Two Types of Legalizations for Marijuana - Research Paper Example

Legalizing marijuana in Arizona Legalization of Marijuana is one of the contemporary topics that dominate the American national debate. This occurs, as people differ about the acceptance and the abolition of marijuana in American states. Arizona is one the many remaining states that have manifested skepticism towards legalizing marijuana. It is essential to highlight that there are two types of legalizations for marijuana. To begin with, legalization for medicinal purposes serves the pharmaceutical industries whereby cannabis sativa is prescribed by clinicians. On the other hand, legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes holds the drug as also safe for mildly regulated individual use. This is a contentious subject since it grants an individual user unrestricted freedom in terms of quantity and mode of marijuana usage. Arizona currently enjoys the license for medicinal purposes. It is arguable that legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes is feasible in Arizona. There are notable social costs of marijuana prohibition. For instance, FBI reports indicate that 658, 000 arrests, in 2012, occurred due to marijuana use as compared to 256, 000 for heroine and related drugs (The New York Times 1). This is coupled with a jammed judicial system that cannot manage the many cases reported daily. In addition, jailing of marijuana users impose huge costs on state governments. Many reports indicate that such arrests are racially inclined as they fall disproportionately on the black and Latino population. A social crisis sets in such populations as young people spend their productive time in jails. This limits their chances at later economic success thereby creating a generation of low-income earners. Scientists have uncovered mild problems with marijuana in terms of addiction and dependence thereby proving as less harmful as alcohol. In addition, research has found out that there is limited correlation between violent crime and marijuana usage. This is unlike the popular opinion that marijuana usage increases the risk of harmful activities such as marriage violence (Costa 1). It is crucial to underscore the fact that marijuana usage is common in the American states in spite of the typical government detestation of the drug. The animosity towards cannabis sativa has always existed alongside its common use in the US. For instance, the glorification of marijuana in American music videos attests to the fact that in spite of an abhorrent government, marijuana usage remains a common feature of the American landscape. Legalization of marijuana in Arizona, therefore, responds to this reality. This, in turn, saves on unnecessary judicial costs of arresting and trying suspected marijuana users. In addition, legalization targets the sanitization of the drug’s trade rather than the sanitization of its use. The legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes follows the state’s legal guarantee for medicinal cannabis use. When the state ratified the marijuana drug for medicinal purposes, it proved that the drug that does not possess adverse effects as posed by its critics. In addition, the medicinal legalization set a favorable precedent for the development of the recreational policy. For instance, the establishment of clinical dispensaries has enabled a lawful and controlled dispensation of marijuana (Velzer 1). This incredible step would allow the trade of marijuana to operate in a regulated sense. In the recreational legalization, the dispensaries would act as the models for shops that would be authorized for selling marijuana. In this sense, the legalization sets high and stringent standards for qualifying as a marijuana trader. In addition, the recreational legalization is a leveraging platform for establishing a distribution chain that synchronizes with the demand and supply of marijuana. This means that Arizona has a story of marijuana use that helps provide a transition into the recreational marijuana realm. Such history would be helpful in studying the benefits and challenges in carrying out the marijuana trade publicly. It is crucial to note that Arizona is one of the Four Corners states that are close to the Mexico. In this sense, the state’s borders are highly porous to drug trafficking from the Caribbean states. This creates a difficult and costly system for managing marijuana trafficking across the border. The offshore states do not face such problem in the magnitude that Arizona faces the same. Arizona is also close to other states that also face the problem of porous borders. A policy of illegal marijuana creates several problems for the state as they tackle unhealthy competition among rival traders. The illegal sale of marijuana has led to gangs in both countries such as Mexico and in the American states. These gangs are dangerous trading outfits that can participate in killing in order to protect their businesses. In addition, they can easily morph into other forms of gangs that pose further danger to the public. For instance, the idea of illegal marijuana has furthered the problem of money laundering as participators face the difficulty of keeping money they find through undocumented economic activities (Ruschmann 119). The success of states such as Washington and Colorado prove that legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes is a feasible project. For instance, the Colorado Amendment 64 proved a success by establishing regulations that were similar to popular controls applied against alcohol. This occurs on the recognition that although marijuana usage has its harm, employing certain controls minimizes the drug’s detriment on the society while still promoting individual freedom. States such as Colorado realized that usage of marijuana is a personal choice that should be promoted as long as the individual does not inflict harm on the self and engage harm on others. Such a mode of argument only builds on the safe usage of the drug rather than excess exploitation of marijuana that critics commonly highlight. In this sense, the state designed laws that held marijuana in the same status as alcohol. For instance, in order to eliminate usage by young people, the state designed the