Introduction
Nowadays, the struggle against the use, dissemination, and production of drugs is quite severe. Despite the fact that so-called War on Drugs has been launched in 1971, it seems like there was no serious developments in this direction. Since the development of this campaign, loads of taxpayers’ funds were invested to this fight, a lot of people were detained, and tons of substances confiscated. The War led to the militarization of the police and involvement of the military into the raids on multiple occasions. One of the main issues here is the focus of the authorities on a specific substance. Weed, green, Mary-Jane, herb, pot, the names identifying marijuana is practically endless. At the same time, the perception of this drug remains the same among the authority figures and the part of the public. Legally, Marijuana is considered to be a substance that cannot be sold, grown, or possessed. Despite the fact that long-term detrimental effect is minor and this substance does not cause the addiction, it was put on the same shelve as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. It is possible that the authorities concentrated their attention on marijuana, because it is one of the most used drugs in the world, or maybe this approach was easier than fighting with the drug cartels.
Nevertheless, the War on Drugs that was incepted almost forty years ago, considers marijuana as one of the most prioritized targets. There is a violent opposition between the DEA and sellers of cannabis, where a lot of lives were lost, and this war does not stop for a second. Despite the threat to be caught, incarcerated, or killed during the raids, people still got involved in this business, simply because it is extremely profitable due to the easiness of growing this plant and producing the drug. Huge demand for this substance among the public increases the benefits of the producers and sellers.
Consequently, black market is overloaded with cannabis of different kind produced for almost all socio-economic layers. There are few countries where marijuana has been legalized, including Netherlands, Uruguay, and Colombia. In the U.S. there is a list of states where this substance was legalized for medical use or production with a special license also only for medical or recreational dissemination. For example, in Alaska it is legal to possess, use, and grow plants for medical use with the special license; in Nevada there is a restriction for use, where only persons over the 21 years old can consume it. There are also several states where Marijuana is completely illegal and can lead to serious offence, such as Iowa, Idaho, Florida, and Arkansas.
In the last several years, certain states reconsidered its policies towards medical marijuana, yet not a lot of states decriminalized it completely. Moreover, a lot of people have a negative image of marijuana. It is generally known that cannabis can be successfully used in the medical purposes, it is still perceived as a drug, despite the fact that the use of nicotine and alcohol are completely normal even if there is scientific evidence confirming the detrimental effect of these substances. The main conflict here is the prejudice towards marijuana and a lot of myths surrounding its use. Criminalization of cannabis leads to substantial expenses and limitation of medical opportunities of this substance, its legalization can be lucrative for the country and the public.
Use of Marijuana
The medical name of marijuana is Cannabis sativa, as almost all modern drugs, like cocaine and heroin, it was discovered for medical purposes. Nowadays, the experts are divided into two camps, those who support the legalization and specialists that oppose to the idea of decriminalization. There are a lot of studies claiming that marijuana is extremely dangerous for a person because of its effect on the brain’s cells, the others emphasize that cannabis helps to relieve pain and does not lead to addiction. The opposition to legalization insists that the modern pharmaceutical industry can provide people with all necessary medications for the pain relief, yet what they do not mention is the side effects, the prices, and the need to pay for a specialist in order to get pain relief. Due to such drawbacks of pharmaceuticals, medical marijuana and the idea of its legalization has always viewed by the proponents as the alternative to the modern medicine. However, decriminalization of cannabis is still a controversial issue both in the society and among the governmental officials.
The initiative for legalization and decriminalization of medical marijuana started long time ago, but it did not lead to a successful decision of this problem. According to resources, “marijuana is a Schedule 1 substance, meaning that it has a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision” (Thies 80). As it was mentioned, Schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD, and ecstasy, all are particularly addictive substances (DEA). This scheduling is not quite clear as well as the principles according to which the agency put marijuana in the same row with heroin.
Cannabis sativa is a plant, which leaves and flowers contain cannabinoids which are considered to be mind-altering substances. Different kinds of plants produce various quantities of cannabinoids, which can affect the selling point. The sensations during the use of cannabis also vary depending on the type and quantity of the substance consumed. In general, marijuana is perceived as a drug for recreational use, which can help people to escape their problems, improve mood, and relief the pain. It has to be mentioned that in some contexts marijuana is an opposition to the aggression and war. As the approach to marijuana has been prejudiced over the years, the studies on this topic are not viewed as serious or of any important value.
