In a socialist society, we have state representatives who voice our opinions to the federal government. Citizens have been in an uproar on the issue of legalizing cannabis, with over half of the American people in support legalization. Where are the legislators that are supposed to serve our interests? America is country founded upon the freedom of choice and pursuit of happiness, but yet we have been lured to accept the fact that politicians should be making our decisions for us. We need to remind our politicians that they serve as a public servant for the American people and not vice versa. Our founding fathers has quoted that sometimes our greatest threats to our freedoms and pursuit of happiness will come from within our borders. The legalization of marijuana has been the spark of many political debates. The DEA lists marijuana as a schedule one drug next to heroin. With the rise of social media, the legalization of marijuana has become more prominent. Marijuana has been legalized for more medical usage than recreational. The legalization of marijuana would decrease the size of the black-market usage, increase the united states tax revenue, and allow local and state officials to focus on more serious offenses/crimes. Let’s talk about the impact of legalizing marijuana, why laws should protect employees for marijuana usage, and my perception of marijuana.
Why should legalize marijuana across the United States? America has a daily fight when it comes to combating the opioid crisis. On average, 130 people in the United States die daily from overdosing on opioids. With this level of abuse, it has been marked as a national crisis. As far as we know, it’s not possible to die from ingesting too much THC, the main component of marijuana, at one time. Taxes received from marijuana sales could benefit our schools, hospitals, and infrastructure. For example, Colorado has generated over 500 million in revenue on cannabis since 2014 followed by Washington with 250 million in 2016 alone. Sales are continuing to increase on the daily basis. Studies show that 2.3 million Americans are incarcerated for possession of marijuana charges. Legalization would cut down on crime rate. The criminal justice system in the United States is compacted with trials and crimes involving marijuana. Legalizing marijuana would relieve judges, policemen, and prosecutors from the burdens of enforcing laws against cannabis, so they can focus more serious offenses. State and local officials would then have a more time to invest into combating the opioid crisis. Ideally, we must think about the future effects that legalization could have on America. Cannabis sales would increase tremendously, which opens the door for more tax revenue. Unemployment would decrease being that more jobs would be created due to wide spread of marijuana usage. Economist have projected that the manufacturing business could easily kill off over 800,000 jobs with the rise of technology.
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Is it fair for a state to legalize marijuana but not protect employees that consume it? State legalization of cannabis is becoming problematic to employers who strive to maintain efficiency, ensure employees safety, and conserve workers’ rights. As marijuana is legalized, the consumption increases as well. For example, after marijuana was decriminalized in Colorado, the number of positive drug tests in the workforce increased by 20 percent over the span of the year. Most workplaces have a “Zero Tolerance” policy when it come combating drugs. Most workplaces within the United states are under The Drug Free Workplace Act, which requires all its grant recipients to adopt this their policies. In last few weeks of November, a New York congressman is moving forward on bill to legalize cannabis nationwide. This would decriminalize marijuana on the federal level and remove it from the federal control substance act. Many marijuana legalization statutes and initiatives such as the one that the New York congressman is trying to propose do not address the use of cannabis outside of the workplace.
Let’s also look at the facts on the opposing side, from a Human Resource point of view. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, employees that tested positive for marijuana had 55 percent more industrial accidents and 75 percent greater absenteeism compared employees with negative results.
References
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/live-updates/general-election/fact-checking-the-first-democratic-debate/how-many-people-are-in-prison-on-marijuana-charges/?arc404=true
- https://www.civilized.life/articles/ways-marijuana-legalization-helps-america/
- https://www.naag.org/publications/nagtri-journal/volume-1-number-2/the-effects-of-marijuana-legalization-on-employment-law.php
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