The Green Need For The Fight For Marijuana Reform

The role that social policies have in the lives of every citizen cannot be understated, as the rules, regulations, and laws that govern our society provide the foundation off which our social welfare system operates. Over the past several decades, the social policy issue of the legalization of marijuana has gained substantial traction in the public eye, making it a priority topic to be addressed on the government agenda. With Colorado and Washington becoming the first states in the U.S. to legalize marijuana (TIME, 2012), Alaska and Oregon were soon to follow (Fortune, 2016), prompting more discussion and research around the effects of legalizing marijuana in North America, particularly in regard to social policy.

The legalization of marijuana has been a hot topic in the media for many years now. There is a major divide in those who believe it should be legal, those who do not, and those who think it could be legal with modifications on the usage. The number of those who support the legalization of marijuana is on the rise with nearly 50% supporting recreational marijuana legalization, and 81% supporting marijuana legalization for medical treatment as of 2015 ("Public Support for Marijuana Legalization, 2015”). Marijuana should be legalized on a federal level because it is safer than alcohol, it will increase the economy, and there is an unfair criminalization of marijuana.

A controversial topic often being advocated for by sitting governors is whether the legalization of marijuana is more beneficial or harmful to the economy. Marijuana, also known as weed, is a mixture of the dried and shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the cannabis sativa plant. It’s the most widely used illegal drug in the United States, even though studies have shown results that the benefits of using marijuana for medicinal or recreational reasons far outweigh the negative matters that may be associated with its use. While marijuana is still a controlled substance under federal law, thirteen U.S. states currently have compassionate use laws in place, which allow for regulated medical marijuana use. By legalizing marijuana, the government is helping the economy by reaping medical and financial benefits, not only at the state level, but also at the federal level. Taking into account the numerous studies done with marijuana on whether it is for recreational use or medical purposes, the government cannot go wrong in legalizing marijuana because of such an impact it will have. Marijuana should be legalized for recreational purposes because it will help society economically and socially.

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 a topic of debate for many years. This may be because of the cultural diversity that the United States of America is known for. Recently, bills were passed in Colorado and Washington to implement the legalization and regulation of recreational marijuana use. These events along with the ever growing popularity of the drug in society, media, and entertainment are proving to be more than anti-marijuana advocates can handle. In this paper, I explore the financial, social, medical, and political benefits of legalizing marijuana.

Right after the U.S. Department of Justice announced in March 2009 that it would no longer prosecute marijuana patients and providers whose actions are consistent with state medical marijuana laws (Meyer & Glover, 2009, para. 1), political windows suddenly opened for California marijuana reform advocates to push for legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. As a result, California Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control & Tax Cannabis Act, became a ballot initiative on November 2, 2010 statewide ballot. Supporters argued that legalizing creational use of marijuana would help California to regulate the use and sale of marijuana, reduce correctional costs, redirect its court and law enforcement resources to other more serious crimes, and collect additional exercise taxes and sales taxes that would help with California’s budget shortfall. In spite of being a

Ever since marijuana’s introduction to the United States of America in 1611, controversy of the use and legalization of the claimed-to-be Schedule I drug spread around the nation. While few selective states currently allow marijuana’s production and distribution, the remaining states still skepticize the harmlessness and usefulness of this particular drug; therefore, it remains illegal in the majority of the nation. The government officials and citizens of the opposing states believe the drug creates a threat to citizens due to its “overly-harmful” effects mentally and physically and offers no alternate purposes but creating troublesome addicts hazardous to society; however, they are rather misinformed about marijuana’s abilities. While

While an undereducated, youth fostered movement towards the legalization of marijuana is rapidly spreading across America, Father Gerald Coleman, in Is America Going to Pot, steps back from the frenzy to examine the gross amount of physical evidence that opposes the rash movement. Approaching legalization of marijuana from numerous avenues, Coleman systematically degrades many of the popular pro-marijuana arguments circulating today. In addition his article is able to simultaneously provide a number of well-founded arguments ranging from the various health troubles, the gateway drug potential, and the resounding positive effects on the black market drug trade that legalization of marijuana would and is currently promoting, to support his anti-legalization

In the preceding years, when ferocious battles were waged over the wisdom of legalization, both in direct conversations and of course, on the internet, marijuana proponents made boasts about what a major positive impact on government budgets making pot legal would have. To people familiar with economics, basic math and tax policy, these arguments seemed very weak, and that is exactly what they have been proven to be in the first years of Colorado’s new drug era.

