Marijuana Should Be Legalized - Essay Example

Introduction Marijuana is a product of the cannabis plant, which has continued to elicited emotions and heated debates with regard to propositions bycertain quarters in the society that its use should be legalized. Majority of countries in the contemporary society, including the US, considers it as a dangerous drug and therefore not fit for human consumption. However, it may be notable that the degree of prohibition varies with individual states or countries. For example, in the US, the federal law categorizes the growing, possession, buying or selling of marijuana in the same class as other hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine. On the other hand, some states such as California, Hawaii, Washington and New Jersey among others have passed laws to allow for the citizens to grow and use marijuana for medical purposes. Countries such as Mexico, Uruguay, Netherlands and Argentina among others have partially legalized the use of Marijuana whereby citizens are allowed to consume and possess certain amounts of the drug for recreational purposes (Bakalar, 2007). This paper is a critical evaluation of why or why not marijuana should be legalized. Legalization of Marijuana Marijuana should be legalized as a way of creating revenues for the government, in terms of taxation. Failing to do so encourages illegal trade whereby scrupulous dealers form organizations, through which the product is traded in secrecy and in high prices. These illegal drug dealers continue to enrich themselves and this motivates them and makes it affordable for them to operate and finance other illegal businesses such as gun trade, human trafficking among others, which include criminal activities such as gang violence. Critics in this debate may have forgotten the impact the ban on alcohol sale and use in the US in the 1920s had on the society but it may be important to remind them that it resulted to widespread illegal trade of the product and the emergence of powerful groups, mafia, which took advantage of the inability of the government to enforce the law (Rosenthal, 2003). In fact, it is believed that this formed the basis of the formation of drug lordship in the country as these cartels had already been accustomed to the lucrative trade and hence had to venture into other similar businesses once the ban was lifted and alcohol became accessible in the general market. In this context, criminal gangs compete over markets whereby one gang claims ownership of a certain territory and whenever any other gang member crosses this territory in search of customers, violence erupts leading to unprecedented deaths and injuries. It is estimated that in California, where it is allowed, it is one of the major cash crops that attracts revenues amounting to approximately $14 billion on annual basis. This is a considerable amount, which can be used in improving the livelihoods of Americans especially at this time when the government is trying to fight unemployment (Earleywine, 2010). Critics may argue that these financial gains do not give the government the moral authority to legalize a product, which is held in great contempt by the greater public. However, it may be important for them to understand that although it has not yet been legalized, its use is still in abundance in the US, even more than in some of the countries such as Netherlands, where it is legal. Reports indicate that marijuana consumption in the US is double that of Netherlands (Earleywine, 2010). It is a fact that smoking and alcohol use causes illnesses that result to death. Despite this, the same society has not seen the need to call for the illegalization of these products so why discriminate against marijuana? 2009 statistics indicate that approximately 70 million people in the US consume tobacco while 15 million others are alcohol abusers; only 4.2 million people consume marijuana. From these statistics, it is noted that on daily basis, more than 100 people die from tobacco related complications while more than 500 die from the effects of alcohol abuse; less than 50 people die due to consumption of drugs, in this case marijuana included. It therefore defeats logic why the government should continue spending billions of dollars every year to enforce the ban on marijuana. These efforts should be directed towards the elimination and rehabilitation of tobacco and alcohol abusers. It may be ironic to find that the US government spends over $10 billion annually for this purpose while the Californian state earns almost the same amount in terms of revenues collected from the sale of Marijuana though for medical purposes. In addition to this, legalization of marijuana would reduce significantly the congestion in prisons as a result of numerous arrests and convictions for the crime of handling the product. Statistics indicate that almost 1 out of 5 prisoners in American prisons, is there because of marijuana and other related non violent drugs (Earleywine, 2010). According to medical research, it has been established that marijuana can be used to assist in the treatment of certain conditions. In this regard, it is observable that cancer patients as well as HIV/AIDS victims, for example, suffer from loss of appetite, vomiting, nausea and loss of weight especially due to treatment procedures such as chemotherapy in cancer patients and due to weak immunity in HIV infected persons, which leads to loss of muscles and weight. If these people are allowed to consume marijuana, they would thereby increase the ingestion of Tetrahydrocannabinols (THC), which has a significant effect on appetite (Bakalar, 2007). THC in marijuana also has analgesic effects, which makes the product feasible for reducing pain. In addition, some research indicates that this psychoactive element in marijuana can also be used to treat glaucoma and other conditions such as Alzheimers disease, since it has a mental stimulation capacity (Rosenthal, 2003). However, more research in this field is required so as to be able to come up with a concrete conclusion on the viability of marijuana’s medicinal value, which will make it more convincing to the opponents in this debate although this may not be possible if the government is not going to relax its stance take on marijuana. On the other hand, THC and the general use of marijuana have been known to have several negative health implications in humans. For example, it has been observed that the continued use of this substance induces the loss of memory and poor concentration as well as limiting other cognitive abilities. This could be dangerous especially for young students, who may end up weakening their ability to excel in academics, which requires proper concentration. In addition, it slows a person’s reaction time and this may impair the judgment especially of drivers, who may end up causing dangerous accidents. Research also indicates that smoking marijuana subjects the smoker to respiratory problems, similar to those of tobacco smoking. Some indicate that the smoke contains numerous carcinogens, which have the potential of causing lung cancer. However, this remains disputed as there are other reports, which indicate that there is no correlation between marijuana and lung cancer (National Institute of Health, 2010). Conclusion Legalization of marijuana would enhance revenue collection as well as reduce the amount of money used in enforcing its ban. California is an example of a state, which claims to earn revenues amounting to approximately $14 billion annually. Marijuana is not more harmful than alcohol and cigarettes on human health and therefore, there is no need for illegalizing it. Indeed, legalizing it would only assist in reducing drug related offenses and this would enable the police to concentrate on dealing with other crime. Medical research proves that marijuana has medicinal value and therefore it would be in the interest of the public to legalize it. However, legalizing it would have negative consequences on the public’s health. Marijuana smoke contains carcinogens not withstanding the fact that inhalation of any smoke is a major cause for respiratory infections. It may also lead to a society with low academic achievements and numerous accidents as a result of memory loss, low cognitive abilities and slowed reaction time to emergencies. Despite the fact that the pros of legalizing marijuana exceed its cons, more concrete research is needed so as to establish the facts. In the meantime, the government should legalize it but while at it, restrictions, on the amount each person may possess, should be put in place to prevent it from being abused. This is in relation to the fact that even if alcohol or cigarette smoking is legal, their abuse is a major cause for health deterioration. References Bakalar, J. (2007). Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine, Yale University Press Earleywine, M. (2010). Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, Oxford University Press National Institute of Health (2010). NIDA InfoFacts: Marijuana. Retrieved December 03, 2011, from http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/marijuana.html Rosenthal, E. (2003). Why Marijuana Should Be Legal, Running Press Read More