Law and Criminology: Marijuana Legalization - Essay Example

Law and Criminology: Marijuana Legalization Marijuana legalization movement is gaining unprecedented traction from all over the globe ranging from America to Europe to North Africa and beyond. The trend depicts a successful nod in numerous locales such as Colorado, Washington and particularly the small southern American nation of Uruguay. In Uruguay, pot legalization was enacted in December as a national wide declaration becoming the first nation to legalize marijuana (Padgett, 2012). The move by the Uruguayan government has enabled many countries including United States to emulate their policies by reviewing their drug policies to accommodate a more lenient approach towards the drug issue. Numerous other leaders across the global have emulated the United States’ drug policy that has recently allowed and asserted a lenient approach towards marijuana use even in the face of castigations from their own conservative populace. A fraction of leaders is eager to adopt the legalization of marijuana in order to test and try the approach. Various leaders supporting the legalization of marijuana focuses on its public health instead of prohibition while other leaders view the cannabis legalization as an affluent industry to venture in the contemporary world as it offers more lucrative deal than many major sectors in the industry. The latest developments towards the legalization efforts of marijuana has increased changed perception for many world leaders across the globe, which has enabled the use of cannabis in the global scale to gain legalization stances in order to achieve a common ground. In order to fathom the intricate matter, the following exposition espouses various case studies that have been conducted in the United States and in the global scale, which helps to explain increased trends and efforts in marijuana legalization. The available clues indicate that the removal of the prohibition against possession itself does not augment the rate that marijuana is used. Over the past 25 years, findings from dozens of federally- commissioned academic studies publications affirm that legalizing the use of marijuana do not increase its usage neither do it affect the adolescence attitudes toward drug use (Serrano, 2013). The viewpoint forms a major stepping-stone to the proponent of the legalization effort, which in recent times is gaining a unique support from major world leaders, nations, states and the general populace. Various states in the United States have enacted versions of legislation that promote the legalization of marijuana whereby individuals found in possession of marijuana no longer face a jail term. Many states and nation have followed suit, which make the legalization of marijuana increasingly gain popularity and accoladetherefore signifying a looming global legalization of marijuana as it entails other benefits as discussed in this paper. In United States, the law revision commission has embarked on examining laws from other states that have upheld the legalization of marijuana and the impact of such laws in those states. Findings from the studies indicate that expenses for arrest and prosecution of individuals found in possession of marijuana were remarkably reduced in those states that upheld the legalization of marijuana. The observation marked as an added advantage towards the legalization effort in the United States as the involved agencies and general populace have learnt the revealing news on marijuana. In addition, the findings noted a substantial increase in marijuana usage, in those states that commended for severe penalties to marijuana usage and possession unlike those states that approached the issues in a lenient stance. Such observation enables the critiques of the legalization efforts to rethink their stand, as majority of the critiques believes that by legalizing marijuana many individuals will become users of the drug. Besides, it was observed that reducing penalties for marijuana usage and possession had virtually no effect on either choice or the frequency at which an individual engages with other harder drugs such as cocaine. Patients in an emergency room at the hospital showed an increased tendency to use other drugs in contrast to the use of marijuana. Many observations were made in states that did not legalize the use of marijuana, which indicate that lack of legalizing the marijuana use may have made patients engage in the abuse of other harder drugs. The trend is true because many handlers of illegal narcotics use marijuana as a scapegoat to facilitate their business of selling harder drugs to their unknowing customers. Consumption of marijuana in most case studies carried out indicate that legalizing the consumption of marijuana has little if any effect and thereby it is administratively and economically advantageous to the states that uphold the notion of legalizing it. The findings bespeaks of an increasingly popular urge to legalize the usage and possession of marijuana, which would lead to the perceived advantages. Other findings acknowledge that the hospital admissions related to usage of marijuana has significantly decreased enabling individuals and state agencies to advocate for the legalization of marijuana. Numerous data collected on the control of marijuana indicate that the consumption and possession of