Introduction
Most people in the world today have either smoked, seen or heard about marijuana either in medical or recreational settings. For others, the drug remains an issue to be solved while for other people it is a drug that should continually gain usage among humanity. Whether, one has smoked marijuana or not, the common ground concerning the drug is its illegal status both locally and internationally. However, the illegal status is gradually shifting with countries and states striving to legalize the drug. As such, there are continual debates on the legal status of the drug around the world.
Despite the illegal status of marijuana, people still use the drug with less regard to the economic and social consequences of the drug. In many countries such as the United States, there exist divided opinions among the states concerning the legal status of the drug with some of them calling for the legalization of the drug. However, this is not a new debate because there have been continual debates on the legalization of the drug with both opponents and proponents of this motion using factual evidence and emotional appeals to substantiate their claims.
Marijuana is one of the commonly abused drugs in the world and the move to legalize it will have significant impacts on individuals and governments. Therefore, the existence of these debates has informed my opinion to develop the statement of the argument that there should be no legalization of marijuana.
Annotated Bibliography
Marijuana should not be Legalized- An Article for the Commonwealth publication | Area51 [Web log post]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://pitzevans.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/marijuana-should-not-be-legalized-an-article-for-the-commonwealth-publication/
"Marijuana should not be Legalized- An Article for the Commonwealth publication | Area51." N.p., Web. <http://pitzevans.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/marijuana-should-not-be-legalized-an-article-for-the-commonwealth-publication/>.
This article talks about the issue of legalization of marijuana by governments. Firstly, the author introduces the topic by defining the status of marijuana internationally and locally. With that in place, the author introduces the issues of debates on the alteration of the current illegal status of marijuana across the world. Additionally, the author suggests that the marijuana is one of the most commonly abused drugs across the world. As such, the author proposes that in discussing the debates on legalization of the drug, the fact that the decision would significantly affect individuals and governments should not be neglected. Moreover, the author argues in favor of the argument that there should be no legalization of marijuana. The authors also address points that support the legalization of the drug. As such, I will use the author’s concepts to discuss my argument of not legalizing marijuana.
Lawlor, J. (2014, Mar 20). Legalizing marijuana could fund gov. LePage's anti-drug bill. McClatchy - Tribune Business NewsRetrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.ignacio.usfca.edu/docview/1508625724?accountid=14674
Lawlor, Joe. "Legalizing Marijuana could Fund Gov. LePage's Anti-Drug Bill." McClatchy - Tribune Business NewsMar 20 2014.ProQuest. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.
Lawlor Joe’s article talks about how legalizing marijuana could fund the LePage’s anti-drug bill of the US Government. This article presents the fact that legalization of marijuana would have beneficial effects to the government and individuals. The author outlines the possible benefits of legalization of marijuana in Maine. Additionally, he outlines some of the possible benefits of legalizing marijuana with relation to Maine. Therefore, I will use this article in my essay to counter argue the debate that there should be no legalization of marijuana.
Graham, G. (2014, Nov 05). Pot legalization lights up in south portland. Morning Sentinel Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.ignacio.usfca.edu/docview/1619897365?accountid=14674
Graham, Gillian. "Pot Legalization Lights Up in South Portland." Morning SentinelNov 05 2014. ProQuest. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.
Graham Gillian talks about pot legalization in South Portland. The author presents an issue of marijuana legalization in South Portland. From the article, the author presents the two issues of legalizing and not legalizing marijuana and not legalizing it. As such, he talks about the split result in the quest to legalize recreational marijuana in Maine. That is, whereas, voters in South Portland narrowly approved in support of the legalization, those in Lewiston soundly rejected the idea. Therefore, with such conflicting arguments and campaigns, the author goes ahead and highlights some of the views of both the proponents and opponents of the issue. In my essay, I will use these views to develop my argument on both the opposing and supporting sides.
Mack, A., & Joy, J. (2000). Marijuana As Medicine: The Science Beyond the Controversy. Washington, DC, USA: National Academies Press. Retrieved from http://0-www.ebrary.com.ignacio.usfca.edu
Mack, Alison, and Joy, Janet. Marijuana As Medicine: The Science Beyond the Controversy. Washington, DC, USA: National Academies Press, 2000. ProQuest February. Web. 7 November 2014.
This book talks about marijuana as medicine. The authors analyze the various instances when marijuana can be of medicinal help. Additionally, they analyze the harmful effects of marijuana. In their analysis and discussion, the authors present the relationship between marijuana and pain, AIDS, cancer, muscle spasticity, glaucoma and neurological disorders. Lastly, the authors discuss the legal issues related to the use of marijuana. In my essay, I will use the concepts from this book to discuss the opposing views concerning the argument that there should be no legalization of marijuana.
Discussion
There should be no legalization of marijuana because the drug causes high levels of addiction ("Marijuana should not be Legalized- An Article for the Commonwealth publication | Area51"). Therefore, legalization of the drug will increase the addiction by making marijuana readily available to the users. Additionally, the availability of the drug will tempt the non-users to start engaging in its consumption. Consequently, an increase in addiction and consumption will reduce and increase social evils in the form of crime because the drug reduces inhibitions. Moreover, legalization of the drug will affect most of the teens by conveying a message to them that marijuana is free and safe to use.
Legalization of marijuana might also affect the education systems. Continual use of marijuana by the students affects their performance in school since much time is spent on drug use because of addiction than on studies. Consequently, the use of marijuana influences the rate of school dropouts. Therefore, if there is legalization of marijuana, the education systems will also be at risk.