One of the roots of the prejudice is scarce knowledge about the real effect of the marijuana and the possibility to affect human brain after the long-term use. There were several studies involving rats that produced the results claiming that long-term exposure to marijuana leads to the inability to perform specific memory and learning tasks (National Institute of Drug Abuse). However, other studies revealed that exposure to cannabis do not cause the disruption in attention abilities or behavioral patterns (O’Leary et al. 356). Block (1999) pointed to the same direction by evaluating the individuals who used the substance frequently. However, there was no longitudinal research that would have studied the effect of this drug over the years. Consequently, it is difficult to say if it has adverse effect or not.
It is important to mention medical marijuana, which is used not to ease the pain, especially in the cases when a person suffers from a serious condition, like for example, cancer. Yet, some of the patients may use it for migraine or glaucoma as well. The most popular cases of use of medical marijuana are muscle spasm caused by multiple sclerosis, nausea form cancer chemotherapy, weight loss cause by chronic illness or HIV, seizure disorders, or Cohn’s disease (Fleming 216). However, there is a difference between marijuana sold on the street and its medical type. The levels of THC and CBD (main chemicals in cannabis) in medical marijuana are smaller than the type of substance used for getting high (Fleming 216). Marijuana may produce side-effects, like dizziness, drowsiness, short-term memory loss, and euphoria. In the case of overdose there are the cases when people felt severe anxiety and psychosis.
As it was mentioned before, it is relatively easy to grow and cultivate the plant knowing the necessary techniques, thus, if legalized, cannabis will be quite cheap due to competition. Nowadays, as it is illegal, the prices are controlled by the cartels. Also, the plant is weatherproof and grows quite quickly. It is possible to speculate that it may be one of the reasons why medical marijuana is not legalized at the federal level. It can become a strong competition to the modern medicines, which are particularly expensive. For individuals suffering from cancer it can be a way out due to the level of pain and the expensiveness of treatment.
Legalization of Medical Marijuana
According to the sources, War on Drugs caused around $20 billion to the taxpayers with the expenses are still rising (Schrag 267). In addition, there are tons of people who were detained and fined for the use of marijuana for the recreational and medical use. For example, in 2000, DEA arrested and incarcerated for eighteen month a woman born without arms and legs, who used marijuana to relieve constant pain and she had a small amount of the substance (Gerber 19). It is quite disturbing that DEA is targeting severely ill people to impose its agenda of fighting with the drug cartels. It is even more surprising why cannabis has became the number one “wanted” drug in the U.S.
Anderson et al. (2012) hypothesized that the frequency of use of the substance can be affected by the legalization, which was disproved in the course of the research. The researcher claimed that “the results are not consistent with the hypothesis that the legalization of medical marijuana caused an increase in the use of marijuana and other substances among high school students” (Anderson et al. 201). At the same time, the other study proved that cannabis develops addiction by claiming that “active ingredients in cannabis, THC in particular, affect neurophysiological and behavioral systems in ways similar to addictive drugs” (Svrakis et al. 493). However, there was no direct proof that marijuana induces addiction among the users.
Over the time, one of the ways to eliminate medical marijuana from the healthcare system, DEA forced the physicians not to recommend it to the patients even in the states where its medical version was legal; it was done by launching constant raids on the dispensaries and pharmacies with the special license (Kreit 1788). The reason why it was done, is the easiness of producing the drug and its popularity. For example, heroin produces detrimental impact on humans, which results in addiction and fast deterioration of health; the users cannot function or complete the daily tasks easily, which also affect their social and economic status. Marihuana does not have such effect, thus, it is consumed more frequently and it is cheaper. The profitability of this substance is immense, which could provide the country with the substantial profit from the licenses and taxes.
One of the preconceived notions that DEA imposed is that the legalization of medical marijuana is elevating crime rates related to drug use. However, there was no research or cases involving people who committed crimes under the possession of cannabis. The only stakeholders benefiting from the illegal status of marijuana are organized crime groups and drug cartels. Oppositely, legalization of medical marijuana may reduce crime rates, as the criminals will not interfere in this case. Therefore, it is difficult to see the point of DEA and American government in terms of criminalization of marijuana, as the country and its people do not benefit from the illegal status of the substance, there is no reason to make it a number one target for the War on Drugs.
Marijuana is known for its ability to relief pain. There was a precedent when the government refused the patient to use marijuana even though it was legalized in a particular state. Gonzales v. Raich was the decision of the court claiming that the U.S. Congress can criminalize the production and possession of marijuana even in the states where it was legalized for medicinal purposes (Gonzales v. Raich). In this case, Angel McClary Raich suffered from multiple of severe health conditions that resulted in constant pain. She was allergic to all conventional medicines proposing pain relief, thus, she used small amounts of marijuana. Her doctor claimed that the life of a patient depended on the use of small amounts of medical marijuana, the motion was denied by the court afterwards (Gonzales v. Raich). This is a frustrating case where the officials neglect the circumstances and simply contradict the state laws by the court orders that do not follow the book.
