Legalization of Marijuana - Research Paper Example

Legalization of Marijuana Certain policy making issues in the domain of public administration are being viewed from the local perspective. However, it is argued that the major public policy issues may not be resolved while remaining into national boundaries unless a global perspective is not developed before tackling even the domestic issues. (Hou, Ni and Poocharoen). To understand the impacts of the legalization of marijuana on the society therefore needs to be pursued from the global perspective rather than limiting the analysis focus on the local and domestic variables. History of the government efforts to stop illicit drug trafficking indicates that the governments, by and large, failed to control the movement of drugs across borders. One of the untested solutions to this problem has been suggested as the universal legalization of weed across all countries (Jenner). From the public policy perspective this is considered as important because it can free up resouces. In US, though there has been a little policy change regarding the drug use however, marijuana is considered as an exception where willing States are actually pursuing the option of changing the legalistations on the use of marijuana. (Reuter) The following sections will discuss the impact of marijuana on society and some of its different aspects. Impact of Legalization on Healthcare One of the key questions regarding the legalization of Marijuana on the healthcare is the increase in the dependence due to the increased use. Various scientific studies have clearly outlined the addictive effect of Marijuana and suggest that with increased use the overall Marijuana can actually increase the dependence syndrome. It is however, important to consider the fact that people actually having the dependence on Marijuana as a result of the use is approximately 1 in 10 having lifetime of dependence on the Marijuana. Various studies suggest that during 2011, more than 4.2 million people were diagnosed who met the diagnostic criteria for the dependence or the abuse. The use of Marijuana is often associated with the addiction, respiratory diseases and the cognitive impairment also. The increased incidences of these diseases may indicate that the overall impact on the healthcare can be significant considering the overall increase in the availability of the drugs. (Anderson, Hansen and Rees) HIV risk can also increase specially in youth if the legalized used is allowed as marijuana favored conditions actually foster such social environment which is more conducive for the partying, use of drugs and having sex with multiple partners. This invariably increases the risk of HIV aids if the unprotected sex is done under the influence of marijuana. (Myers, Maiorana and Chapman) The impact is also relatively more significant for the teenagers using the substance given the fact that their brains are still evolving i.e. the prefrontal cortex. Since legalizing the substance can increase its use and with increased teenagers use, it may hamper the mental growth of the individual teenagers which may invariable have an impact on their performance at school and at job once they enter into the workforce. Using this substance at the young age therefore may result into students losing on their IQ scores and which can further reduce their chances to succeed in life. Studies from the use of marijuana for the medical purposes indicate that the overall policy changes in the use depend upon the political culture of the country or the State also. The policy implementation largely depends upon the political preferences of the State. (Price and Riccucci) Impact of Legalization on Justice System One of the key arguments in favor of the legalization of the substance is based upon the assumption that cost incurred on the enforcement of the laws on illegal use of marijuana is relatively high if the substance is not decriminalized. By decriminalizing the substance, the cost to actually enforce such laws can be reduced and the government and government agencies can actually save on this while at the same time losing money received as fines from the illegal use of the substance. It is also argued that due to legalization of the substance, the psychological impact of the penalties may also not remain intact. It is suggested that due to the presence of legal penalties and other restrictions, those who otherwise might not be able to or willing to seek medical help may continue to use the substance and never seek the help. Lack of judicial oversight therefore may have a negative impact on the society as a whole rather than on the justice system itself. If this is legalized, the overall penalty system therefore will be needed to be revised along with the existing laws which disallow the use of marijuana and impose penalties on such use. Further, judges may be unable to distinguish as to whether the crimes were committed under the influence of something whose consumption and use is perfectly legal. The crimes committed under the influence of the use of marijuana may therefore be relatively difficult to investigate and be proved. The legalization debate has also given rise to the notion of the federalism and whether the legislative process in this regard shall rest with the States or the Federal government. It