The main purpose of this research paper is to discuss the arguments on legalization of marijuana in the States. There exist several nations that have accepted this drug substance as a recreational drug and this has led to the separation of marijuana from other dangerous drugs. On the other hand, many think that marijuana use should be prohibited as a result of serious mental influences and behavioral alterations produced by its occasional consumption. This paper looks at the history and statistics of marijuana and finally discuss the arguments for and against its legalization in the United States. In conclusion, the notion that this drug is very dangerous and should not be legalized is a very big mistake since it has a lot of benefits which should make the drug legalized.
Introduction and History of Marijuana
Marijuana refers to a plant known scientifically as Cannabis Sativa. The users of this particular kind of drug consume its leaves, stems, seeds and even the roots for various reasons including recreational reasons. Marijuana plant has numerous compounds but the one with major intoxicating effects is known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Although the use of this plant is allowed in some states of the United States, it is treated as one of the dangerous illegal drugs in many jurisdictions. Particularly, the laws and regulations in several states deem illegal to take part in the possession of marijuana, either for your own use or for reasons of supplying and distributing to others.
This plant has a long history of human use. Several ancient cultures did not grow marijuana or cannabis to get high but they only grew the plant for herbal medicine. The growing of hemp plant started in Asia at around 500 BC. In America, cannabis was cultivated during the colonial era where the plant was grown for purposes of making rope and textile products. During the 20th century, both political and racial factors led to the criminalization of cannabis in the United States, although its legal status is changing in many parts of the world. Hemp plant originated in Central Asia before being introduced into some parts of Europe, Africa and ultimately the Americas. Cannabis fiber was used for making sails, paper, rope, clothing, textile and food. Hemp plant was widely cultivated throughout colonial America since it is a fast-growing plant that can be easily cultivated for various reasons.
Marijuana is the most commonly abused illegal drug globally. Despite the fact the number of individuals using marijuana at any one time does not seem to have risen in the past few years, the number of individuals living with the marijuana-related disorder has increased immensely. This tends to be specifically true for the elderly people as well as for young Hispanic population and the African-American adults. As compared to teen girls, teen boys are more likely to smoke or use marijuana for various reasons. As compared to other substances, marijuana is the most commonly abused drug in the world. Possession of marijuana in most nations is illegal unlike in the United States where this drug has been legalized is some of its states.
Marijuana users can use marijuana in various forms, for example, people can consume them when dry, others consume a combination of flowers and green leaves, stems, leaves, and even the seeds. In many cases, people use marijuana in form of cigarette smoking. Others can also consume marijuana by mixing them in food. Hashish which is made from the tops of hemp plant has the highest concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which has major intoxicating effects. The users of this substance may develop dependence through some ways which are similar to other drugs of abuse like tobacco and alcohol. The use of marijuana may have several harmful effects to an individual, for example, it damages an individual’s health over time.
Statistics for Marijuana
According to the United Nations, about 158.8 million people use marijuana for various reasons. In the United States, over 94 million individuals have confessed using this substance at one time or another. From a National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted in 2007, about 2.1 million individuals in the United States abused cannabis for the first time. Among them, only 6.7% of those found below 18 years were current users of this drug. According to the American government estimates, production of marijuana for domestic reasons has increased immensely from 1000 metric tons in 1981 to 10,000 metric tons in 2006. In 2000, marijuana users in the United States used about $10.5 billion dollars on the substance. In 2005, thousands of patients found in the emergency rooms of hospitals were marijuana users. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, a high number of individuals apprehended for criminal test positive for cannabis. In the U.S., 40% of adult males were tested positive at the time of their apprehension. Apart from alcohol, marijuana is another commonly abused drug substance in the bodies of those drivers involved in serious automobile accidents (Drugfreeworld.org. N.p., 2018. Web. 11 Nov. 2018).
Overview of the Legalization of Marijuana in the United States
Recreational drugs, for example, marijuana are drugs that are consumed for purposes of enjoyment, fun or leisure rather than for purposes of medication. There are numerous types of recreational drugs that are found in different parts of the United States. Apart from marijuana, other recreational drugs are cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, caffeine, and dimethyltryptamine among others. These types of substances are taken to provide pleasure and improve the life of an individual in different ways. Our main focus in this discussion is on marijuana as a recreational drug and its legalization in the United State. On the contrary, marijuana use can cause serious health effects on an individual’s health, for example, it may lead to brain damage. A large variety of recreational drugs are prohibited and thus their consumption comes along with serious consequences of violating the law. Individuals who find it hard to refrain from using this drug substance can be assisted to do so in various ways.