Legalization of marijuana will lead to the emergence of risky behavior with continual use. Some of these risky behaviors include experimentation with other drugs and alcohol and reckless engagement in harmful sexual activities (Joffe and Yancy 17). Moreover, sustaining the addiction might prove difficult to some of the users, especially those without monetary resources. Eventually, since they lack the resources to sustain their addiction, they develop criminal behavior like prostitution and robbery to get the money for marijuana.
There should be no legalization of marijuana because of its health effects on the users. The continual use of marijuana can negatively affect an individual’s learning, IQ, psychosis, anxiety, problem-solving capacities, coordination, heart rate, judgment, mood, memory and respiratory systems. Moreover, in the world today, marijuana has become more potent and addictive. From a publication on the reasons not to legalize the use of marijuana in Iowa, about 9 percent of marijuana users develop an addiction to the drug. Moreover, nearly 4.5 million Americans reach the clinical criteria for dependence and abuse of marijuana. Moreover, users of marijuana are most likely to use other drugs as well. Additionally, the proportion of the citizens of Iowa to engage in primary use of marijuana has increased significantly for the last 20 years up to 26.3%. Therefore, with such increasing numbers in the number of marijuana users, the effects of legalization can be quite alarming.
There should be no legalization of marijuana should not be legalized because of the challenges the use of marijuana poses to the public safety. Continual use of marijuana causes impairments, which can endanger the users, as well as other members of the public. These challenges can be in the form of child neglect, workplace injuries and traffic crashes. For instance, in Los Angeles, a police report revealed that the areas surrounding marijuana clubs have experienced a 57.1% rise in aggravated assault and a 52.2% rise in burglaries. Other statistics includes 130.8% rise in burglaries from the automobile sector and a 200% rise in robberies (Joffe and Yancy 27). The question is, would anyone want their teachers, pilots, pharmacists, accountants or attorneys to smoke marijuana before attending to them?
There should be no marijuana because of the socials costs of legalizing it. According to the same Iowa report, the social costs of legalizing the drug would exceed the sales tax revenue by far. Estimates show that for every $1 in the taxes, $10 is spent on the social costs. These social costs include increased drug treatment. With many people consuming marijuana, governments and states would have to spend more in treating the drug users in terms of rehabilitations or general treatments.
There should be no legalization of marijuana because it retards economic development. Legalization of marijuana will increase consumption and addiction of the drug among some of the employees of various organizations and businesses (Miron 27). Use of marijuana at the workplaces encompasses more accidents, tardiness, absences, worker turnover and complaints. With such issues in existence in the society, the process of economic growth slows down.
Marijuana Should Be Legalized
Despite the fact that several arguments are against the legalization of marijuana, it goes without doubt that there have to be reasons that support the legalization. Firstly, it is arguable that that legalization of the drug would be an avenue for the governments to raise revenue. That is; government can impose taxations on these drugs to increase its revenue. From Lowler Joe’s article, legalization of marijuana could raise more than $ 28 million annually in Maine basing on the tax revenue that Colorado generates after legalizing the drug (Lowler 13).
Therefore, if governments legalize the use of marijuana, they are like to generate more revenue from taxes on the drug. The governments can use these increased revenues in developing infrastructure, improving disaster management and paying civil servants among others. Additionally, people argue that the tax revenue collected from the sale of marijuana would outweigh the social costs of legalizing the drug (Ruschmann 28).
There should be legalization of marijuana because most of the efforts of governments to combat the use of illegal drugs have proven futile for long. Therefore, instead of the governments using their resources in attempting the combat use of the illegal drugs, they can channel the resources to legalization of marijuana that would be more profitable in terms of the revenues raised (Mack and Joy 26.
There should be legalization of marijuana because of its medicinal value in cancer and glaucoma among others. Several states and governments have argued for this factor despite the fact that the issue of the medicinal value of marijuana also has conflicting conceptions from research (Stimson).
Conclusion
Legalization of marijuana is a concept that will continue to spark debates all over the world. Governments in the world today are gradually giving in to the legalization of the drug. Consequently, the final decision shall be one. With reference to the arguments in this essay, it is clear that the reasons for not legalizing marijuana outweigh the reasons for legalizing the same. It is important to focus on the consequences of legalizing or not legalizing marijuana on the society. It is with no doubt that despite the fact that legalizing marijuana can increase the revenues of governments; one cannot neglect then extensive adverse effects that the process will have on society.
The question is; is it worth it to neglect the extensive effects that legalization of marijuana will have on society in pursuit of increased revenues? The answer is not. If there is no legalization of marijuana, its effects on economic and education sectors will automatically be minimal. Therefore, if there is the reduced impact on the education and economic sectors of governments, it follows that it will be much easier for the governments to raise revenue.
Works Cited
"Marijuana should not be Legalized- An Article for the Commonwealth publication | Area51." N.p., Web. <http://pitzevans.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/marijuana-should-not-be-legalized-an-article-for-the-commonwealth-publication/>.
Graham, Gillian. "Pot Legalization Lights Up in South Portland." Morning SentinelNov 05 2014. ProQuest. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.
Joffe, A., and W. S. Yancy. "Legalization of Marijuana: Potential Impact on Youth."Pediatrics (2004): n. pag. Print.
Lawlor, Joe. "Legalizing Marijuana could Fund Gov. LePage's Anti-Drug Bill." McClatchy - Tribune Business NewsMar 20 2014.ProQuest. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.
Mack, Alison, and Janet E. Joy. Marijuana As Medicine?: The Science Beyond the Controversy. Washington: National Academy Press, 2001. Print.
Miron, Jeffrey A. "The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Legalization in Massachusetts." (0): Print.
Ruschmann, Paul. Legalizing Marijuana. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. Print.
Stimson, Charles. "Legalizing Marijuana: Why Citizens Should Just Say No." The Heritage Foundation. N.p., 13 Sept. 2010. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.
