The Issue of Legalizing Marijuana Usage
The issue of legalizing marijuana usage for personal or recreational purposes has frequently been regarded as a topical and contentious topic that has been hotly disputed. The issue with marijuana legalization is not so much what you use as it is how people use it. According to studies conducted in the United States, the vast majority of the population has tried marijuana for recreational purposes at some point. Marijuana legalization attempts have long been stalled due to misunderstanding about marijuana decriminalization and legalization.
The Effects of Marijuana on the Body
Marijuana has been portrayed as an addictive and dreadful substance that is a burden on society as a whole. One of the common issues raised is the effects of marijuana on the body, but according to the statistics provided by Bureau of Mortality, no deaths have been caused by marijuana use compared to tobacco that has over half a million deaths in 2010. The personal use of marijuana has been extensively researched, and a lot of experts from the medical fraternity have confirmed on the viability and medical benefits of marijuana use especially for terminal patients. According to the Institute of Medicines, (1999), the use of marijuana in its natural form provides one of the safest therapeutically benefits.
The Current Legal System
The main points of concerns in the current system include the amendment of the Constitution in various states allowing for personal use of marijuana however the only legal issue is that in the United States the possession and sale of marijuana remains to be illegal under the federal laws d thereby bringing about complexities on how the states will implement the state passed ballot initiatives to the general public allowing for either medical or personal use of marijuana.
The Cost Benefit Analysis
Various experts have argued supporting the use of marijuana with their primary points of focus is the cost benefit analysis of the harmless nature of the drug. The legalization of personal use of cannabis can lead to limitless benefits to the society amongst the top being the use of marijuana could expand medical researches. Some of the states and countries that have legalized the personal use of marijuana have not experienced any major issues as a result of this. If marijuana is used as a laxative for patients ailing with terminal illness thereby allowing them to relax; there is technically no reason why I should not be legalized for all people to enjoy for their reasons in the same way alcohol and cigarettes have been legalized.
Policemen's Views
A survey research that was carried out by the Pew research center collected the views of over eighty thousand police officers on the personal use of Marijuana, and over 66% supported the legalization of marijuana use for the sale, medical and personal use. The legalization of marijuana for personal use with controlled production and distribution could lead to substantial reductions in crime due to legal regulating and control of marijuana. This is likely to put the drug cartels out of business hence decreasing the rates of crime (Cerdá et al., pg. 21-27).
Legalization in Canada
Canada is set to legalize the personal use of marijuana soon by the taking of adopting an approach to public health as the basis for providing recommendations on the drafting of new legislation to allow for recreational use of marijuana. As much there has been a lot of bodies advocating for the legalization of marijuana the legislation and regulations of the personal use of marijuana need to follow a framework that can be modeled to controlled production and usage standards similarly to the other legalized drugs.
Regulation of Personal Use of Cannabis
First, the legalization of personal use of cannabis needs to be regulated in the same way as the production of medical marijuana. The minimum age requirements for the purchase of marijuana have been set to 18 years old with each territory free to increase this minimum wage. Any marketing and promotional advertising of marijuana should be restricted in the same way that tobacco, pharmaceutical products, and alcohol are restricted. These include restrictions on endorsement, sponsorship, and branding. The packaging of marijuana needs to be clear and plain with limited labels including strain, company name, price and levels of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabnol" also known as THC" this is to avoid target advertising issues on children. The distribution of marijuana and other products derived from marijuana should be controlled between states and municipalities with access both vial the mail order system and retail distribution allowed. The legalization of personal use of marijuana doesn’t mean that it is free to all as these laws should only be provisions for citizens of a country hence meaning that travelers entering a country need to be subjected to inspections against bringing marijuana. Locals are only allowed to be in possession of at most 30grams of dried marijuana with regulations on personal use at home remedy products to be regulated later.
Objections and Unknown Side Effects
Among the objection issues raised on the legalization of marijuana for personal use are the unknown side effects associated with its usage and possibility for increased rates of crime. However, it should be noted that all medications present possible side effects. In addition to this, the possibility of crime increase due to the legalization of marijuana use could be unlikely since a majority have waited for the legalization for a very long time.
Educating the Public
For the legalization of marijuana for personal use should start with the educating of the public on the benefits of marijuana use and erase the voodoo pharmacology propaganda established in the early 1930s. The Voodoo pharmacology is the spreading of propaganda on a drug as having the capability to control and influence human behavior towards performing crimes i.e. murder, however, such information is falsified through adverts, and after long periods the people start believing the information. A vast majority of the United States populace has been falsely educated on the negative effects of marijuana use than it does and this is what led to its illegalization in 1937.
The Plan of Legalizing Marijuana for Personal Use
The plan of legalizing marijuana for personal use needs to take some points into consideration i.e. how the marijuana is to be produced, distributed and used. The governments are likely advocating for the sale of Marijuana through regulated outlets or optionally users to be registered and allowed to grow a limited number of cannabis plants. Roadside saliva tests should be implemented to detect drug-impaired drivers and at the same time regulate the sale of marijuana to children under the minimum age limits with severe penalties for the people who provide cannabis to children. State level regimes need to modify laws and strengthen laws regulating the use of marijuana. The efforts of the government to decriminalize the use of marijuana has not succeeded in reducing the number of youths using it hence it only makes sense on legalizing its use and regulating it since the black markets don’t regulate the use of marijuana (Monte et al., pg. 241-242).
Works Cited
Cerdá, Magdalena, et al. “Medical marijuana laws in 50 states: investigating the relationship between state legalization of medical marijuana and marijuana use, abuse and dependence.” Drug and alcohol dependence 120.1 (2012): 22-27.
Monte, Andrew A., Richard D. Zane, and Kennon J. Heard. “The implications of marijuana legalization in Colorado.” Jama 313.3 (2015): 241-242.
