“An overwhelming 88% of adults in the United States think marijuana should be legalized” (Green). The legalization of marijuana is the act of legalizing recreational and medicinal marijuana. The legalization of marijuana has been a widely debated topic throughout the years. Marijuana has been a controversial topic throughout the world today; therefore, one turns to the Catholic Church for guidance. For example, the legalization of marijuana could boost the economy and change it in a positive way. “In 2021, Washington collected $559.5 million of legal marijuana revenue, which is 85 million more than 2020” (Krishna). The legalization of marijuana could positively impact the economy and government through tax revenue. “Legalization of marijuana …show more content…
“When the only available products are untested, unlabeled, of unknown provenance and bought under the table from a dealer with no oversight, there is no telling what the purchased product contains” (Fernandez). Black market deals are unregulated and do not know what the dealer put in it. When it is legal, it will not be an unregulated purchase and it will then be regulated for consumer safety. “For these millions of Americans, legalizing marijuana leads directly to a safer and more enjoyable marijuana market, with competition driving prices down and quality up, and, more importantly, regulations and oversight” (Fernandez). Legalizing marijuana would benefit the overall health and safety of consumers, not having to get it through suspicious dealers, which would lead to a more transparent …show more content…
“Legalization would increase the use by teens by making the drug more readily available for the public” (Jonker). “A 2020 study of more than 230 teens and young adults in Washington State, one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana for adults, concluded that teens may be more likely to use the drug now than before legalization” (The effects of Marijuana on teens). Legalizing marijuana would increase use by teens and young adults, which could lead to addiction, by making the drug more readily available for the general
Legalization can lower the crime rate. Not to mention that marijuana is an affordable alternative for those seeking it for medical purposes. In the same sentiment the health benefits of marijuana have surpassed the expectations of even the most skeptical. To end, the taxing of recreational use will impact our public schools significantly in a positive way. The children of the future deserve any chance for success.
636). Thus, they argue that the legalization of marijuana, should be similar to those of alcohol and tobacco where there are regulations for the sale to minimize any health related problems it may cause (Joffe & Yancy, 2004, p. 636). Additionally, tobacco and alcohol are among the most abused substances used by adolescents; despite having regulations for their sales through enforcing legal ages for purchase, they still find ways to purchase and consume these substances. Moreover, the legalization of marijuana would assist in pain relief as a less toxic, addictive and essentially safer drug in comparison to what some individuals use for chronic pain such as opiates and alcohol. It has been reported that there has been 25% of a decrease in the deaths related to opiate overdose; essentially, marijuana could contribute to the harm reduction that other substances cause (Mitchell 2016, p. 63)
Opposed to this, “NORML has consistently supported decriminalizing adults ' responsible use of marijuana for personal, medicinal, and therapeutic reasons. NORML suggests the establishment of a legally regulated and taxed market for marijuana and seeks changes that would enable users to purchase the drug in a safe and secure environment and cultivate marijuana for personal use.” (Knox College). Influencing the movement of more marijuana in the streets causes great risks for the youth by having it so easily accessible to them. The extreme marketing tactics inflicted by the big marijuana industries will be a similar situation to what happened with the tobacco industry years ago.
This subject has been debated numerous times over the past few years. People’s points of view and researches about the topic have varied greatly. Some people believe that marijuana should be legalized, while the rest feel should stay prohibited. Proponents of marijuana argue that there are numerous medical benefits and that the drug is not more harmful than tobacco or alcohol. On the other hand, opponents argue that marijuana is too dangerous; its legalization would increase the chances of the drug falling into the hands of teens and that marijuana use often progresses to the use of more dangerous drugs like heroin and cocaine.
Many in favor of legalization would state that marijuana has minimal health risks, is not addictive, can treat many major illnesses. One interesting statistics suggests that the legalization of medical marijuana actually lowers the abuse or experimentation of marijuana use in youth. Also, legalization of marijuana in all states suggests an overall decline in crime rates. One can assume that legalization would provide necessary medical treatments for those who need it, less abuse of marijuana use, and a lower crime rate involving drugs. It has been said that marijuana is safer than many other drugs that are already legalized, and marijuana has never killed anyone from an overdose.
