Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

Since 1937, when the Marijuana Tax Act was passed, federal law has prohibited the medical and recreational use of Marijuana. This act banned its production and use in all states. In 2012, however, Colorado and Washington legalized recreational use of marijuana, becoming the first states to do so. This was a very controversial decision on the states’ part, and it created a debate between the two levels of government. The main cause was the issues of federalism and supremacy. While under the supremacy clause the federal government's law takes precedence to the state law, there is also a debate on which level of government, federal or state, should handle the issue of marijuana legalization. The complexity of federalism is shown very well here

     Marijuana does have some negative effects, but compared to other drugs marijuana is harmless. Other drugs are highly addictive were marijuana is not. Alcohol is one of the most leading causes of car crashes. Marijuana is nowhere near being a leading cause of death. Other drugs can lead to cancer where marijuana is used to cure it, and other drugs can lead to deaths. Other drugs impair you vision, but marijuana does not. All the other drugs except alcohol are gateway drugs, and the only way to purchase them is by smuggling them across the border. Many advocates say “we should begin to reflect that reality in our state and federal legislation, and stop acting as if otherwise law-abiding marijuana smokers are part of the crime problem. They are not, and it is absurd to continue using law enforcement resources arresting them.” (Gary) Many advocates also say, “Far more harm is caused by marijuana prohibition than by marijuana itself.”(Gary)

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.

This paper will look at the benefits and drawbacks to legalizing marijuana by looking in at Colorado.The state made forty million dollars by taxed marijuana in 2014 alone, also Colorado saved countless millions because of the extremely lower amounts of marijuana arrest and court cases. It is not clear how having new recreational marijuana stores opening will affect the cannabis market, or businesses expanding around them. Gov. John Hickenlooper says that the economy is thriving with record setting numbers of tourists (73.1 million). 49 percent of those tourist said that legal marijuana influenced their decisions to vacation in Colorado. The ER’s in Colorado have also seen a rise in numbers of marijuana related cases and those cases in non-residents have almost doubled. An unexpected situation that arose from legal cannabis was the amount of electricity that is being use to grow the drug. Some cannabusinesses have to go green with solar or wind power. There are many varying views on the effects of legal marijuana have developed in Colorado since marijuana became legal in 2014.

Marijuana is amongst one of the most disputable subjects in political issues. It is the most exploited drug in the United States and can even be around the globe. Marijuana is the main source of substance reliance other than alcohol in the United States. Numerous groups in recent years have come forward and claim that marijuana use has been beneficial with numerous medical conditions. In fact, it has helped numerous people with diseases, for example, Glaucoma, Cancer, and any other physical or mental pain. Medicinal cannabis should be legalized in Florida, but should be regulated accordingly. The clear majority trust that marijuana use would be more beneficial if it was not criminalized but most still believe that the government should keep it as a controlled substance. In 2008, 4 million out of the 7 million individuals, ages 12 and older, characterized as having a reliance or abusing marijuana. This implies that two out of every three Americans experiencing any substance abuse have developed marijuana reliance. The legalization of marijuana in the United States such an issue for so many individuals today. Some believe that marijuana should not be legalized in Florida because of physical health, mental health, effects of driving under the influence of marijuana, and increase in use. Others believe that is it marijuana should be legal because of its harmless if used in moderation, limits of personal freedoms, and potential FDA regulations.

Which overall shows that the Constitution would have left this issue to the states. In 1920 prohibition came into effect, which was the ban of all alcohol. However, because it was not specifically stated in the Constitution whether the national government could interfere with this issue, an amendment was added. Eventually, this was changed and another amendment was added to remove Prohibition and the previous amendment. There are many similarities between prohibition and the issue of marijuana. When prohibition started, it produced a lot of gangsters and illegal activity, because suddenly it was illegal to have alcohol. Which related to marijuana because the government has kept it criminalized and because of that, there has been crime related to the drug. This shows that people are going to do what they want regardless. People drank and sold alcohol regardless of its criminalization, and weed is so prevalent in our society that quite a lot of people have been already been consuming it for a long time. According to the Forbes article, a study has shown that the recent legalization of marijuana in Colorado “has not had much of an effect on the prevalence of cannabis consumption” (How is Marijuana Legalization Going?), so in other words, people who have already been consuming marijuana, are mainly the people who have continued

After reading Chapter 16 I came to the conclusion that In Raich v. Ashcroft, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that the medical use of marijuana does not have any direct or obvious effect on interstate commerce; however, the U.S. Supreme Court beg to differ, the Supreme Court felt like that medical marijuana would have an effect on the interstate market for marijuana, so in 2005 the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit Court (which wasn’t right but they had the power to do so). In addition, the federal government had the power to prohibit the use of medical marijuana. The federal law enforcement is targeting individuals who seem clearly to be using marijuana for purposes other than medical treatment.

