Introduction

The issue of the legality of cannabis has been a societal problem for a long time. For several decades, most federal states have promulgated laws prohibiting the cultivation, possession and trade of cannabis. At the same time, there have been efforts to change the illegality status of cannabis. Drug liberalization has been in full gear over the years where an attempt to decriminalize and reducing cannabis prohibition laws. Most of the pro-legalization of marijuana argue that while tobacco and alcohol, which are life threatening substances, are legal then why should marijuana be illegal. The concept of marijuana use has several stereotypes where those opposing its legalization demonize the drug demonize its consumption while those arguing for its legalization have shown spirited defense in its use.  However, it is important to distinguish between the theories and facts to have a conclusive stand on whether or not marijuana should be legalized.

Marijuana that is known by other names such as cannabis, bhang, ganja, dagga, hemp and Mary Jane has been the most consumed drug globally. The drug is derived from the hemp plant, and it is used as a leaves and seeds. Hemps bud and leaves are grounded with a mortar and pestle to become paste that is mixed with milk and ghee.  It is either smoked or mixed with liquids where it’s taken as a stimulating liquid. In this paper, we will have a deep analysis of whether or not marijuana should be legalized. Major facts and not meaningless stereotypes about the plant will be discussed at length.

Discussion

Even though marijuana has some societal and personal problems, it is imperative to understand that the plant has some positive contribution to the overall wellness of human race. To start with, marijuana has a strong medicinal value that should never be ignored. Researchers have confirmed that marijuana can slow the body down, through lessening the senses, therefore easing the pain. This capability of marijuana has made it very useful as an esthetic during minor surgeries. It is understood that marijuana has ability to relax muscles and causes a good sleeping moment thus enabling a smooth surgery moment. The drug has also been used as a painkiller during ailing moments. Another medicinal purpose associated with marijuana is the ability to increase appetite to ailing patients.  It is also imperative to understand that marijuana has also been of great help to cancer and HIV/AIDs patients.

Another most important reason marijuana should be legalized for economic reasons.  The use of marijuana can be of great economic importance if  taxed. This is because it demand is ever increasing, and its taxation would boost the world economy. The ever increasing cases related to use of marijuana proves to be very expensive for many justice systems. This time would otherwise be used in other vital business such as preventing the rising crimes in major cities. The money received from taxing marijuana can be used in upgrading the justice systems in most federal states.

For instance, Americans annual consumption of marijuana is about $5 billion which is equivalent to 1% of the country’s GDP. The same amount is contributed to the economy through consumption of alcohol annually. However, the great problem is that most proceeds from the marijuana sales end up in the pockets of drug syndicates and mafias who form the largest portion of the marijuana market. If the government had legalized the use of marijuana, such revenues would be great to the economic growth of the country. The cost of enforcing marijuana laws in a single state in U.S is estimated at $ 1 billion. This is a very expensive course that results are yet to be realized. Such huge spending would be put in other useful development projects.

Legalization of marijuana would be of great importance in the development of agriculture. This is because marijuana is from the hemp plant that would be a major boost to the economy. The cultivation of this plant would have other benefits such as biofuel that significantly reduce carbon emissions.  The hemp plant has several uses such as fuel and the production of marijuana. Legalization of marijuana would encourage cultivation of the hemp plant for the industrial purpose. This would be of great importance to the development of the economy. The legalization would help industrial development that as a result would increase employment significantly. Increased cultivation will also help in climate conservation that would be great in preventing global warming that is a menace to the global population.

The cultivation of hemp will lead to great industrial development thus leading to economic development. For a long time, it has been discovered that hemp is useful in the production of textile based products. The plant’s fibers are substantially strong thus making them ideal for the production of many products like paper, rope, and fabric. Previous researches have proved that a small land can have great produce within a short period. For instance, it is argued hemp produces a higher yield per acre than cotton and matures within 100 days as compared to 160 days for cotton. It would, therefore, be beneficial to legalize the cultivation of the hemp plant. For instance countries like China and Canada have benefited immensely from exporting hemp related products since they don’t have laws prohibiting their cultivation. United States is forced to import all of its hemp from these countries despite the country’s potential in its cultivation.

Legalization of the use marijuana would be instrumental to control and prevent underage use of marijuana. Despite the heavy investment in attempts to combat the use of marijuana, the drug has been able to get even to the hands of teenagers. By making the use of marijuana, an illegal affair has made it a more valuable business than it would be if it were legal. This has made it very easy for the teenagers to sell it to their colleagues thus making a lot of money. The use of marijuana among the youth can be trimmed if the state government legalizes and control the market. This is because the excess profits realized in the black market would be minimized thus lacking motivation for teens to be in this business.

