Arguments Against Cannabis Prohibition

In the past decade, a number of movements to legalize the use of marijuana has been gaining momentum. According to the 2016 Gallup survey, a record high 60% of Americans say that marijuana should be legalized and this figure marks a 9% increase compared to 2014. Support for legalizing marijuana was 31% in 2000, 50% in 2016 before reaching 60% last year. This shows that despite government efforts to eliminate its use, marijuana is becoming more popular. It is clear that

Therefore, it would be virtually impossible to overdose on cannabis; this instantly makes marijuana safer than most prescription drugs. Violent crime and property crimes have both decreased in Colorado since the state legalized recreational cannabis. There were 658,000 arrests for marijuana possession in 2012 , and the majority of these arrests were for nonviolent, low-level offenders. All of this time, cost, and effort takes our law enforcement away from enforcing more urgent issues. According to the ACLU, in 2010, the U.S. spent more than $3.6 billion on enforcing cannabis prohibition.

There were 8.2 million marijuana arrests between 2001 and 2010, 88% of the arrests were for just having weed. In the first 11 months of Colorado having marijuana recreationally legal, there was a 2.2% decrease in crime compared to the first 11 months of 2013. Traffic deaths were also thought to increase after legalization but instead did the opposite. In the same first 11 months of 2014, there was a 3% decrease in fatalities compared to 2013. This kept a 12 year long continuing decline to keep going down.

Problem Description The Simple Possession of Small Quantities Of Marijuana Decriminalization Amendment Act of 2013’s enactment suggests that enough is enough. Per Townes (2015), “between 2001 and 2010, arrests for marijuana possession increased by 61.5 percent. The number of marijuana arrests in D.C. in 2010, 5,393, surpassed those in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Miami-Dade counties in 2010. And in 87 percent of cases involving marijuana arrests, charges for separate crimes were not made.”

Although it has never been proven it is thought that it is hard for any cannabis user to stop using this drug on their own. This is due to the effects on the thinking of smokers. Another opposing argument speaks about driving while high, many studies have shown that it may slow reaction time and focus. Although, this may not be true considering the accident rate in Colorado has gone down ever since the legalization of the drug. Some people say that it should be illegal because it is used as a painkiller, but then you could argue that there are prescription painkillers sold daily around the country.

According to http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org in 1972 the Federal Food and Drug Administration FDA classified the marijuana as a Schedule 1. This is the must restricted of the drugs meanwhile others more harmful drugs are categorized as a lenient schedule. The schedule 1 is composed of drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical

This means marijuana is considered as “having a high potential for abuse, no current accepted use as a medical treatment, and lacking accepted safe use under medical supervision,” and it cannot be used as a legal medical prescription (Miron and Varela). In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that people who have been prescribed medical marijuana, in states that have legalized it, can be “prosecuted for violating federal laws” (Miron and

The Federal Statute governing marijuana as a Schedule 1 Drugs/Substance is flawed. Marijuana is labeled as a schedule one drug or substance. As a result of this classification, marijuana cannot be legal at the state or federal level. One part of the definition of a schedule one drug is: “no currently accepted medical use in the United States, a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and a high potential for abuse”, according to dea.gov. However, the United States is currently using marijuana as an accepted medical treatment.

At the present, there are above fifteen million present marijuana users in contrast to one hundred and twenty-nine million alcohol users and over seventy million tobacco consumers. Despite the fact that the quantity of marijuana users may not quickly mount to the present quantity for alcohol and tobacco, if marijuana was authorized, the increase in users would be mutually large and rapid with following increases in addiction. Significant lessons can be ascertained from those two widely-used legal drugs. While both tobacco and alcohol are taxed and regulated, the tax benefits to the public are immensely outshined by the adverse effects of their

Today the demands are changing in different states. In States such as Colorado and Washington, marijuana has been legalized for recreational use. This move raised several questions as far as decriminalization of marijuana is concerned. Besides portraying the US in a bad light, legalization of marijuana for recreation increases the risk of developing mental problems, increases government expenditure on public health, jeopardizes the future of children, and is a gateway to other dangerous drugs. Increased health problems and public health expenditure-

Colorado and Washington are living testaments of what kind of money legalization of marijuana can bring in through taxing and fees. When in 2014 Colorado alone raked in a whopping 60 million dollars. This statistic found in an article by, Katie Mulvaney named “Advocate says Colorado received $60 million in taxes and fees from marijuana in 2014”. This is a large amount of money that could be useful to our country that is undergoing an economic slump. This is desperately needed in money deprived communities around the United states.

An object is more valuable if it is illegal, then if it were legal. This can be seen during the prohibition, where the price of alcohol spiked. Once prohibition ended the prices fell back down. If marijuana was less expensive, there would be less of an incentive to sell it. With that sales among teenagers would drop along with their exposure to other, more dangerous drugs.

Since the legalization of marijuana there has been in increase of underage consumption. According to a recent report written by Charles Stimson, “Drug-related suspensions/expulsions (mostly for marijuana) increased 32 percent over a five-year period” as well as “the majority of DUI drug arrests involve marijuana” (Stimson, Charles. Is Legalized Marijuana Going up in Smoke?, infoweb.newsbank.com). Also fifty percent more arrestees in Denver test positive for marijuana since the legalization.

This negative propaganda that surrounded us only allowed people to make this drug to not be able to become legal in this state today. Marijuana is also not as addictive as most media outlets would lead you to believe. There are way more addictive drugs such as, heroin, and nicotine. After nicotine and heroine comes crack, and then alcohol. Below that is caffeine, and at the very bottom of the chart is marijuana; less addictive than but yet still illegal.

To date, close to half of the country has legalized Marijuana in either medicinal or recreational drug use, despite federal law challenging this