The Legalization of Marijuana for Recreational Uses - Case Study Example

18 September Legalizing Marijuana in Arizona Introduction The National Institute on Drug Abuse s that, marijuana is a common illicit drug that is used in the United States. Consequently, the federal government considers it a Schedule I substance. It means that it has no medicinal uses and has a high risk for abuse. Two states have since passed the legalization of marijuana for recreational uses by adults with 21 states having passed laws that legalized its use in certain medical conditions. In Arizona, medical marijuana is already legalized. A poll conducted in the recent past shows the desire of a great number of people for marijuana, popularly known as pot, to be legalized for recreational purposes too (Sanchez and Reinhart, n.p). In this controversy analysis, the question of whether marijuana will be legalized in Arizona will resonate. Assuming marijuana was to be legalized as a recreational drug, why should it? Why shouldn’t it? “According to a poll conducted by the Behavior research Center in 2010, a staggering 51 percent of Arizonans said, “Yes” to the legalization of pot while only 49 percent were opposed to this thus approving the Proposition 203” (Gerber, 96). During the same month, an independent poll conducted by CNN and Opinion Research Poll discovered that 55 percent of those surveyed supported the legalization of marijuana in the state while the other 45 percent was against this (Moriah, n.p.). This proposition, therefore, allowed the use of a specified amount of marijuana on state’s residents with certain medical conditions as part of their treatment. “The Arizona department of health was then tasked with the regulation of sales and the use of marijuana solely for medicinal purposes” (Donovan, et al., 107). After the Proposition 203 had been approved, specific rules were put in place explaining who was allowed to grow, distribute, and or to use marijuana for the said medicinal purposes. The state’s governor Jan Brewer then filed a lawsuit that was later dropped that sought to determine the legality of the marijuana (National Institute on Drug Abuse, n.p.). The discussion only gets as interesting as it is controversial. Thus, when Scott Cecil, a student at Messa Community College, and a board member of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, faced felony charges for possessing marijuana for his own personal use, he began to think that the war on drugs was targeting the wrong crowd. According to him, “the incident made me realize that every year; hundreds of thousands of people were arrested in connection to marijuana as well as other drugs. It is wrong as these people had not committed any violent crimes nor were they selling drugs.” In his defense, they were just using the drugs for their recreational purposes and were not hurting anyone (Donovan et al. 114). Mr. Scott’s sentiments are echoed by Mr. Dennis Bolkhe, the treasurer for Safer Arizona, who argues that Arizona would be a safe place when marijuana is legalized. Mr. Scott says that, “the arresting of marijuana sellers, users, or distributors is completely outrageous and hence people should not be jailed for such” (Moriah, n.p.). So, who quantifies or qualifies legalization or prohibition? According to the proponents of marijuana being legalized for medical or recreational purposes, the controversy is pretentious, contradictory and depicts a society that is not ready to embrace dynamism and changes. For example, in a fast changing 21st century, people have had to look at issues such as homosexuality, bisexuality, and genetic engineering from very different mirrors. “While the pioneers of these movements, though passionate for changes in what seemed like a redundant and hypocritical society, worked hard to bring about radical changes in cultures and religions the world over, proponents of the legalization feel that they are indeed the messiah to the Arizona population” (Gerber 107). In fact, some strongly feel that in an attempt to mitigate addiction and the vibrant drug cartels, and then there has to be a different and tactical way of fighting the two thus supporting the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Conversely, some people feel that this will not be a smart move majorly because only recently, the states of Washington and Colorado have legalized this. “For what seems to be strong political reasons, this will indeed not seem like a smart decision as it will pass for reckless policy bred out of ignorance and the indifference to the detrimental and profound effects it has on the youth and the general public safety” (Gerber 107-109). While some strongly feel that claims made about the legalization of marijuana are both myopic and falsified, others see the economic disadvantage, massive reduction in labor productivity in the long