Another reason legalization of marijuana should be encouraged is because marijuana is less addictive as compared to other drugs. By legalizing marijuana, a significant drop in the use of other hard drugs such as alcohol, heroin, barbiturates, cocaine and methamphetamines will be noted.  This will be a broad step as the use of marijuana will have relatively low side effects as compared to alcohol and tobacco (Gerber, 73). Marijuana consumers are more responsible people who pay taxes; take care of their families among other core duties as opposed to those who are addicted to alcohol and other hard drugs. Marijuana is a less killer drug as compared to tobacco and alcohol, and thus it should be legalized.

Another argument by the pro-legalization group is that people deserve freedom of choice even in matters of marijuana use. From a philosophical point of view, human beings are rational and should be at liberty to make choices for themselves. Philosophers argue that governments have no right to limit these choices unless in cases where the individuals choices endanger the lives of others. However, marijuana uses a personal free will and therefore it would be unwise to enact laws that prohibit its use. Governments are also obligated to have limitations on choices with self-harm. This is not the case in marijuana since marijuana use has less harm to individuals than that caused by other drugs such as tobacco and alcohol that are leading killer drugs. In essence, the choice of what to or not to consume should be an individual’s choice and the government should only intervene if these choices affect the lives of others.

Another major reason marijuana should be legalized because its criminalization has no moral justification. It is imperative to understand that there is no good evidence that the prohibition of Substance abuse leads to decrease in drug abuse. To the contrary, there are theories that suggest that Prohibition might lead to increasing in drug use. The forbidden fruit effect and the easier accessibility to the youth is a clear testimony to this (Govier, 74)  The prohibition of marijuana is based purely on lies and disinformation. Several exaggerated dangers associated with marijuana have been but forward but they lack scientific prove. Criminalizing use of marijuana does not entail a crime since a real crime occurs where there are a victim and a perpetrator. However, smoking marijuana does not entail a crime since the smoker does not harm anyone. This is like jailing a person for robbing oneself. It lacks the logic to criminalize someone for a crime he commits against himself. Every government should be concerned with basic human rights and realize that marijuana users have their rights. Instead of spending so heavily on prohibitive measures, open and honest programs to educate youths, regulation to keep drugs away from kids, and treatment programs for people with drug problems would be a better solution.

On the other hand, some people have a strong belief that legalization of marijuana will have adverse effects on individuals and the society at large. It has been noted marijuana does not only affect the abuser, but it also has significant impacts to immediate family and the entire society. For instance, if a teen abusing marijuana is confronted the family relationship get sour. It has also been evident that some families have become very poor to excessive use of money in purchasing this expensive drug.  Marijuana consumption has led to job losses thus leading to decreased productivity and increased unemployment (Barcott, 67).  Lack of jobs can lead to other social immoralities such as theft, rape, and other immoralities. Parents who are marijuana addicts may fail to provide the necessary support to their children thus becoming perennial failures in school and other parts of life.

Another argument from the opponents of marijuana legalization is that the medicinal value alleged to come from the plant can be obtained elsewhere.  They argue that the feel good factor and the pain killing effect of the product can be obtained from other sources.  It is their argument that cannabis use for medical reasons can only be termed as mere excuses (Holland, 54). Opponents are to the opinion that if the medicinal value of cannabis should be a basis for its legalization, then other hard drugs such as cocaine should have been legalized long time ago since they have stronger numbing effect.

The opponents of the legalization of marijuana believe that marijuana use has adverse effects on human health. It is argued that health tests on monkeys’ brain have shown conclusive evidence of brain damage. It is evident that marijuana users tend to become more stupid as they continue to use the drug.  Medical researchers have proved that constant use of marijuana leads to persistent impairment in neurocognitive performance and the IQ (Walker, 97).  Its use is also highly associated with increased rates of anxiety, mood, and psychotic thought disorders.   It has also been noted that regular marijuana users have severe lung problems. The opponents argue that bhang smokers have devastating lung problems as compared to tobacco smokers.  Marijuana use is also known to have adverse effects on the reproductive system. Empirical studies have proved that even the smallest amounts of marijuana can cause temporary sterility. Babies born of marijuana addict parents have the problem of mental abnormalities, increased risks of leukemia and in extreme cases birth defects may be witnessed.

Even though marijuana is said to have medicinal value, it is essential to understand that using drugs for other purposes apart from a doctor’s prescription is extremely harmful. The use of this drug is harmful to the abuser and also to the people related to them.  Use of marijuana is known to increase health cost of individuals abusing them (Burnham, 27). Another notable aspect associated with cannabis abuse is excessive violence. The number of street families can also increase significantly due to the neglect of children from cannabis addicted parents. The government spending is also expected to increase the cost of treating cannabis withdrawal symptoms just in case of its legalization.