Drug legalization refers to a way of eliminating or reducing drug ban laws in a given nation, for example, the U.S. Many adults across several states have tried different kinds of recreational drugs, for example, marijuana because of various reasons. Marijuana is one common drug substance that has been liberalized in the United States but the American government through various agencies are establishing measures to ensure dangerous drugs have been eliminated across many states of the U.S. One major reason that has led to legalization of marijuana in some parts of the U.S. is the fact that its compounds have been established and proven to be safe for human use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In the United States, one industry that has significantly grown at a higher rate is the marijuana industry. Today, the industry has realized a lot of profits from the sale of the drug. As compared to other firms, the marijuana business has attracted many potential venture capitalists having a lot of trust and confidence that the marijuana industry will realize them huge profits compared than any other. Conversely, it doesn’t mean that the government is happy with the profits realized from marijuana firm thus the drug substance has persisted to be classified as Schedule I at the Federal level meaning it lacks medical benefits leading to its prohibition just like other illegal drugs such as heroin. Even with this perception, the debate lights up on whether marijuana should be legalized or not in the United States. Concrete opinions can be established from both sides of the aisle, arguments for and against legalization of marijuana in the U.S. The three arguments for and against legalization of marijuana have been elaborated below.
a. Arguments for Legalization of Marijuana
There are several convincing opinions that support the idea that marijuana should be legalized in the U.S. The arguments seem to make a lot of sense on why this drug should be allowed in several states of the U.S.
1.A majority of the Public Favors and Support Legalization of the Substance
First, a lot of polls that have been conducted over time in the country shows that a majority of the public wants this substance to be legalized. For instance, polls that have been conducted across some states such as Texas, Kentucky, Colorado, and Vermont show that American citizens want marijuana and other kinds of recreational drug substances to be allowed. Some of the polls that were conducted are Gallup and CBS News polls. The outcomes collected from these polls indicated that approximately 60% of the people living in Colorado and approximately 61% of those living in Texas support legalization of some of the recreational drugs one of them being marijuana. The results showed that legalization of marijuana drug and other recreational drugs is widely supported throughout the U.S.
Apart from marijuana, cannabis is also a recreational drug that is supported by many Americans. Therefore, if the policymakers and lawmakers do not make changes to marijuana schedule on Capitol Hill favors the interests of the citizen, these leaders could risk being removed from office by way of voting. The public expects their leaders to legalize marijuana or otherwise they will be voted out and dismissed from office (Panahi and Yunes et al. 623). 2. Clinical Data Shows that Legalization Improves Quality of Life
The second argument that seems to support marijuana legalization and other recreational drugs in the United States contends that there are numerous medical benefits that a person gets from drug usage. For marijuana, different medical researchers have come out to say that marijuana can be used for many medicinal reasons which in the long run improves the quality of patient life. Marijuana substance has shown several positive outcomes in university-run and also Food and Drug Administration sanctioned clinical studies. Authorization of marijuana in various parts of the United States, for instance, Colorado and Texas have played an important role in the reduction of deaths. The number of people who die from opioid in Colorado has significantly reduced as a result of the legalization of cannabis. Many medical researchers argued that cannabis can be used as an alternative to agonizing-fighting opioids.
In regard to the clinical studies, GW Pharmaceuticals is eyeing to be the pioneer of cannabinoid-based drug development which can be used in the treatment of epilepsy among the young children. This will be one of the most significant developments in the field of medicine since it will help during the cure of childhood-onset epilepsy. Based on this, some drugs such as marijuana and cannabis should be legalized since they lead to further developments in the field of medicine that may lead to the development of latest treatments for various illnesses and reduce the rate of mortality among individuals. Legalizing marijuana could act as a game changer for new medical discoveries for some diseases and create a broader access for patients (Bostwick, Michael, Gary, Reisfield, and Robert, 867).
3. Marijuana is a Potential New Source of Revenue and Employment
Due to the growth of the marijuana industry in the United States, the profits realized can be a source of revenues for the U.S. government. Marijuana is the most popular industry that is growing faster and this has led to the building of trust among various investors in the country. Many people have invested their money in the industry thus boosting the U.S. economy. Due to a large number of people using marijuana, it has created a lot of job opportunities for many people. Legalizing marijuana creates a lot of employment as this industry is one of the fastest growing firms in the U.S. As a result of high profits the firm makes, it has the potential of boosting the U.S. economy (Anderson, Mark, and Daniel, 230).
Legalizing some recreational drugs such as marijuana will definitely generate a lot of revenue for both the federal and the state government and this amount can be used to support different programs that will be of help to the Americans, for example, the Medicaid and Medicare programs. For example, in the year 2016, the amount of tax that was collected from the legal sale of marijuana in Colorado alone was approximately $200 million. This shows that if marijuana is legalized across all states, the country will be able to collect a lot of revenue and use the dollars for various reasons. Also, California has also managed to collect about $1 billion annual revenue from its recreational pot industry. The profits realized from the sale of marijuana products, for example, leisure weed can be used to establish numerous resourceful projects throughout the country.
b. Arguments against Legalization of Marijuana
Despite the fact that legalization of marijuana might work well across several states, there are many reasons that present federal scheduling may be more meaningful. From what we have discussed, we have seen that legalizing marijuana in the state has a lot of benefits but also, on the other hand, we should not forget that this has a lot of repercussions also. The arguments discussed supports the view that marijuana should not be legalized across the states of the U.S. because of various reasons.
