Legalization of Marijuana

Posted: September 3rd, 2013

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Legalization of Marijuana

Marijuana, also known as the hemp plant or Cannabis Sativa is a plant that is regarded as a psychoactive drug because it interferes with the functioning of the brain. Marijuana is considered as the most used illicit drug in the world and more so in the United States. Proposals were brought forth by the medical fraternity in the United States to enact legislation that would approve the use of marijuana as a medical drug in treatment of terminal illnesses such as cancer and AIDS by acting a sedative and alleviating pain. The proposal faced both criticism and favor from different quarters. Some were of the opinion that the legalization of marijuana would result in more abuse of the drug, which is classified as a Schedule 1 drug that is prohibited under the 1970 Uniform Controlled Substance Act. Legalization of marijuana is still a contentious issue in society because of the varying opinions of people about effects of marijuana use.

Marijuana is considered as an addictive drug that leads to various problems both physiological and psychological because of the dependency that the drug creates. In addition, the use of marijuana is thought to cause deviant behavior in the users of marijuana especially younger people in their teens or early adulthood. Despite all the claimed risks, that use of marijuana poses. Marijuana is a drug that has medical benefits from its use specially smoked marijuana. Marijuana is essential in the alleviation of pain. The different opinions from people have been in existence with the medical fraternity being adamant that the gains from the use of the drug outweigh the negative effects attributed to the use of the drug.

Marijuana should be legalized because of the benefits attributed from its use. Marijuana regardless of the claims of numerous changes in the body of the user should be legalized; however, this should be done under restriction and for medical purposes only to prevent use of marijuana as a recreational drug. Use of marijuana as a recreational drug poses the risk of addiction, which results in irreversible trends in the function of the body. Marijuana acts as a sedative and alleviates severe pain, which is predominant in terminally ill patients.

Legalization would save the government and taxpayers in general huge amounts of money used by the government in drug wars. Joshua C. LaGrange in Law, Economics and drugs: Problems with Legalization under a Federal System, states “government spends roughly $ 17 billion annually in drug wars” (LaGrange, 20). In addition, it would save alternative drug users money spent on ineffective drugs that are purchased and are ineffective to the users. According to LaGrange, “Americans spend $50 billion to $100 billion in pharmaceutical drugs annually, prices which are usually inflated” (LaGrange, 21). If legislation were adopted to legalize marijuana there would have to be sufficient legal measures that would ensure that the abuse of the drug would mitigate abuse of marijuana.

Critics are of the opinion that marijuana use should not be legalized because it creates a long-term dependency that a marijuana user cannot be able to break f the chain of addiction. In the United States, for instance the Federal government rejected for calls to legalize marijuana for use in medical purposes especially for patients in excoriating pain especially those suffering from terminal illnesses. The reason for this was solely that the drug was classified as drug falling under the Schedule 1 category of drugs in the world. In addition, the proposal to have the drug lowered to Schedule 2 drug was rejected because of the view that the use of marijuana leads to heightened dependency with each intake of the drug creating addiction.

Medical research shows it is difficult to establish the amount of dosage that would offer effective treatment using smoked marijuana. Thus without actual estimates on the amount of marijuana should be smoked might lead to irreversible physiological and psychological changes in the body of the user such as dependency on the drug leading to addiction. Moreover, studies show that marijuana contains 50 % more phenols than tobacco, which are found in tar (Clark, 30). This means that smoked marijuana is likely to cause more harm than the use of tobacco. From these studies, there were also claims that marijuana causes pulmonary fungal infections from frequent smoking of marijuana. This is because the tar from the marijuana clogs up the lungs leading to an infection. Walter Block in his works Drug Prohibition: a Legal and Economic Analysis vehemently opposes the legalization of marijuana even for use in medical purposes (Block, 1993). He opposes the reasons for legalization of marijuana because of claims that there are numerous economic benefits accrued to the legalization of marijuana.