The opponents of marijuana legalization also assert that the addictive nature of the drug rob individual the free will. Previous empirical studies have proved that individuals who use cannabis cannot make informed decisions to quit this behavior. This is because the drug has adverse effects on individual’s logical thinking. In addition, it has been noted that the use of marijuana causes irrational thinking. For instance, drivers under the influence of cannabis are prone to impaired judgments and in most cases they end up causing accidents.

Another point put forward by the opponents of marijuana legalization is that it gives a gateway to other drugs. The opponents argue that marijuana is a very addictive drug that stimulant effect should never be ignored. After a long time of marijuana addiction, the abusers may be tempted to venture into other hard drugs. Though the cannabis users feel high under the influence of cannabis, it would be easy for them to try the stimulation from other drugs. As a result cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, opium and ecstasy just to mention a few might find their way in the abusers hand. From a sociological point of view, individual will tend to graduate from one level of stimulation to another if the level of addiction is saturated.

Those against legalization of marijuana argue that prohibition will lead to decreased substance abuse, and therefore it would be unwise to legalize it. For instance, there are 15.2 million marijuana users and 129 million users in United States.  From these statistics, it is clear that the number of alcohol consumers is large than that of the marijuana smokers. Those against legalization of marijuana argue that the number of marijuana smokers would have increased since it would be readily available. They argue that though alcohol and tobacco are legalized and taxed, the proceeds from these drugs are overshadowed by the adverse effects of their use.  For instance, the alcohol-related costs in United States total over $ 185 billion while the taxes collected averaged at $14.5 billion. The same case applies to tobacco that had costs amounting to $200 billion and $25 billion collected as taxes. These statistics are clear indication that their legalization is an economically disastrous trade off. This makes the anti-marijuana crusaders believe that its legalization would bring more harm than good to the society.

It is also the opinion of the opponents of marijuana that its legalization will make the drug cartels and the black market thrive well.  From previous reports, it is clear that Mexican drug groups earn 15% -25% of their revenues from sales of marijuana( Caulkins, Jonathan and Hawken, 272). They make the rest of their revenues from other crimes such as human trafficking, kidnapping, piracy, extortion and other illicit drugs.  If federal governments legalized the sale of marijuana, the black market and cartels would thrive better since they would sell tax-free marijuana to adults and youth. Its legalization does not guarantee control.  Empirical studies have shown that Netherlands, where marijuana was legal and commercialized increased by over 300%.  As a result of the increased use of marijuana, even to the teenagers, have resulted in zero tolerance in marijuana use in Netherlands, which has resulted to the closure of hundreds of coffee shops in the country. This is a clear indication that where legalization have been tested, and the results are proving to be adverse.

Another important point by those against the legalization of marijuana is that the justice system is not expensive due to marijuana related crimes. From previous researches, it has been noted that the percentage of people in prison for cannabis use is less than one percent. It would, therefore, be unwise for pro-legalization group to assets that the justice systems have been made expensive through marijuana use prohibition (Morgan, 76). It is important to understand that the system would be beneficial to the offender since the justice system is always a path to treatment. From empirical studies, most of the beneficiaries of criminal justice system treatment are marijuana addicts. It is therefore advocated that the two systems work hard in hand for the betterment of individuals and the society at large.

Conclusion

From this discussion, it is imperative to understand that both the pro-legalization and the opponents of the legalization have very strong points. However, for us to have a better and informed decision the best stand, it is important to distinguish between the stereotypes and the fats. Though there are several benefits associated with the cultivation and sale of marijuana, it is imperative to ensure that these benefits are cultivated, and the adverse effects mitigated as much as possible.

In my opinion, illegalizing marijuana will not in any way be of importance to any country. This is because most of the anti-legalization claims are stereotypes and propaganda.  For instance, many people are against the use of marijuana citing cause of death as the main reason the use of marijuana should be condemned. However, from previous statistics it is evident that among the most consumed drugs in America, marijuana has the least number of death causes. The most killer drugs are tobacco and alcohol. However, it is important to note that its abuse can induce lethargic behavior and not death. It should also be noted that individuals have a right to decide their fate even in matters of drug abuse.  Federal governments should understand that illegalizing marijuana will do more harm than good.  This is because it becomes popular and expensive thus making the thriving of a black market. The users of marijuana should do it astutely to avoid the minor health issues it is associated with.

Work Cited

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