minimal age for marijuana usage at 21 years. In this perspective, the regulations constrain addiction whose likelihood of occurrence increases when an individual starts using marijuana at an earlier age. In addition, this regulation prevents the instances of brain damage whose likelihood of occurrence increases when a person starts using the drug at an earlier age (Morgan 38). Colorado also realized the detriment of public usage and countered the situation with a policy that bars individual from public smoking. Although the state allows for planting of marijuana plants, there are significant controls that bar the individual user from participating in the trade and transferring the use to other countries and states. For instance, an individual can only plant up to six marijuana plants, which one can only grant as a benefit to individuals of the right age. In addition, a tourist may consume the marijuana in Colorado but not travel with the same to the airport. The case of Colorado manifests that it is feasible to apply controls affecting areas such as cultivation, manufacture, testing, and retailing. The success of alcohol taxes prove that marijuana legalization can provide a huge source of revenue to Arizona. Six months after Colorado’s marijuana legalization, the state found out that the drug’s demand far outstrips its supply. The department of revenue estimate fell short of the real demand by 31 percent. The surge in demand stems from two sources. To begin with, the local users smoked more than the estimated figures. Majorly, however, the tourists and travelers contributed for the larger percentage of marijuana usage. The existence of tourists means that there are consumers who are ready to pay premium price for quality products. This attracts an extraordinary level of revenues due to daily and regular sales. Besides, the Colorado state realized that it makes significant revenues from recreational marijuana than it makes from medical marijuana. It is essential to emphasize that a state’s resources are usually constrained as it struggles to satisfy different needs and responsibilities. Taxes on items such as cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana help attract consistent and exceptional revenue due to respective price inelasticity. The laxity of the federal government means that Arizona has a great capacity to enact and establish a new marijuana policy. Most individuals expected resistance and stalling efforts from the federal government when Colorado and Washington legally allowed recreational use of Cannabis Sativa. The Department of Justice, however, promised that they would not block Colorado’s move for the meanwhile. The central government viewed the two states’ move as a mode of experimenting with marijuana legalization (The Economist 1). Since the federal government grants significant freedom for formation of state laws, it is least likely to interfere in the process of Arizona legalization. The central government maintains that states that have enacted both medicinal and recreational legalization needs to keep watch on issues such as underage usage and marijuana crossing of borders. It seems that the central government has secretly yielded to the legalization debate in spite of personal relations and health concerns. In the recent age, the federal government is more concerned with the market and financial situation that marijuana trade may cause. Preparing a favorable market and financial, and taxation system sets the right platform for legalization of the drug. Economic research, however, shows that legalization of marijuana is rife with certain problems. To begin with, legalization of the drug may require imports that would otherwise require similar legalization in exporting countries. Since individual nurturing of the marijuana plant faces prohibition, cultivation requires the involvement of firms and partnerships that will enjoy exclusive rights as regards production. In the retail case of Colorado, there was a huge need to absorb the participants from the black market (The Economist 1). The license board received overwhelming applications that take time to ratify and accept. Besides, marijuana prices will face a dual-sided challenge. To begin with, there is a great need to elevate prices in order to mitigate high consumption of the drug (The Economist 1). On the other hand, there is a compelling need to lower prices in order to attract participants into the marijuana trade. In spite of notable challenges, legalization of Marijuana in Arizona is feasible. The successful medicinal usage and trade in Arizona proves that it would be easier making a transition into the recreational realm. This suggests that the state would utilize its history in medicinal marijuana trade for easing the legalization of marijuana. In addition, research has shown that marijuana has limited health consequences as compared to drugs such as alcohol. The drug scores low on dependency and addiction and is proven to possess sedative properties. High costs occur due to prohibition of marijuana trade and usage as individuals face arrests and trial. The enactment of legalization policy will further help towards attracting more revenues for the state’s activities. It is, however, essential to highlight that marijuana market system will face certain problems in the short run. For instance, in the short run, it is difficult to predict the demand of marijuana in terms of quantity of purchases and the number of consumers. Works cited Costa, Mariah. Could Arizona legalize marijuana? two groups want issue on ballot. Cronkite News, March 7, 2014. Web. September 20, 2014. Morgan, Kayla. Legalizing marijuana. Edina, MN: ABDO Pub. Co, 2011. Print. Ruschmann, Paul. Legalizing Marijuana. New York, NY: Infobase publishing, 2004. Print. The Economist. Marijuana legalization: tokers’ delight. The Economist, September 21, 2013. Web. September 20, 2014. The Economist. The great pot experiment: legalizing a drug is harder than it looks. The Economist, July 12, 2014. Web. September 20, 2014. The New York Times. Repeal prohibition, again. The New York Times, 2012. Web. September 20, 2014. Velzer, Ryan. Arizona group ends 2014 effort to legalize marijuana. AZ central, June 17, 2014. Web. September 20, 2014. Read More