I do not believe that the Federal Government should continue to regulate –and outlaw- marijuana. I believe that the issue should be a concern of the states and not the federal government. According to the Controlled Substance Act, (CSA) (21 U.S.C. § 811), there is no federally recognized difference between medical and recreational marijuana. Importantly no matter what the use is, marijuana is illegal in the United States as far as the federal government is concerned.

According to article IV of the U.S. Constitution, the Supremacy Clause makes federal law become the supreme law of the land and forces states to follow the U.S. If there is a conflict between federal and state law, the federal law must be applied. However, in my opinion, there are a lot of bigger things that federal should be considered than more marijuana. Why I say that because I do not think marijuana can damage a lot for the nation. The big things federal should be deal are vehicles, unpredicted accident, crime, killers and natural disasters. So, let states could be able to regulate the legalization of marijuana by restriction of federal law. Nowadays, we know pot that helps a lot of chronic pain and be useful to many experts, the injured.

Political activist and Libertarian representative J. Wilson comments on this saying “We believe that people own their own bodies and what they choose to put in them. That also means people own the products of their labor”(The Libertarian Argument for Legalizing Marijuana 2015). Accordingly, this accounts for why the state should have no say to arbitrarily decide what people can and can’t consume. Prohibition must be measured against the deprivation of personal freedom. Likewise, the United States has an obligation to the people to respect the right of self determination and individual free will. In this case, self ownership prevails over government regulation in regards to prohibition-based cannabis policies. Hence, reform is necessary so the fundamental of self ownership isn’t denied to individuals. The principles of human freedom should be respected by the federal

Federal government needs to be less involved with the daily lives of Americans. Each state should be allowed to decide on whether or not to legalize marijuana and under which grounds and statutes its use should be regulated. The only reason the Federal government should step in is to decide whether to tax it at a medical or recreational rate.

Currently the use of marijuana, or cannabis, is illegal in the United States under federal law. According to Jeff Darnell, the Stanislaus County deputy district attorney, even the use of medical marijuana is illegal. This is due to the Controlled Substance Act. The Controlled Substance Act regulates the use and distribution of certain substances. Many states have started to ignore this law and legalize the medical use of marijuana. Some have even legalized recreational use. These events raise the question, who should decide on the legality of use of marijuana? Should the federal government, state, or local government hold the power to decide? The states should have the power to

Marijuana or cannabis is a preparation of the cannabis plant intended for use as a hallucinatory drug and a medicine as well. The principal hallucinatory constituent of marijuana is Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. Twenty three states and the District of Columbia has legalized marijuana for medical or recreational purposes in the United States. Legalizing marijuana has many benefits to it. Not only has marijuana been proven to counter act some symptoms of cancer and other diseases, it can also boost the economy and increase tax revenues. Along with all these things legalizing marijuana can also lesson crime rate and allow police and federal agents to focus

The argument of legalizing medicinal marijuana and marijuana used for recreational purposes has been around for quite some time now. Recreational use is when one smokes cannabis just for fun and with the intention of altering the state of consciousness while medicinal marijuana is used for treating certain maladies and alleviating their symptoms. Though marijuana use is not as harmless as many people seem to believe. Like any other drugs, marijuana can affect the body and mind and may have a majority of side affects. It has an addictive nature and is also known as the gateway drug. It can even affect those around you in more ways than one. For instance if something were to happen to you or if for whatever reason you lash out at them. The

Cannabis, formally known as marijuana is a drug obtained from the tops, stems and leaves of the hemp plant cannabis. The drug is one of the most commonly used drugs in the world. Only substances like caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are used more (“Marijuana” 1). In the U. S. where some use it to feel “high” or get an escape from reality. The drug is referred to in many ways; weed, grass, pot, and or reefer are some common names used to describe the drug (“Marijuana” 1). Like most drugs, marijuana has a very long history. People have been using the plant around the world for thousands of years. The oldest record of the marijuana plant dates back to 2727 B. C. in China where the plant was used as a medical herb for treating conditions like rheumatism, gout, malaria and even absent-mindedness (“Cannabis, Coca, & Poopy: Nature’s Addictive Plants” 1). Slowly, the plant started spreading around the world. By 1545, cannabis was starting to appear throughout the western worlds. Being introduced to South America by the Spanish to be used as fiber. The crop also had many other common uses around the world. In North America, cannabis was often used to make paper, ropes, clothing and other materials (“The Origins of Cannabis” 1).