marijuana are not affected by changes in laws thereby enabling the legalization procedure of marijuana to gain a positive connotation from multitude of people. The trend indicates that even by prohibiting the usage and possession of marijuana would not affect the prevalence of the users and therefore it is beneficial to legalize it in order to reap from its numerous benefits. In international spectrum, many studies conducted enable the legalization of cannabis to gain affirmation from numerous quotas. Focusing on the Uruguay experience and other few nations that uphold modest policy changes that will see marijuana being legalized provide a good empirical case that legalizing the usage and possession of cannabis will not increase the prevalence of marijuana or any other illicit drug. The viewpoint therefore, helps to solidify the argument for legalizing marijuana. The findings provide no discernible evidence that fear of apprehension; the cost of cannabis or the fear of being imprisoned will help mitigate the consumption of marijuana. In places such as Australia, the available evidence suggests that a legal jurisdiction that permits the legalization of marijuana has not experienced any dramatic changes in the prevalence of cannabis consumption. The findings assert that in the context of a society that is fully informed of the risks associated with the abuse of drugs in general, a move to legalize the consumption and possession of cannabis will help eradicate small-scale cannabis offenses that incur huge expenses to the criminal justice system. In Uruguay, the legalization of cannabis enabled the federal government of Uruguay to establish a jurisdiction that will develop and implement legislation for licensing the production, distribution and the sale of cannabis to the Uruguayan citizenry who attained 18 years and above. The move enabled the Uruguayan government to combat the narcotic trafficking, which helped to set an example to other Latin American leaders in order to emulate the introduced policy (Serrano, 2012). The notion extended to western countries allowing their leaders to advocate for a widespread legalization effort in the Western Hemisphere. With the continued zero tolerance on drugs in the United States’ soil by the government, numerous individuals through their opinion view the move to legalize marijuana as a positive achievement. Through their opinions, the American citizenry feel that the move to legalize marijuana would help curb the debacles associated with the banning of cannabis thereby increasingly gaining acceptance from the public on every passing day especially in Colorado (Wytatty2012 Pg. 420). Legalizing the usage and possession of marijuana will help many countries to establish government- run cannabis market that will kick out illegal dealers and thereby eliminate the associated violence. The move will also assist governments to counter the efforts by traffickers who use marijuana as a gateway to harder drugs that amass huge profits. With such perception from great leaders of the world, the legalization of marijuana will continue to take unprecedented advocacy in the global scale. Leaders and governing agencies across the globe are advocating for a strategic approach towards drugs, which will help move away from a century old health- centered approach on drugs. On a global scale, it is worthwhile to affirm that many governments are moving out of the drug- war legislation they had enacted for years to a more lenient approach on drugs. Many governments are exploring political space that will guarantee a new approach to the drug issue. Over the past few years, a major shift in the debate on regional drug policy has been witnessed with many governments especially in the Western Hemisphere complaining about the growing cost of the drug war in both monetary and human terms. The notion has helped to propel the growing awareness on the legalization of marijuana. Given these developments, it is evident that the legalization of marijuana is increasingly gaining ground in parts of the world. The question on whether to legalize marijuana has raised varied reactions from the personal level to the state level; as some of the involved parties want it legalized for medicinal purposes while others want it legalized for recreational use. The paper will provide insight on some of the reasons that makes it worthy to legalize cannabis. Marijuana should be legalized in order to solve the numerous health related issues such as cancer. With a worldwide legalization, cancer patients will longer need to incur travel expenses to the areas where it has been legalized (Chapkins, 2007 Pg. 446). Cancer patients are afraid to use marijuana as a treatment especially because of the stigma associated with its use in many locales, in the world; therefore, it should be legalized in order to cater and eliminate such stigmas. Marijuana has a reputation of providing medicinal purposes to a wide- ranging ailments not only cancer. Legalizing the usage of marijuana will enable patients to access the drug without having to jump through hoops to get the medicine. Legalizing marijuana will facilitate a more stress free travel as individuals living in a state where its use either medicinal or recreational has been legalized will not be prone to arrest. The criminal justice system of such a state where consumption or possession