Introduction
While marijuana remains illegal under the federal law, several states are taking steps towards legalizing the drug in minuscule amounts so that their use and distribution could be regulated just like for alcohol and tobacco. The greatest advantage of this step is that it would benefit the country in the shape of taxes that would come swarming in, immediately after the drug’s legalization. At present, the drug is legal in four of the fifty US states inclusive of Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Colorado. The country’s capital Washington D.C. also took a step towards legalizing the drug during the 2014 election.
The reason for the step towards legalization and the current debate is to see how we may benefit from the policy that allows the use and distribution of the drug within the country under government and state supervision. With the step in the future, we will be looking forward to the creation of number of job opportunities and also sound economic benefits in the society. Where the sale and distribution were under the wraps and not considered in any legal respect, surely the inclusion of revenue from marijuana into the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would serve affirmative rationale.
It is consequently safe to say the aforementioned reasons and also many other supports the legalization of the drug in the country.
Counter Argument
On the other side of the debate are several people who present just as compelling reasons when they say that marijuana should not be made legal to be used and distributed as commonly as alcohol. The most convincing of these reasons is that since the drug is the most commonly abused substance beside alcohol, making it available without any consequences is going to encourage people to buy and use the drug even more and this would be less than an ideal in the interest of the American people.
The second and no less compelling reason for the decision is that we have been through the charade before. We tested the impacts of legalizing gambling and also alcohol with the benefits of both the decisions in mind. The aftermath of the decision, unfortunately, has been somewhat of a disaster. Gambling is a problem that leads to addiction on a massive scale and causes a number of disturbances of the mind. We have also not seen a bright side with the legalizing of alcohol rather the number of vehicle accidents with the involvement of drunk drivers skyrocketed and are still a source for major concern out on the roads. So the concern with the decision of legalizing marijuana is that the step would increase the synthesizing of more potent and illegal versions of the drug that are going to become an even greater reason for overdoses and medical issues.
Here is the answer to the concerns mentioned above. Although marijuana is a drug that is excessively being abused, legalizing it may enable the government and other institutions that work towards reducing the negative impacts of drugs to regulate its circulation and also to educate people regarding the proper ways to administer the drug so that we can control the risk of overdoses and transmitted diseases like HIV and AIDS.
Besides, even though alcohol abuse is a problem in the country at the moment, maybe the problem has less to do with the beverage being legal than it has to do with the fact that it causes addiction. Who is to say that if made illegal, alcohol would cause less damage than it does today? Moreover, it is because it is legal that the state can focus on expending its resources towards rehabilitation of those who become abusers rather than imprisoning a significant number of people for the misuse. Many can agree that the rehabilitation of the people who have a problem is a better tactic that putting the offenders in prison with other more accomplished offenders.
My Argument
The first and foremost reason in favor of the decision is that the criminalizing of marijuana has not obtained the objectives that many people were hoping for. Even though the drug has been illegal from more than 75 years, no less than 25 million people use the substance each year.
Furthermore, Research on the effects of marijuana concludes that it is the cause of structural and functional changes in the development of the brain. It affects memory and is a major cause of mental defects in many children one of which is Schizophrenia. Not only that but people who use marijuana more likely to suffer from clinical depression. This means that marijuana is a substance that is to blame for many health catastrophes and if legalizing it is not stopping people from using it, we need to adopt a different, more innovative approach.
Another upside to the methodology would be that all the money that flows from America to all the various drug criminals across the globe could be stopped and retained within the country. Many economies in the world are cultivating marijuana and smuggling it to people in the United States, and this is taking many dollars out of the country. Another thing that legalizing marijuana is going to do is reduce the control of various drug cartels in United States that they have been enjoying due to their illegal escapades, and return some of that control to the state government.
An additional reason that is no less compelling than the others is the variety of medicinal benefits that legalizing marijuana is going to allow us to profit from. Marijuana can prove quite useful in reversing the cancerous effects of tobacco and can also perk up the health of the lungs. This assertion is based on research that tested the health of 5,115 youngsters over 20 years of age and the study revealed that where tobacco reduced the lung capacity, the situation seemed to be better for those who smoked pot.
In addition, a study undertaken in 2013 also gave evidence that marijuana can reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures and can also help control these seizures. The tests were carried out on epileptic rats, and the results published in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. Marijuana also contains a chemical that stops cancer from spreading and for this very reason; many doctors are also seen to prescribe medical marijuana for relief to those suffering from cancer.
Conclusion
All of the research conducted so far provides compelling evidence that the decision of legalizing pot is going to do more good than bad and for this very reason, the support for legalization of marijuana seems to be increasing amongst the American population. The current state is depriving us of many medical and financial benefits which can easily become ours. Now is as good a time as any to turn the odds in our favor and make a decision that is going to give us access to all those gains.
References
Alliance, D. P. (2014, October 2). Marijuana Legalization and Regulation. Retrieved from Drug Policy: http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana-legalization-and-regulation
Alternet. (2007, August 31). The Top Ten Reasons Marijuana Should Be Legal. Retrieved from Alternate: http://www.alternet.org/story/60959/the_top_ten_reasons_marijuana_should_be_legal
A business, C. (2010, April 20). Why We Should Not Legalize Marijuana. Retrieved from CNBC: http://www.cnbc.com/id/36267223
Jennifer Welsh, K. L. (2014, April 20). 23 Health Benefits Of Marijuana. Retrieved from Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/health-benefits-of-medical-marijuana-2014-4?op=1
Sheff, D. (2014, August 4). Marijuana Should Be Legal, but . Retrieved from Time: http://time.com/3079707/marijuana-legalization-teens-health/
