Running Head: LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA 1 LEGALIZATION OF RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA IN CALIFORNIA By Name Course Tutor s Name Institution Date
LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA 2 Legalization of Recreational Marijuana in the California Marijuana refers to a dried flower grown from a hemp plant Cannabis sativa, which contains a psychoactive chemical called delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as well as other related compounds. Over a long period of time, legalization of recreational marijuana has appeared to be a very controversial topic among the people in U.S. This has spurred many debates and opinions on whether or not to legalize it. The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), points out that marijuana is the most common illicit drug used in the U.S (NIDA, 2014, p.1). This implies that most people in the U.S. use marijuana for different purposes such as relaxation, stress relieving, medical prescription among others. Although the federal government considers marijuana as a schedule I drug, meaning that its use poses high risk with absolutely no medicinal use, many doctors and psychiatrists have stated that the use of Marijuana could indeed have a high medical relevance. According to Castillo, 76 percent of the doctors approved that marijuana can be prescribe as a recreational medicine, (para. 1). This means that a majority of health experts are in support of the proposal that marijuana should be legalized. Although NIDA points out that the evidence of its benefits is not enough to give marijuana Food and Drug Administration approval, Marijuana has been found to have multiple medical benefits, such as pain relieving, improving of individuals moods and increased appetite among others, for patients who use medically (Castillo, 2013 para. 5). It is therefore necessary to examine its pros and cons, and if it has more positive value, more so health wise, then it is highly recommended that it should be legalized. Besides Marijuana, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, and refined sugar are among the most commonly used, potentially habit-forming recreational substances (Nathan, 2013, p.6). It is however worth noting that of all these substances only marijuana is illegal. In fact, the prevalent
LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA 3 use of alcohol and tobacco is clearly more dangerous and in many instances, even sugar has been found to pose more threat to U.S. health than marijuana. It therefore, makes no sense illegalizing pot and legalizing even more dangerous substances such as alcohol and tobacco. The federal government should thus look at ways in which they can restrict the recreational use of marijuana, as opposed to illegalizing it. In addition, Nathan argues that, hiding marijuana from innately curious young people has elevated its status to that of a forbidden fruit (para. 4). This therefore means that the younger generation and more so adolescents, will always strive to know how it is like to be high on weed. Hiding marijuana by adults on the fear of being caught by the federal government could therefore be looked at as a way through which a good percentage of youths can become addicted. The government should therefore legalize pot, and provide education to individuals on its harmful effects, how and when the citizens can use it for recreational purposes. Doing this will make the citizens responsible since they would grow up from an early age knowing that marijuana can cause a large degree of harm to the body, if it is highly abused. Accordingly, Marijuana should also be legalized since it has been found to be of a great importance more so in patients with acute diseases. Even though there has not been any proof that the positive uses of marijuana outweigh its health risks, NIDA acknowledges the fact that marijuana can be of great importance when it comes to treatment of conditions including pain and nausea caused by HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other conditions (NIDA, 2014, p.2). Legalization of Marijuana in this aspect, will be able to assist not only the patients by relieving them of their pain, but also the doctors since they will have lesser casualties to attend to. It is therefore important that the federal government legalizes marijuana and put laws to govern its use rather than making it illegal.
LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA 4 Equally important, the illegalization of pot has had a large influence in increasing the level of black market trade. This has had a largely negative effect on the economy of California, U.S and throughout the world. Since some people believe in Cannabis sativa to be a gateway to other extremely dangerous drugs such as heroin, cocaine and molly fail to acknowledge the fact that purchasing pot illegally would expose the buyers and consumers to dealers who have the habit of pushing the hard stuff. According to Nathan, the depletion of more treacherous drugs could in fact reduce if pot were purchased at a liquor store rather than on the street corner where heroin and crack are smuggled (2013, para. 9). Therefore, due to its intense popularity in California, legalizing marijuana could consequently lead to decrease in the consumption of other hazardous drugs. This will thus reduce the amount of black market trading, thereby causing a conspicuous positive change in the general economy of the state. The federal government has in a long time tried to use criminal penalties to be able to prevent the use of marijuana. This has not yielded any fruits though, since it is the most widely used illegal drug in the U.S. and attempts to prohibit the drug have turned out futile. The government ought to ask itself questions such as, what are the key benefits of the drug? How can its negative effects be reduced? And so on. Nathan also states that he has seen lives ruined by drugs like cocaine, painkillers and alcohol (2013, para. 5). This therefore implies that marijuana is not a lethal drug and its prohibitions has been based on lies and disinformation. The government should therefore understand that the health risks of marijuana are mild as compared to other substances, and legalizing it will help its careful usage. Furthermore, according to NIDA, marijuana comes from the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds of the hemp plant (2014, p. 1). It is therefore important to legalize the usage of marijuana, since it will eliminate the wide confusion surrounding the hemp plant. The hemp
LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA 5 plant is an important natural resource and has a variety of uses ranging from paper manufacturing, housing equipment, fuel, plastic, and oil manufacturing among others. Legalizing marijuana therefore implies that the government will be able to take advantages of the hemps agricultural and industrial uses without citizens and organizations debating on the issue. This will also help in the reduction of global issues such as global warming and pollution. Incidentally, the main reason why drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin are expensive is because they are illegal. Prohibition is therefore the only thing keeping marijuana expensive. On the contrary, if growing and selling marijuana were absolutely unregulated, then the price would reduce hence matching those of drugs like tobacco or stimulants such as tea and coffee. Even if the reduction in prices will not fall that far, in many American states such as California, it will be cheaper for someone to use marijuana as opposed to alcohol. This will reduce the overall dangers of alcohol more so in the poverty stricken families where consumption of unlicensed cheap liquor is prevalent. It is therefore the duty of the federal government to ensure that marijuana is legalized in order to achieve an overall health improvement. Likewise, legalizing Marijuana will also help in the reduction of crime rate not only in California but also in the U.S at large. Most of the prisoners in California have been incarcerated due to direct or indirect marijuana cases. Therefore, in order to fight crime such as smuggling and drug possession, the federal government should legalize the sale of marijuana to adult citizens. For instance, many people will purchase it legally using the framework stipulated by the government. There will be therefore no need for black market, and cops will be able to concentrate on more real and dangerous crimes. Consequently, this will also relieve stress on courts and to a large extent reduce cases of death caused by drug gangs. The legalization of
LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA 6 marijuana therefore will not only have a positive impact on the relationship status between the police and citizens, but it will also spur unimaginable growth in the economy of the state and country. Ultimately, individuals deserve the right to decide whether or not they should use pot. Castillo argues that, patients should be allowed to decide for themselves whether or not to use marijuana (2013, para.16). This therefore implies that the government only has a mandate to limit the use of marijuana on a person, if it is misused. Otherwise, the use of marijuana should be ones free will, just like tobacco and alcohol. Pot is therefore not that different from other substances such as tobacco and when the government is against its legalization, then it must logically support the criminalization of alcohol and tobacco too (Nathan, 2013, para. 14). Doing these will therefore strike an equal balance among the users of these substances. Therefore, although there are no 100 percent s in medicine, legalizing marijuana can be one big step towards achieving Medicare in California. In summary, Marijuana sale should therefore be legalized, since a legal market in marijuana would result to reduced sales to teenagers and underage s. Besides, doing this will also reduce the flow of money from the U.S economy to other criminal and ill intended gangs due to smuggling. Legalizing pot will also help the government to raise money through its taxation and finally increase the general health of its citizens. It is therefore important to note that many arguments against the legalization of marijuana are based on pure lies and disinformation. In fact, appropriate use of marijuana would prove to be safer than alcohol and tobacco. Although marijuana has a few negative effects, its beneficial attributes should not be ignored.
LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA 7 References National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2014). Nathan, L. D. (2012). Impact your world. Why Marijuana Should Be Legal For Adults. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/09/opinion/nathan-legal-marijuana/. National Institute of Drug Abuse. (2012). the science of drug abuse and addiction. Is There A Link Between Marijuana Use And Mental Illness? Retrieved from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/there-link-betweenmarijuana-use-mental-illness. Castillo, M. (2013). CBS News. Survey: 76 Percent of Doctors Approve Of Medical Marijuana Use. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/survey-76-percent-of-doctorsapprove-of-medical-marijuana-use/.