There is also an idea that the dispensaries that disseminate cannabis for prescription will attract thieves to the area. As the result, DEA managed to investigate the connection, which resulted to their presence near the dispensaries, yet the research did not prove their expectations, with the study claiming that the presence of pharmacies that sell marijuana legally reduced the crime in the area. Additionally, such dispensaries brought new businesses to the communities, which also benefited the inhabitants. In 2009, Denver Police Department 2009 research claimed that “the robbery and burglary rates at dispensaries were lower than area banks and liquor stores and on par with those of pharmacies” (Ingold and Lofholm). Specifically, the same survey emphasized that 16.8 percent of burglary and robbery cases involving marijuana dispensaries was equal to that of pharmacies, which is even lower than the theft from liquor stores and banks. Therefore, the legalization of medical marijuana does not increase the crime in the area.
Additionally, Colorado Springs Department Analysis developed in 2010 implied that there was no connection between the elevation of crime rates and the availability of medical marijuana (Marijuana Policy Project). This study claimed that the crime rate diminished possibly due to the legalization of cannabis. The LAPD investigation emphasized that despite the previous beliefs that marijuana may cause crime elevation, it was not supported by the research (Castro). There were several police department stating that there were no signs of enhancement of crime rate connected to the legalization of medical marijuana legalization.
However, even DEA released the report claiming that “the most violent crimes are committed not because people want to buy drugs, but because people are on drugs” (Shepard and Blackely 410). It only proves that the government does not want to reconsider its perception of marijuana, even though it is quite obvious that it does not have such detrimental effect as cocaine, heroin, or LSD. Alcohol as well as nicotine affects the human health dramatically; also, neither of them have any positive effect on health, yet these products are legal. For instance, nicotine is directly related to cancer, alcohol can lead to the negative changes in mental and physical health, but there is no evidence claiming that cannabis causes any of the similar effects.
Conclusion
One of the main issues in the story of legalization and decriminalization of marijuana is the uncertainty in research, opinions, and the image of marijuana. There are numerous stories about the growing use of marijuana by AIDS and cancer patients, who insisted that cannabis helped them to manage their weight caused by with AIDS wasting syndrome. There is multiple evidence showing that marijuana helps patients with depression and muscle pain not causing side effects as frequently as other medicines. A lot of experts in the opposition continue to insist that it is dangerous to legalize marijuana due to the possibility to be obtained by children and adolescents. At the same time, medical marijuana may drive away the criminals and eliminate the organized crime from the involvement in the marijuana dissemination with the legalization of this substance. It is profitable for the country and its inhabitants in terms of new jobs, business opportunities, and the ability to help people.
A lot of those who oppose the legalization do not see the cancer clinics where people are constantly suffering from the severe pain and where the painkillers do not work or have an immense impact on the health condition. Retro-viral medications designed for AIDS patients may lead to the lethal consequences or have no effect on pain level and the use of other medications is restricted for these patients. However, they cannot ease the pain with the available and cheaper version of painkiller due to the prejudice of the FDA and the government.
It is crucial to synthesize all information presented by the studies. As it was revealed, there is no risk of increased criminal rates in the region of dispensaries. In the cases when conventional drugs are unable to help the patients, marijuana can work as a useful substitute. There is no proof that marijuana causes addiction, while a lot of conventional painkillers can be addictive. There is no long-term detrimental effect of this substance as well as short-term outcomes. Marijuana is not associated with the irreversible health effects as well. Yet, this substance is still listed as one of the most dangerous and due to the image created by DEA, is equaled to heroin. The real reasons for this strategy are not very clear. A lot of citizens explain it by the fact that the government has chosen a target which is easiest to fight with, as, for example, heroin and cocaine are used in rarer. As marijuana is used by a wide range of people, from business owners to housewives, targeting single users tends to be the easiest way of showing at least any progress in the War on Drugs.
Legalization of marijuana presents a good opportunity for the country to increase its profits from taxes and make it easier for severely sick people to relief their pain. Concluding the information presented by the current resources, it is possible to claim that there is no reason why marijuana cannot be legalized. There are no barriers for new research and reconsideration of the current governmental policy, yet the changes in this direction were very slow.
Works Cited
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