run, increased health care costs attributed to intolerance to marijuana use, as well as the general quality of life and general rise in insecurity, some feel that there will be no problems especially on the security front (Donovan et al. 121). Conversely, Mr. Tom Ryan, a retired police officer in Denver, as well as a member of the Law Enforcement against Prohibition, argues that “in my 36 years of law enforcement, I have never had a problem with marijuana users.” According to Mr. Ryan, the law enforcers did not get calls about people getting high and beating their wife or causing mayhem as they did with the alcoholics in the state. So, how’s marijuana used? Marijuana is commonly used in hand-rolled cigarettes that are known as joints, in pipes or bongs. Marijuana is also smoked in blunts-cigars that are emptied of tobacco and then filled with a mixture of the marijuana and tobacco. Marijuana users have a wide range of effects particularly on the mental and the cardiopulmonary health. The drug is known to cause irritation to the lungs with frequent marijuana smokers known to have as many respiratory problems that are experienced by the tobacco smokers including daily cough and more phlegm production, acute chest pains and a high risk for lungs’ infections. “A study conducted in the United States found people that smoke marijuana to have more health problems as well as missing more days at work due to the respiratory illnesses compared to their non-using counterparts. It has however not been established whether marijuana smoking can be attributed to the risk of lung cancer” (Baer et al., 126). Marijuana is also known to accelerate the rate of heart beat by up to 100 percent shortly after smoking. In another study, it was estimated that users of marijuana have a close to 5-fold increase in the risk of heart attack during the first hour after smoking the drug. A number of studies have also linked chronic marijuana use with mental illness. According to these studies, “marijuana in high doses can cause a temporary psychotic reaction that may comprise of paranoia and hallucinations. In other users, the use of marijuana may lead to the worsening of courses of illnesses in patients that have schizophrenia” (Donovan et al. 169). Marijuana users were also linked to the later development of psychosis. A relationship that was heavily influenced by the time a person started using, amount used, and the drug potency. Relationship between marijuana, as well as other mental health problems namely anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts in adolescents, have been established. There are also the perceived occurrence of personality disturbances and a general loss of interest in motivation to participate in economically rewarding activities. Baer et al., (135-137) explains that “during pregnancy, marijuana is related with the risk of the neurobehavioral problems in the babies. Courtesy of THC and other compounds that are used in marijuana mimicking the mother’s endocannabinoid chemicals, medics say that the use of marijuana among pregnant women may alters the developing endocannabinoid systems in the brains of the fetus. The problems in the children will include attention problems, problem-solving issues, and the memory coordination.” In a wider scope, marijuana is known to cause serious impairments to judgment, as well as motor coordination. Thus, marijuana use will catalyze to the risks of injuries or number of accidents and deaths when used when driving a vehicle. It is also addictive, and thus withdrawal from the drug use will be hard for its users. So, why use marijuana for medicinal purposes? Many people advocated the legalization of marijuana in a bid to treat the pain conditions which are caused by cancer, HIV/AIDS, as well as other conditions. It is important to note however that clinical evidence has not pointed to the therapeutic advantages of marijuana uses outweighing its potential health risks. Nevertheless, the THC drugs have already been approved by Food and Drug Authority and prescribed. “Scientists also continue to do massive research on the other chemicals in the cannabis plant such as the cannabidiol that is being studied for its effects in alleviating pain, and pediatric epilepsy” (Baer et al. 134). As discussed, the pros and cons of marijuana are clear for all to see. While bans on the imports, the manufacture, the possessions, and the sale of hard drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, and heroin should still be safeguarded. The drug policies require a feasible fix. Thus, neither legalization nor decriminalization is the future. The solution lies in more resources as well as combined energy be channeled to research, prevention and the treatment of the potential drug uses. It will explain the intelligent enforcement of the criminal law which seeks to make drugs very