Dope, Mary Jane, Pot, Grass, Weed, Blunt, Joint, and Nuggets are only a few of the countless names for marijuana, a narcotic drug used for recreational and sometimes medicinal uses across the world. Recently growing enough popularity among younger generations due to the glamorization of media, and the overwhelming financial gains through taxes and fees seen in Colorado, have caused Ohio legislators and citizens to consider the idea of legalizing marijuana for both recreational and medicinal marijuana use. Marijuana is a toxic gateway drug that impairs the judgement of its users and should not be legalized for recreational and medicinal purposes aside from the numerous ‘benefits’ it will bring to Ohio because of the consequences will be far greater.

Marijuana is a very prominent and controversial issue in society today. Although many slanderous claims have been made about cannabis in recent history, the truths are slowly starting to resurface. The big question succeeding these truths is if marijuana should be legalized in the United States collectively. Unfortunately, these truths are under a substantial amount of criticism due to the stereotypical view of what people see as the typical “pot smoker.” This twisted perception of a lazy and unmotivated America is the product of almost one hundred years of propaganda and deception spread by private interests who needed cannabis to be illegal for their own personal benefits. When taking into account the positives and negatives of the legalization of marijuana in the United States, the amount of benefits greatly outweigh the costs, making legalization necessary in a

A controversial social topic surrounding our time has been the issue of legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes. Cannabis sativa, also known as marijuana, was classified by the United States government as a class I drug in 1970, which means that it is against the law to possess and distribute this illegal substance (Source 2). However, in recent years, many states have made marijuana more accessible for medical and recreational use. States such as Colorado and Washington have not just decriminalized possession and distribution, but have enacted laws that encourage the recreational use of cannabis. Around 100 million Americans have experienced this drug (Source 1). Essentially one in four Americans

At some point in the not-too-distant future, America will confront the question of whether or not to legalize the use and cultivation of marijuana. A recent poll shows that support for legalization has reached its highest level since the question was first asked thirty years ago, with 34 percent supporting a liberalization of policy. Among political elites there is a growing consensus that the harsh penalties imposed on those who grow, use, and sell marijuana are disproportionate to its harmful effects. Even among conservatives, opinion seems to be shifting. Whether the change should be welcomed is another matter.

Political – External – marijuana’s political and economic landscape is a major unknown. Five states Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Washington D.C. allow marijuana to be used for recreation yet the drug remains illegal on the federal level. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have laws allowing marijuana to be used medicinally (Fool, M.

Abraham Lincoln spoke of prohibition as an “attempt to control a man’s appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes” (Lincoln). The prohibition and eventual repeal of the prohibition of alcohol taught the United States a valuable lesson about making essentially non-harmful entities illegal. Yet, even today the current prohibition on marijuana reforms has put the United States in a similar situation. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, “95 million Americans age 12 and older have tried "pot" at least once, and three out of every four illicit-drug users reported using marijuana within the previous 30 days” (ONDCP). The decriminalization and eventually legalization for the recreational use of marijuana will bring forth benefits in all aspects of life in the United States. Many oppose the idea of marijuana legalization, but there is strong evidence to support the endless benefits its of legalization. 1. For starters, cannabis is proven to not be a life-threatening drug. 2. Furthermore, legalization will result in enormous societal benefits such as tax benefits, decreased criminal behavior, and the creation of new jobs and businesses. 3. Ultimately, the legalization of marijuana will bring forth safeguards and regulations to help insure the safe use and regulation of the product.