Legalization of Marijuana - Essay Example

Legalization of marijuana Introduction The issue of legalizing marijuana has been contentious in many s. Massachusetts is at advanced stages of legalizing it as denoted in the House Bill 1632. Nevertheless, marijuana legalization is considered ideal only to adults aging 21 years and above. The Bill aims at legalizing marijuana, but in regard to regulating its commercial cultivation, processing and its retailing only to adults. However, only the voters in eight districts in Massachusetts will have to decide on whether to legalize or not. Although marijuana has been illegal under state law, the use of medical marijuana has elicited debate on whether to legalize it or not. Despite the whole debate surrounding support for legalizing it, criticism over the effects or consequences emanating from its use has also been critical in the decision making process. In this regard, the decision of whether to legalize marijuana or not highly depends on the measure of whether there are more advantages or disadvantages of legalizing it. Rationale for legalizing marijuana Earleywine (67) argued that although marijuana has medicinal value attached to it, many things have to be put into consideration when making the decision of whether to legalize it or not. Political, social economic and health issues are some of the facets to be considered when making the decision. In light of this, there are different tenets that have to be articulated upon to come up with sound decision. Economic factor If marijuana is to be legalized, it translates to economic advantage to people that will be farming and retailing it. This is a great accomplishment as it translates to improved lives of the people to be involved in the business. In fact, the government will also have the opportunity of generating revenue from the tax collected from the marijuana business. People involved in the marijuana business will be better placed in taking care of their basic needs and other requirements such as their health, education as well as different development initiatives. In addition, if marijuana will be successfully legalized, the health sector will have a boost in terms of getting medicinal value from marijuana. In fact, health facilities will economically benefit from the drug especially from the money obtained from the sale of prescription marijuana. If marijuana is legalized, there will be a need to conduct extensive medicinal research to come up with appropriate prescription drugs from marijuana. Thus, many people involved in the research will equally benefit since this will act as a form of employment to them. On the other hand, people under the medication that requires the use of prescription of marijuana will also benefit if the drug is to be legalized. However, focusing on economic issue from a different angle, it is also apparent that legalizing marijuana will also have detrimental economic effects to the users, government and the people of Massachusetts as a whole (Aronson 253). Since it is presumed that, if marijuana is to be legalized, its cultivation will be controlled and perhaps price control will be effected. In this regard, if people involved in the business will not be satisfied with the prices proposed, it is likely that they will start looking for other means of selling their produce. This could lead to people being engaged in illegal sale of the drug in the black market. In this case, the government will tend to lose the revenue expected to be collected from the marijuana business. When the drug is sold in the black market, most people tend to use it illegally and more so, for wrong purposes. Earleywine (68) observed that the use of marijuana has several negative effects. Marijuana users tend to have antisocial behaviors, which could have detrimental effects to them and the society at large. In fact, Aronson (252) noted that the extreme effect of the use of marijuana could lead to mental and other psychological disorders. In light of this, individuals that develop these complications can only be helped by the use medication and psychological assistance. This calls for resources required for treating such people. The families of such individuals are overwhelmed by big medical bills in treating these people thus, leading to economic suppression to such families. On the other hand, the government is tasked with the mandate of opening and running rehabilitation centers for marijuana addicts. For these facilities to run, doctors and other medical personnel have to be paid. This translates to the use of resources by the government. Thus, the economic benefit accrued from legalizing marijuana turns around to be economic loss. Social factor Larson, Calvin et al (58) argued that the use of marijuana and other substance use have been associated with the increased rates of crime in many states and across the globe. A study conducted by Igor et al (680) in the investigation of the effects of illegal drugs found out that crime is correlated with the drugs abuse. Apparently, since legalizing marijuana does not rule out the fact that there will be a substantial volume of the produce that will lead to the wrong hands, the rate of crime is anticipated to increase with legalization of the drug. In fact, a survey by Gilman, Jodi, et al (5530) on the prevalence of adolescents in engaging in drug abuse documented that 50 percentages