is suggested that when areas where particular public policy fail to be resolved, usually States come in and legislate on their own. However, this may further weaken the federalism and restore more power to the States on public policy issues which need to be viewed at the national level. From the basis analysis of the classic virtues of the federalism, it is suggested that the overall legislative process for the legalization of marijuana shall rest with the States. (Pickerill and Chen) Economy and Legalization of Marijuana The economic arguments regarding the legalization of the pot is based upon assessing the costs and benefits of the same. Though the data is relatively less available however, some studies suggest that an increased use of marijuana leads to lower consumption of alcohol and results into less traffic fatalities which invariably help the economy in terms of saving on the public expenditure. Since drug business is often done through a complex network of governance, therefore, it is suggested that from the perspective of the network governance, it become increasingly important that informal networks are brought into the formal networks in order to generate more revenues. Once the public administrative bodies are able to actually deal with such networks, it becomes relatively easier to actually cash-in the related economic benefits from the legalization of marijuana. (Mathur and Skelcher) Considering the overall size of the regular and black market for marijuana, it is argued that by regulating this business, tax revenues can be increased considering the expected increase in the use of the weed once it is legalized. The existing tax tiers in the States allowing the legalization of the subject indicates that there are different tiers of taxes which are being implemented once the legal sale of the substance increases. Legalization of the substance may also result into the reduction in the production costs and can drive down the retail prices. An increased use of the substance can increase the tax revenues which can then be diverted towards tackling more socially harmful drug substances such as cocaine and heroin. An important argument regarding the nature of the relationship between marijuana and other drug products such as alcohol and how they relate with each other in terms of consumption. The legalization of the substance has actually failed to understand this relationship and thus if marijuana and other drugs are complementary in nature the increased use of marijuana can lead to the increased use of other substances also which are relatively more harmful. As such if the complementary relationship exists between the two, legalization can actually increase the social cost on the society as money spent on rehabilitation of such individuals will increase to a greater extent. Available evidence indicates however that both the marijuana and alcohol are actually substitutes and an increase in the legal age to drink results into an increased use of marijuana however, the use relatively drops in young adults when reach the age of 21. It is therefore suggested that legalization will actually result into an increased use of marijuana while at the same time a reduction in the heavy drinking. The revenues earned from increased use of marijuana can be offset from the revenues lost from the sales of alcohol and alcohol related products such as beers. The government therefore has to make a tradeoff between the two based upon the overall social costs and benefits analysis. The competition within the economy especially in this sector may increase as legalizing the substance may force existing tobacco companies to actually enter into this market and drive out the relatively smaller and new entrants in the market and may further drive down the prices without creating much of the jobs and profitability for the existing and new players in the market. This invariably can reduce the tax revenues for the government if the use of marijuana remains constant over the period of time. Works Cited Anderson, D. Mark, Benjamin Hansen and Daniel I. Rees. "Medical Marijuana Laws, Traffic Fatalities, and Alcohol Consumption." Journal of Law and Economics 56.2 (2013): 333-369. Hou, Yilin, et al. "The Case for Public Administration with a Global Perspective." Journal of Public Administration 21 (2011): i45-i51. Jenner, Matthew S. "International Drug Trafficking: A Global Problem with a Domestic Solution." Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 18.2 (2011): 901-927. Mathur, Navdeep and Chris Skelcher. "Evaluating Democratic Performance: Methodologies for Assessing the Relationship between Network Governance and Citizens." Public Administration Review 67.2 (2007): 228-237. Myers, Janet J., et al. "How the Illicit Drug Economy Contributes to HIV Risk in St Vincent and the Grenadines." Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS 10.6 (2011): 396-406. Pickerill, J. Mitchell and Paul Chen. "Medical Marijuana Policy and the Virtues of Federalism." Publius 38.1 (2008): 22-58. Price, Byron E. and Norma M. Riccucci. "Exploring the Determinants of Decisions to Privatize State Prisons." The American Review of Public Administration 35.3 (2005): 223-235. Reuter, Peter. "Why Has US Drug Policy Changed So Little over 30 Years?" Crime and Justice 42.1 (2013): 75-140. Read More