Pros And Cons Of Decriminalizing Marijuana In Colorado

The question of whether or not marijuana should be legalized for recreational and medicinal use has been a three decade long conversation. There are many pros and cons to legalizing marijuana. There are many different ideas about the effects of marijuana, but as with any drug answers are going to vary depending on the person you survey. Age, health, and mental stability are all factors to consider how a drug can positively or negatively affect you, and marijuana is no different. To be legal or not to be legal is the million dollar question up for debate.

Recreational marijuana legalization in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska have, technically, broken federal law. As long as the federal government does not do anything about the state’s blatant disregard for higher law they can do what they want. I think that because state and federal law contradict at the moment there should be clarification. States should only be able to pass a law such as this if it is also legal on a federal level, but if there are no repercussions for violating federal law where does it end? Recreational marijuana is a state issue, in my opinion. If it is to be legalized in America at a federal level then each state should be allowed to choose their side. At this point, federal government is showing its cracks. 4 of our states are currently not obeying the Constitution; federal law trumps state law. Our government needs to pull itself together and start paying attention to what the states are doing.

The topic of legalizing recreational marijuana in the United States has been a very controversial one. States such as Colorado and Washington have gone on the offensive and have legalized recreational marijuana and have enjoyed the high revenues brought in from cannabis sale. On the other hand other states have kept low profiles because they are wary of the possible negative outcomes of legalizing recreational marijuana and are using the states of Colorado and Washington as guinea pigs to see what their next course of action on this controversial topic should be. This is not only a highly debated topic among politicians, but also by the people. According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center 52% of Americans

The legalization of marijuana has been an argument for over 70 years. Even though voters helped to legalize the drug in Colorado and Washington, it’s still legal for the rest of the United States. There are many pros and cons for marijuana

Before 1937, marijuana was freely bought, sold, grown, and smoked in the United States. Since that time, all of these activities have been illegal, but many groups and individuals have fought to decriminalize marijuana. The congressional decision to classify marijuana as a Schedule I drug in 1970 has made the legalization campaign more difficult, since it officially established marijuana as a dangerous, addictive drug with no medicinal benefits.

The topic of marijuana has been a big topic for the past few years. The United States considers marijuana as a drug, in some other countries they say it is a natural herb that is grown from the ground. The issue at hand is “should marijuana be legalized?” the congress of the US stay in a constant debate on this subject. Why is the subject of marijuana such in high demand, if the US already considers it a drug? There are many facts that need to be looked at before a final decision can ever be made. In contrast since the past two weeks the state of Colorado became the second state in the US to legalize marijuana. Obviously it is possible for marijuana to be accepted into society, obviously there are as much pros as

Eradication is a total failure, even with the threat of incarceration. Now the government has a chance to make money instead of spending it through the taxation of marijuana products. This is a win-win proposition for Colorado. The only downside is that the federal government and the DEA want to classify cannabinoids as a class one drug. This action will negatively affect the parents of those children who are getting relief from seizure

There has been major news forming around the legalization of marijuana in Colorado. Medical marijuana has been effective in Colorado since 2000. Now marijuana is legal for recreational use for people 21 and up. Many rules and regulations follow the legalization of marijuana. Many people of Colorado fear this legalization, where others are totally for it and think it will help boost Colorado’s economy. I have found many

With any major legislative change there will always be controversy and unanticipated consequences, but in time most of these things will be ironed out with modifications to the law and eventual social or cultural adjustment and acceptance. Such is the case with legal pot in Colorado, and a brief examination of the amendment’s impact on the state reveals impressive benefits – not a dramatic collapse into drug-induced chaos and anarchy.

There have been many issues with the state laws regulating Marijuana in the US. I knew this would be a good topic to choose for this unit, and in this by article by John Hudak the case of Coats VS Dish Network is discussed; the case is a perfect example of how federalism can go wrong. The problem here was the misinterpretation caused by allowing states to regulate a classified “controlled substance,” while the subject matter has a different interpretation at the Federal level. Coats was terminated for using medical Marijuana outside of his work place to treat his medical condition. He argued his case by pointing out that the State of Colorado legally allowed him to be purchase medical marijuana legally for medicating.

The legalization of marijuana for recreational usage could may be a new trend in America but the Federal government will likely oppose usage through the end of time. The Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) stance is that marijuana is an illegal drug and that using this drug whether for medicinal or recreational purposes is illegal. I chose this topic to research because of awareness bright to light prior to the recent elections. Until researching this topic, I was unaware that marijuana usage is legal in some states and that other states were pushing legislation to get

Marijuana use or production is usually correlated with crime, but only in states that outlaw. As a result of this ban, marijuana farmers, sellers, or consumers are all considered criminals, giving the idea that marijuana causes crime. Nonetheless, it is not proven that marijuana that is sold or bought through the black market will stop. Not all individuals who wish to purchase marijuana will choose to purchase it through dispensaries or get a medical card, however, with that being acknowledged, it is not marijuana business that makes a criminal, moreover, it is usually another criminal action that connects these two together. An individual that commits crime is more willing to work in an underground market. marijuana. One may believe that if the black market is completely eliminated, the costs associated with enforcing felony activities would always result in a decrease. With that being stated, law enforcement has a higher concern on untruthful tests for impaired drivers for regular users, as written in Northjersey.com. Nonetheless, there is no denying that cannabis use affects driving ability, but so does alcohol and the lack of sleep. However, in order to estimate the cost for vehicle collisions after the use of marijuana, we must consider the current annual per capita cost of vehicle collisions, the percentage of users likely to drive under the influence of

Cigarettes and alcohol are much more dangerous to humans than marijuana, yet they are legal to purchase and consume (at a certain age). “The effects are generally less severe than those of tobacco and alcohol, which together cause more than 560,000 American deaths annually. Unlike booze, marijuana isn't a neurotoxin, and unlike cigarettes, it has an uncertain connection to lung cancer.” (Barcott, Bruce, and Michael Scherer. "The Great Pot Experiment. (Cover Story)." Time 185.19 (2015): 38-45. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.). This shows that substances that are already legal and available to Americans are much more dangerous than marijuana. This shows that there is no reason for the government to be concerned about it in a health risk point of a view. Marijuana has no reported deaths from overdosing on the drug, because you need to smoke 1,500 pounds in 15 minutes to do that, which is a physically impossible task. Top scientists know that there are no reported deaths from marijuana alone, unlike other substances, but due to their extensive research they were able to find it is technically possible to overdose, but highly unlikely. This shows that the health risks of consuming marijuana are little to non-existent when compared to other legal substances, therefore it should be legal in the United States of America. The fact that marijuana is less harmful than other legal substances proves that is should be

Legalizing recreational marijuana is partly responsible for the rise in teenage and adult use as well as accidents related to DUID. The rise in use and accidents should be considered as this reflects back on the safety of our citizens.

Cannabis is becoming increasingly widespread and increasingly common in modern-day society for both recreational use and for medication. The article by Craig Reinarman, ‘Criminalisation, legalisation and the mixed blessing of medicalisation in the USA’ generates many controversial issues of cannabis.