of adolescents are involved in drug abuse in the United States. In this regard, if it happens that marijuana will end up in the wrong hands, adolescents will be involved in its misuse. Walters (380) argued that many people engage in drug abuse due to different challenging factors that push them into drug abuse. Some conditions such as depression and anxiety have been documented to be a push factor to people to want to venture into drug abuse. In fact, Earleywine (73) found out that some individuals that commit suicide have been found to have been under the influence of drugs. In such scenarios, if the legalized marijuana finds its way to the hands of such people, instances of suicide will definitely rise. The same case applies to crime. Many people that commit crime have been found to be under the influence of drugs. Larson, et al (64) noted that areas with increased rates of crime have been found to have higher levels of the misuse of drugs. Desperate people in poor neighborhoods look for any available means of earning a living. This includes venturing into the illegal drugs business and committing crime. However, Aronson (256) argued that for people involved in criminal activities to be able to carry on their missions with ease, they mostly tend to abuse drugs as a catalyst of their criminal activities. Some people misuse marijuana to acquire the feeling of being high to help them execute their ills. Other people use marijuana as a means of pleasure especially when they are faced with different challenges. Nevertheless, this ends up affecting their health and social life. Their focus of life gradually changes as they slowly become addicted to marijuana use. Some people feel it difficult to do simple things until they are under the influence of the drug. Anticipated outcome of legalizing marijuana in Massachusetts It is arguable that the biggest share of the push for legalizing marijuana is attached to the political gains although the issue is articulated from different perspectives. For instance, it has been argued that legalizing marijuana will be a great step towards advancing the healthcare sector. Additionally, it has been pointed out that legalizing marijuana will be instrumental in offering jobs to many people as they engage in the business. In a different perspective, it has also been anticipated that legalizing marijuana will save the costs involved in law enforcement. In fact, advocates of the legalization of marijuana points out that the move will have a positive outcome just like it was with the legalization of alcohol. During alcohol prohibition period, its enforcement was futile as it is the case with marijuana today. However, linking the success of legalizing alcohol with that of legalizing marijuana could be tricky because of the difference in the effects of the two. Due to politicization of the matter, it is likely that when people decide on the issue on the ballot, most voters’ decisions will be instigated by the politics involved. For instance, a poll conducted by Boston Globe indicated that 48 percent of the voters are likely to vote in support of legalizing marijuana (The Boston Globe 2). However, opposing voter decisions are divided into groups ranging from young voters, democrats, baby boomers and republicans. In fact, the poll indicated that republicans are opposed to legalizing the drug. Conclusion In this regard, it is arguable that the real issues involved or suggested as the advantages of legalizing marijuana will be forgone with much of politics taking the center stage. Thus, there is a possibility of having more problems emanating as a result of legalizing marijuana than it is the situation currently. Little evidence is available as to whether legalizing marijuana will be a successful measure since even in states like Colorado that has legalized it has only been effective for a few months thus cannot be used as a case study by Massachusetts. In this regard, the decision of whether to legalize marijuana or not highly depends on the measure of whether there are more advantages or disadvantages of legalizing it. Works Cited: Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Aronson, J K. Meylers Side Effects of Herbal Medicines. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2009. Print. Earleywine, Mitch. Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence. S.l.: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print. Gilman, Jodi. Et al. Cannabis Use is Quantitatively Associated with Nucleus Accumbens and Amygdala Abnormalities in Young Adult Recreational Users. The Journal of Neuroscience, 34. 16 (2014):5529 –5538. Print. Igor, Grant. Et al. Non-acute (residual) neurocognitive effects of cannabis use: A meta-analytic study. Journal of the international neuropsychological society, 9. (2003): 679-689. Print. Larson, Calvin et al. Crime, Justice, and Society. Dix Hills, N.Y: General Hall, Inc, 1996. Print. The Boston Globe. Residents evenly split on legalizing marijuana. Web 9th Nov 2014 < http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2014/07/03/half-voters-with-legalized- marijuana/XHWOJ8dS9ohbCzJIfNKIjI/igraphic.html?p1=Article_Graphic > Walters, Glenn. Drugs, crime, and their relationships: theory, research, practice, and policy. Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning. 2004. Print. Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Read More