of marijuana is saved huge amounts of money that is lost in servicing cases related to marijuana (BURNHAM, A. (2011 Pg. 337). The notion is true because many states that prohibit the consumption and possession of marijuana have numerous limitations that are related to the drug, which subsequently drain huge amount of money in an effort to facilitate such proceedings. These States also incurs the cost in servicing the jails and prisons while providing food and other requirements to the inmates. Marijuana should be legalized, since its use does not cause fatal incidences as observed in alcohol and other legal prescription drugs. Findings indicate that alcohol consumption and frequent use of legal prescription drugs account for numerous deaths in the global scale. It is indeed confirmed that the amount of marijuana that can cause death to a person is far much impossible to attain making it a safer drug to indulge in as compared to many other drugs. Legalizing marijuana would provide a legal sale of the drug that would subsequently be helpful to young adults who are increasingly consuming the drug. Annually, millions of people and particularly teenagers and the young adults consume the drug where the number is steadily rising. The trend leads these age groups to be more susceptible to other harder drugs if the legalization of marijuana is not addressed. Illegal dealers of narcotics have for long used the marijuana’s lack of addiction tendencies to introduce more addictive hard drugs to their unsuspecting clients especially the youths. Legalizing the drug and placing it on a much cheaper price will help in scaring away the profit oriented illegal dealers thereby providing a safe haven to our teenagers and young adults who are currently becoming fond of the drug. Legalizing the consumption and possession of marijuana will not only reduce court costs but will also lead to fewer full jails and prison. On daily basis, numerous individuals are arrested on possession and consumption of marijuana, which sets in arduous litigations that are costly. By legalizing marijuana, the courts will be able to focus on serious legal matters, which thereby minimize inmates in connection with marijuana usage and possession. The trends will safe taxpayer’s money that is usually directed to feeding and the construction of more jails and prisons to house these prisoners. Legalizing the usage and possession of marijuana will help generate revenue thus augmenting the economy of the country. Legalizing the drug will enable a large-scale production, which will eventually create new jobs into an area or country. As the number of jobs increases, huge returns are realized thereby enabling to support the economy of a given country. Nations that will uphold the legalization of marijuana will be able to keep the benefits of the drug in their own country and thereby assisting their residents to meet major economic quandaries. Marijuana should be legalized since some of its form such as the hemp may be used in various ways in order to attain a particular purpose. Hemp may be used in various practical purposes to develop fabric, rope or bedding for animals only to mention a few of its unending purposes. The seeds found in hemp are filled with numerous nutritional value as they are rich in calcium, iron and omega 3. All the elements found in the hemp seed provides a substantial benefits to the body as each of its elements plays a particular role in the human body. Calcium provides a strong and solid bone formation whereas iron augments the development of red blood cells in our bodies. Omega 3 facilitates the development of our immune system, which thereby calls for the legalization of marijuana. Legalization of marijuana enables large-scale production of various personal hygienic products as well as augmenting personal health especially in its major constitutes such as the hemp (CAULKINS, et al 2012 Pg. 148). Personal hygienic products includes body lotions, moisturizers, shampoos and soap while products that improves the health of a person includes Marijuana should be legalized as it is easy to grow and it is environmental friendly. Comparing with other crops, cannabis is easy to grow, as it requires less attention in terms of the amount of fertilizers and chemicals to apply. Hemp in particular requires very little fertilizers and chemicals in order to facilitate its growth with a minimal amount of rainfall required. Marijuana crop is a pest resistant crop thereby enabling the farmer to eliminate the amount of harmful insecticides going to the soil. Such trend will make marijuana to substantial crop that is friendly to the environment as it may be used in some cases to clean the soil. Bibliography Burnham, A. (2011). Benefits of Legalizing Marijuana.Munich, GRIN Verlag GmbH. Caulkins, J. P. et al (2012). Marijuana legalization: what everyone needs to know. Chapkins, W. (2007). Cannabis, Consciousness, and Healing. Contemporary Justice Review Padgett, T. (2012). Uruguay’s Plan to Legalize Marijuana Sales: Should the Rest of the World Follow? Serrano, A. (2012). How Latin America May Lead the World in Decriminalizing Drug Use Serrano, A. (2013). U.S. Marijuana Laws Ricochet Through Latin America. Vol. 10, No. 4, December 2007, pp. 443–46. Wytatty, K. (2012). Marijuana Legalized In Colorado WithHickenlooper Proclamation. Huffington Post. Read More