With voting season right around the corner, many states are considering the future of marijuana on their upcoming ballots. According to According to Governing.com “The District of Columbia and 11 states -- Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington -- have adopted the most expansive laws legalizing marijuana for recreational use… Most other states allow for limited use of medical marijuana under certain circumstances”. Since these states have already legalized marijuana use in one form or another, it’s fair to say, most of the population believes it should be legalized across the board for all states for both legal and medical usage. Polls show “that 66% of Americans support making marijuana use legal and around 90% support for allowing medical marijuana, lawmakers are increasingly getting the message that constituents want them to act on sensible and humane marijuana policies”. (www.mpp.org)
Marijuana as an illegal substance and some people feel that by legalizing the use of marijuana it will provide a gateway to legalizing more harmful controlled substances. Regardless of state laws, the use and sale of marijuana is still illegal and a jail able offence at the federal level. Lets consider however, the benefits that would come by decriminalizing the use of the Cannabis sativa (hemp) plant.
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For hundreds of years, people have used marijuana for fiber (hemp), medical treatment, and recreationally. ”There is some evidence that marijuana or some of its components — such as CBD — may be useful for relieving severe pain, inflammation, nausea, and chronic conditions” (www.medicalnewstoday.com ).Marijuana studies have shown to be beneficial by using marijuana cannabinoids for the treatment of (and providing relief to) psychiatric disorders as well seizure disorders, and substance use disorders including withdrawal and dependence. In
Stark contrast, the completely legal use of alcohol and tabbaco have very different and opposite consequences. According to federal data, ”… From 2006-2010, excessive alcohol use in the US accounted for 88,000 deaths per year, and shortened the lives of those who died by approximately 30 years. Further, alcohol-induced complications, such as alcohol poisoning and cirrhosis, led to the deaths of 1 in 10 adults from the ages of 20 to 64. And these statistics don’t include motor vehicle crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers. In 2014, alcohol-related driving fatalities accounted for 31% of overall driving fatalities, or 9,967 deaths” (addictedtoalcohol.com). A study done by the Center for Disease Control shows that “ Worldwide, tobacco use causes more than 7 million deaths per year.” It goes further to say that “ If the pattern of smoking all over the globe doesn’t change, more than 8 million people a year will die from diseases related to tobacco use by 2030.”
Not only is the legalization of marijuana useful to treat medical conditions, the financial benefits at the state level could be substantial. A quick search of the internet provides many credible sources that predict the potential financial gains that could be achieved based on current trends within states that have already legalized the use of marijuana. An article done by Penn State states “According to an article by CNN, the tax revenue for Colorado since they legalized marijuana have been upwards of fifty-three million dollars.” It goes on to state “ The Huffington Post discusses how illegal marijuana sales are estimated to be around forty billion dollars, and if marijuana was legalized all of these sales would be taxed. These tax revenues would provide a huge boost in the economy. In 2010, an economist, Stephen Easton, estimated that legal marijuana could be a forty-five to a one hundred billion dollar industry for the federal government.” In addition to income from sales, “Workers would be needed to farm, process, distribute, and sell marijuana-based products. Further, there would be ample opportunities for secondary industries which were related to legal cannabis although not directly involved in its production and distribution. These might include software developers, financing services, construction companies, and many others” (www.investopedia.com).
With the legalization of the drug and the industry around it, it no longer makes sense to keep people who were once perpetrators of old marijuana laws in prison, for moral or financial reasons. Legalizing marijuana use will reduce the number of inmates within prisons and jails and reduce the burden and costs of enforcement on the judicial system and law enforcement. A strong advocate for legalizing marijuana is NORML . An article on their site shows ( an older) study done by JFA institute suggests that “decriminalizing illicit drugs, along with enacting modest reforms in sentencing and parole, would save taxpayers an estimated $20 billion per year and reduce the prison population from 1.5 million to below 700,000”. More recent information found on columbusunderground.com shows “465,000 people were arrested for marijuana related crimes in California between 2005 and 2016 alone — with people of color being three times as likely to be arrested. Ohio’s recent decriminalization of the plant has led to a significant decrease in the amount of marijuana arrests in the last few years and only 2.5 percent of Ohio inmates are in prison for marijuana charges”.
As time progresses and the laws at state level follow, so should the consideration at both the state and Federal laws encompassing the rest of the country. Its time for some common sense legalization reform for marijuana for both medical and recreational usage. If you’re lucky enough to have a bill on your next ballot, vote “yes” for marijuana reform.
References
- Marijuana (cannabis): Facts, effects, and hazards. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/246392.php#medical-use.
- Marijuana: The Real Truth A Informative Piece. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sites.psu.edu/bettermentofamerica/financial-benefits/.
- Krishna, M. (2019, June 25). The Economic Benefits of Legalizing Weed. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/articles/insights/110916/economic-benefits-legalizing-weed.asp.
- New Marijuana Laws Could Bring Criminal Justice Reform to Ohio. (2018, July 7). Retrieved from https://www.columbusunderground.com/new-marijuana-laws-could-bring-criminal-justice-reform-to-ohio-ti1.
- Project, M. P. (n.d.). 2019 Marijuana Policy Reform Legislation. Retrieved from https://www.mpp.org/issues/legislation/key-marijuana-policy-reform/.
- Strohte, K., Strohtehttp, K., Strohte, K., Millis, N., Brown, N., Strohte, K., … Mike. (2019, February 28). Alcohol Related Deaths Per Year. Retrieved from https://addictedtoalcohol.com/information/alcohol-related-deaths-year/.
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