He states, “Economic benefits cannot be put into comparison with the health of an individual” (Block, 33). Hence, the health of an individual can deteriorate upon use of marijuana, which cannot be reversed by any economic gains whatsoever. He adds that in economics purchase should be of a product that poses benefits to the buyer and the seller and should not be to only the seller. Thus because of the negative effects emanating from the constant use of marijuana, it should not be legalized because it poses a health risk to the user. In addition to the health issues, he opposes the legalization of marijuana because he considers that the use of marijuana poses financial risks to those related to the user of marijuana. He basis his logic on dependency between people in a society whereby when a user cannot support himself or herself due to addiction, then others are forced to take of the addicted individual which might be expensive. In addition, he states that the use of marijuana leads to violent and criminal behavior. He adds a vital point to his argument saying that in essence, the drugs do not cause violent or criminal behavior but illegality of such drugs creates criminal minds who want to operate in a restrictive drug market. The use of marijuana also results in violent behavior when an addicted individual lacks access to the drugs. This is because the lack of the drug forces the user to resort to nay means to find the drugs, which means the use of violence. The use of marijuana also results in violent behavior when an addicted individual lacks access to the drugs. This is because the lack of the drug forces the user to resort to nay means to find the drugs, which means the use of violence.

Legalization would save the government and taxpayers in general huge amounts of money used by the government in drug wars. Joshua C. LaGrange in Law, Economics and drugs: Problems with Legalization under a Federal System, states “government spends roughly $ 17 billion annually in drug wars” (LaGrange, 20). In addition, it would save alternative drug users money spent on ineffective drugs that are purchased and are ineffective to the users. According to LaGrange, “Americans spend $50 billion to $100 billion in pharmaceutical drugs annually, prices which are usually inflated” (LaGrange, 21). If legislation were adopted to legalize marijuana there would have to be sufficient legal measures that would ensure that the abuse of the drug would mitigate abuse of marijuana.

Marijuana use should only be confined to use as a therapy drug and not as a recreational drug, which results in addiction and total dependency. Marijuana is a drug, which would revolutionize the medical world because of the numerous properties and elements contained in the drug. I think those against the legalization of marijuana might be taking the medical world ten steps behind because marijuana might be the source of remedies for varying ailments in the society that have no cure. Alternative treatment in treating terminally ill patients is expensive. Whereas the use of marijuana in treating these kind patients is inexpensive, thus it makes financial sense to allow patients to get marijuana treatment. This would be a show of empathy towards those in severe pain coupled with financial difficulties by giving them treatment that is considerate and would alleviate their situations. Despite all claims for legalization and against legalization of marijuana, there exists common ground that would satisfy those advocating for the legalization of marijuana and those advocating against legalization of marijuana. The chemical properties found in marijuana are numerous with different compounds found in the plant, which are unique to the Cannabis plant. Hence, it would be sufficient common sense to allow legalization of marijuana on medical grounds such that more research can be done to come up with conclusive results about the chemical elements found in marijuana might be of help to terminally ill patients (Single, 29). In addition, research might prove to be worthwhile to come up with results that might even enable medical practitioners to come up with remedies. Thus, marijuana is not harmful when put into good use such as for medicinal purposes. For those against legalization of marijuana, the drug should be legalized and subjected to supervision in its use. However, the use of marijuana as a recreational drug might prove to have irreversible psychological and physiological dependency on the drug for normal body function. Legalization of marijuana would reduce crime associated with marijuana drugs because people would not find reasons of committing crimes because of a drug that is already legal. Economically, legalizing marijuana might help in reducing the expenditure by the government in fighting the trade of the drug and the funds diverted for other useful purposes.

Work Cited

Single, W. Single. “The impact of marijuana Decriminalization: An update” Journal of public health policy. Vol 10. 1989. Print

Block, Walter. “Drug prohibition: A legal and Economic analysis” Journal of business ethics. Vol 12. 1993. Print.

LaGrange, C. Joshua. “Law, Economics and drugs: Problems with Legislation Under a Federal system”. Columbia Law review. Vol 100. 2000. Print.

Clark, A. Peter. “The ethics of medical Marijuana: Government Restrictions Vs Medical Necessity” Journal of public health safety. Vol 21. 2000. Print