue to sell marijuana, just cheaper than what it
is sold in marijuana dispensaries. If
there business goes down, it offers them more incentive to those cartels to
import other illegal and more harmful drugs such as alcohol cocaine, opiates, and
heroin. This would increase the amounts of other harmful drugs coming into our
country. http://www.drugwatch.org/Against%20Legalization%20of%20Drugs.htm The only way in which this drug war could end
is if all abused drugs were to be legalized and regulated in our society at a
low costs.
Another negative of non-legalization is the
criminal punishment that comes with possessing small amounts of marijuana. This has been said to be a problem which has
ruined many people’s futures.
Decriminalization of marijuana could decrease the punishment for
marijuana possession charges. The
American people must make sure decriminalization of marijuana does not get to
out of hand to the point where people are not afraid to use the drug
anymore. If we eliminate jail time for
marijuana possession, people may be less afraid to use marijuana and abuse it
more. The increased drug abuse could
lead to more marijuana being sold on the black market, thus causing more deaths
and drug trades. Our group believes
first-time offenders with small amounts of possession charges should only be
fined, rather than be put in jail. This
would give people a second chance to learn from their mistakes, along with
saving the government money for their jail time.
Like the decriminalization, our group believes
medical marijuana should be legal to people with severe illnesses but must have
some restrictions. We believe that if
morphine and other harmful drugs can be used for medicinal purposes, marijuana
should be allowed. Although it will be
helpful to patients with cancer, glaucoma, and other severe illnesses, the
United States must make sure it does not get in the hands of people without
illnesses. Therefore we believe doctors
must prescribe only small doses per appointment to patients they find it
necessary to be given to.