The legalization of medical marijuana will help the economy. It will bring in money to the government and it will also provide jobs (Blackburn 2). The government legalizing marijuana would benefit the government economically and not just from people who use it medically, but from people who use it for recreational purposes as well as tourists. Medical Marijuana for
Since marijuana was legalized there have been dramatic results. States that allow the use of marijuana have increased the public’s awareness of the drug’s effects. After an increase in public awarness, many people are setting the drug aside due to long-term effects. If other drugs were made legal in the United States and their long-term and short-term effects were taught, it is very likely that there would be a decrease in their use. People are less inclined to get hooked onto drugs when they realize it could kill them.
Even though the government could earn a lot of money from taxation, it is hard to afford the cost of drug usage and drug abuse. Since the government needs to take responsibility on its consequences such as health care, crime careers, and victims of drug related crime, it is predictable that the cost of legalization will never be worth the social cost (Harwood, Fountain & Livermore, 1998). Besides drug taxation, some people believed that legal marijuana could better help the government to access and control the black market. In contrast, this could encourage drug producers to expand their market to the bigger target group and approach to teenagers. To sum up, it is true that taxing marijuana could raise
If legalized, marijuana could cause societal problems in many areas. First of all, the easy access to legal marijuana would mean that more of it would get into the hands of kids and teens. Police officers worry that we will see increased crime on the streets as marijuana lowers inhibitions and users will do whatever is necessary to feed their addiction. There are also problems with people who use marijuana and drive.
Furthermore, legalizing would enable that every marijuana purchase would be documented since a prescription is required to make it a valid sale. Alongside that making it legal ensures that the product that every batch of marijuana shall be pure and safe. Alongside that, there is the constant re-assurance that every batch of marijuana sold shall not exceed the recommended daily limit. Furthermore, a pharmacy shall sell quality weed for less thus eradicating the need for the marijuana black market, which ensures that most customers shall prefer visiting a pharmacy than the illegal suppliers. This will also boost the country’s economy because there will be eradication of black money.
Last but not least, the legalization of cannabis will break the cycle of crime. Last but not least, the legalization of cannabis will break the cycle of crime. Surprisingly, capturing and imprisoning people actually lead to an increase in crime. Once someone is considered a criminal, it becomes much harder for them to find jobs, leases and loans. Μany of them believes that they have to turn to the crime to survive.
There is potential to be seen here and could actually help our country out. Millions of people will still be smoking marijuana on the daily, regardless of the legality. Our government is actually wasting money, putting us more in debt when they could pass a bill legalizing marijuana and in return it could potentially stabilize our economy. They would be able to collect taxes on what was once the black market and cut spending on illegitimate purposes such as the war on marijuana. Medically this plant has shown great success helping millions cope with their pains or illnesses.
“The criminalization of marijuana use disproportionately harms young people and people of color, sponsors massive levels of violence and corruption, and fails to curb youth access.” (Alliance). Violence is at an all-time high in America this decade and Marijuana abuse is at the top of the list. But we can all make a stand and make this concern at the bottom of that list, people would go on with their days and not have to be scared to come out of there house or even become scared to go certain places if marijuana was to become legalized
Even though it is an illegal drug , countless amounts of people do not stop from getting a hold of it. Marijuana harms our economy in many situations. Although the legal issues with investing in a federally banned drug is quite obvious, that's just the beginning. There are serious financial concerns in the future on these marijuana companies.
The phrase “if all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?” Can be applied to this situation because seeing other people do it may make someone else want to do it. Therefore, legalization increases sales and usage of minors. The American Society of Addiction Medicine compared that the higher the amount of tobacco advertising, the higher levels of adolescent smoking that came of it (ASAN 4). This evidence can also be applied to marijuana.