hard as well as expensive for the users to access. Also, there’s the sensible use of courts, prisons and federal punishments that are thought to discourage users and encourage them to seek treatment and consequently mitigate crimes. The medical fraternity and the public health community is, therefore, tasked with educating the society on the addiction process which is a myriad of psychological, physical, spiritual, and emotional effects. “The use of marijuana for recreational purposes should not be viewed as a moral failing or as an easily abandoned act of self-indulgence” (Baer et al. 178). Conversely, teenagers and proponents to the legalization are advised on receiving education as well as prevention programs that take into consideration the cultural and the sex discrepancies and are relevant to the various ages. While most legalization proponents claim that they would only legalize the drugs for the adult population only, maintaining this quota will only present an elusive and ill-conceived dream. In retrospect, what this means is that marijuana will only be easily accessible to the teenagers in the United States where teenage smoking and drinking already stands at worrying levels. “These youngsters may or may not be oblivious to the long-term effects of the drug use. In the case study of the Netherlands which had established coffee shops that customers had the option of selecting marijuana as they did ice-cream flavors, the rate of adolescents using the marijuana almost tripled” (Baer et al. 180). The Dutch government had to minimize the number of coffee shops and consequently ban the use of marijuana. The recent activities in Sweden show how a well-planned restrictive policy can be effective. The reason being that, faced with the danger of an upward trend in drug use during the 1990s, the government carefully moved to consolidated police actions, devised a national action plan, and created a national drug coordinator institution. Conversely, restriction also seems not to be the ultimate solution to any problem. In the early 20th century, when alcoholism seemed to be as much an economical problem as it was societal, lobby groups sought to have a legislative action taken to have it banned. “This is what is popularly known as the Prohibition Era. The counter effects are that instead of most people completely giving up the bottle; most continued to binge drink while others who did not even take it before took to the activity. Worse still, there emerged cartels headed by the likes of Al Capone who now operated a black economy that sold alcohol to people at exorbitant prices” (Gitlin 24). Away from the social effects, these breads counter effects such as deterioration of the economy both at the macro and micro levels. Flash-forward to the present, it is clear that in the current world, teenagers’ problems with pot are far much more serious than that of their parents. It is also important to keep in mind that drugs are considered illegal because they are dangerous. It means that in general, the social, economic, and all other effects pooled together lead to the disadvantages surpassing the advantages at a greater level. Legalization to the use of marijuana will not in any way lead to a decrease in the number of marijuana users. Neither will prohibition. The controversy, therefore, seems to find a somewhat middle ground in the hands of the parents, the policy makers in the spheres of health, police departments, the religious heads and other interested stakeholders. In the Christian and Muslim faiths, drug use or abuse is highly discouraged. The human body is perceived to be the temple of God and Allah and hence should be kept as holy as possible. “According to these faiths, and society in general, the ripple effect of the legalization will fall to morality problems as well as other deep reaching problems a factor that only leads to the debate growing more and more interesting (Gitlin 36-45). Works cited Baer, Hans A, Merrill Singer, and Ida Susser. Medical Anthropology and the World System. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003. Print. Donovan, Todd, Daniel Smith,Tracy Osborn and Christopher Mooney. 4th ed.. State and Local Politics. Chicago: Cengage Learning, 2014. Print. Gerber, Joseph R. Legalizing marijuana: drug policy reform and Prohibition politics. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004. Print. Gitlin, Martin. The Prohibition Era. Kansas: Juvenile Nonfiction, 2011. Print. Moriah, Costa. Could Arizona legalize marijuana? Two groups want issue on ballot. 7 March, 2014. Web. 18 September 2014. National Institute on Drug Abuse: The science of Drug Abuse and Addiction. NIDA, n.d. Web. 18 September 2014. Sanchez, Yvonne and Mary Reinhart. Judge to Brewer: Follow voters’ will, proceed on pot dispensaries. The Republic, 19 January, 2012. Web. 18 September 2014. Read More