1. Legalization of Marijuana through the Clinical Data Suggest a lot of Health Concerns
The clinical data seems to be very interesting as a result of the reality that it supports both sides of the argument over marijuana legalization. Despite the fact that there are several studies that have supported legalization of this drug substance, some of the university-run have also shown how marijuana can be very dangerous for human health. For instance, marijuana consumption has a lot of dangerous health effects that may lead to deaths. For example, consumption of cannabis and marijuana could cause some damages to the brain which can lead to serious long-term effects on different organs of the body such as the lungs and other critical organs of the body among the users. One will not be surprised to find out that many adults who have used marijuana before having a great reduction of their long-term memory test score as compared to those adults who have never used marijuana before. As a result of such adverse effects, marijuana should not be legalized in the United States and also in any other part of the world (Monte, Andrew, Richard, and Kennon, 242).
2. Lack of Enough Parameters to Police Marijuana Use
One major argument against the legalization of marijuana ties into controlling the drug. For instance, the United States has a well-distinct line in the sand regarding driving under drug influence like alcohol. If an individual is under a blood-alcohol content of 0.08%, he or she may not be apprehended for driving impaired. But if an individual under a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of above 0.08% or above, he or she is absolutely going to be arrested by the police for driving impaired. Such parameters are only available when it comes to alcohol consumption. Due to the fact that there are no parameters for marijuana consumption, it becomes a problem for the police to regulate its consumption thus rendering its enforcement a nightmare (Inciardi, James, and Duane, 59).
There exist some evidence that marijuana consumption has some effects on a person’s ability to drive, even though some studies contend that the effects are much less dangerous as compared to that of alcohol. On the other hand, there is no specific level of THC that defines whether one is over or under the limit for being impaired. Worsening the situation, THC may remain in a person’s bloodstream for several days or weeks showing that getting an accurate result of impairment and determining the exact time when this substance was consumed by one involves some guesswork. Individuals who are against the legalization of marijuana contend that the lack of proper regulations and parameters are enough evidence to ensure that marijuana is illegal.
3. The Environmental and Electric Grid could be Huge
Also, there are a lot of concerns on what is likely to happen to the United States’ environmental and electric grid in case the U.S. government makes marijuana legal. For example, numerous serious apprehensions about what could happen to the nation’s power grid and the environment have been on the rise in case the federal government allowed the use of marijuana across many states. Some of the studies suggest that indoor marijuana growing farm was responsible for 1% of the American electrical consumption each year which amounts to about $6 billion annually. If marijuana and other classes of recreational drugs are legalized in more than seven states, then there is no doubt that the total electrical consumption could lead to a significant percentage of energy usage which may not be desirable since it may destroy the nation’s electric grids. Furthermore, there are serious concerns that marijuana grown outside may negatively affect the ecosystem such as wildlife (Kamin and Sam, 147).
Conclusion
After hearing the arguments from both sides of the aisle, I stand to support the argument that legalization of marijuana should be allowed in the United States because of various reasons. First, marijuana should be legalized across several states of the U.S. because it marijuana industry has a potential of creating job opportunities for many individuals. This industry is one of the largest growing industry which makes a lot of sales and therefore many employment opportunities can be created. Secondly, the marijuana industry has the potential of boosting the U.S. economy through a large number of people consuming the substance. The revenue collected may be used to support various programs that are of help to the citizens. Thirdly, marijuana has a lot of health benefits to the users and therefore legalization of this substance will improve the quality of healthy life among the Americans. For example, the development of cannabinoid-based drug will be useful during the treatment of childhood-onset epilepsy among the children. Finally, marijuana should be legalized as it could act as the game changer for the latest medical discoveries for some illnesses and create a broader access of different patients.
Works Cited
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Drugfreeworld.org. N.p., 2018. Web. 11 Nov. 2018.
Inciardi, James A., and Duane C. McBride. "The case against legalization." The drug legalization debate (1991): 45-79.
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Monte, Andrew A., Richard D. Zane, and Kennon J. Heard. "The implications of marijuana legalization in Colorado." Jama313.3 (2015): 241-242.
Panahi, Yunes, et al. "The arguments for and against cannabinoids application in glaucomatous retinopathy." Biomedicine " Pharmacotherapy 86 (2017): 620-627.
