The Negative Effects Of Decriminalization Of Marijuana

The Canadian Liberal Government hopes to introduce legislation to legalize marijuana in 2017, but I don’t know if that is the right choice to make. Almost two out of every 10 Canadians reported having consumed marijuana in the past year, but more than 30 per cent of poll respondents said they would do so in the next year if it were legal. There are no benefits of doing this substance, so why do it! There are many side effects that marijuana can have on a person such as dizziness, lack of motivation, lung problems, etc. Hopefully, weed does not become legalized in Canada because there are many negative aspects of doing so.

The dispute over the legalization of cannabis sativa, more commonly known as marijuana, is one of the most controversial issues ever to take place in the United States. Its use as a medicine has existed for thousands of years in many countries across the globe. Legalization should be considered despite efforts made by groups who say marijuana is a harmful drug that will increase crime rates and lead users to other more dangerous substances. The legalization of marijuana can improve our society by helping with our economy, freeing legal resources, and benefiting the overall health of the nation though medical uses.

One argument of these supporters is that the current penalties for marijuana possession are too harsh. Realistically, there is not chance that marijuana will ever be completely decriminalized in Canada, as the effects from this would be damaging to Canada's relationship to the United States. President George W. Bush has already stated that full decriminalization of marijuana would lead to longer and more thorough border searches, due to the possibility of increased drug trafficking across the border. This is why the Canadian government is leaning more toward decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana rather than legalizing it. The theory behind the decriminalization of the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use should be tied to a national drug strategy that promotes awareness and prevention, and provides for comprehensive treatment. The government would sponsor programs to educate youths about the dangers of marijuana, and also support programs to aide citizens who have addictions to marijuana.

This is why the Canadian government is leaning more toward decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana rather than legalizing it. The theory behind the decriminalization of the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use should be tied to a national drug strategy that promotes awareness and prevention, and provides for comprehensive treatment. The government would sponsor programs to educate youths about the dangers of marijuana, and also support programs to aide citizens who have addictions to marijuana.

The article, "We need to legalize marijuana now," by Ken MacQueen, dives into the topic of legalizing marijuana and the issues surrounding the matter.  The author expands the topics of why marijuana is illegal, the cost of keeping marijuana illegal, why the prohibition is unfair, the potential risk to public safety by legalizing marijuana and the positive effects of legalizing marijuana.  The author is able to firmly explain his point of view, why Canada should legalize marijuana, using examples, quotes and statistics.  MacQueen concludes his

Without legalizing marijuana there will be many black markets. A black market is a market that works illegally and sells people illegal stuff that can’t be found everywhere. According to Stephan T .Easton (2004), as referenced in Larisa Ducati Flister 2012.” The retail price of a marijuana cigarette to be approximately $8.60 while costing around $1.50 to produce, yielding roughly a 7.10 profit”. In other words, the black markets are taking advantage of people. Many people don’t really care how much they pay in order to get weed. Because, it’s not available for everyone therefore people tend to buy them at any price. As a result, the only winners are the people selling in the black markets .If the government legalizes marijuana there will be no black markets there will only be official places to sell weed and therefore people will pay the original price that the government sets. Moreover, Silverberg suggests that the government should control the quality of marijuana, so that people would know the weed they are using is not poisoned (David Silverberg, 2005).People deserve to have a good quality weed and when the government legalizes it they will make sure every person gets a clean, pure, and healthy weed. However, the government can also benefit from the taxes gained from marijuana. According to Stephan T .Easton (2004), as referenced in Larisa Ducati Flister 2012 a study found the following: The consumption

Cost of production is higher, authorized marijuana dispensaries hold higher costs, and the government adds taxes. As long as illegal sources can sell comparative products at lower prices, there is still a market for illegally grown and sold marijuana. If there is still a market for illegal marijuana then there is still sources available for minors to purchase marijuana, sales taxes not be collected, and criminal activity still be conducted. The only way for all these benefits to fully be beneficial is for the prices of legalized marijuana to be equal or less than the price of Marijuana sold illegally.

Legalizing the use of marijuana has been an ongoing debate since it was first classified as a narcotic in the Narcotic Act in 1970 (Napchan et al, 2011). Once defined as a narcotic, cannabis was made unattainable through a pharmacist, or through prescription by a physician (Napchan et al, 2011). Cannabis, also known as “marijuana”, refers to any preparation of the cannabis plant, most of which are intended for use as a psychoactive substance (Napchan et al, 2011). Marijuana has many benefits in Canada if legalization were to occur. Canada’s economy would benefit greatly from the legalization of marijuana by boosting taxation dollars, as well as creating jobs for many Canadians. Not only would the economy benefit, but communities would benefit

There are many debate over the legalization of marijuana in Canada for several decades and is still a very controversial issue. In Canada, many considers marijuana harmful because marijuana is an illegal drug according to the law. Some people are intending to justify the possession and use of marijuana by claiming the medical purposes and exaggerating how marihuana is less harmful than cigarette and alcohol. However, I strongly disagree to decriminalize the possession of marijuana because of health issues due to the use of marijuana, and no solid evidence of its medical value. Legalization of marijuana have a potential threat of causing additional addiction. Moreover, increase in the number of weed smokers cause more people to go on welfare,

This is an issue that is concerning many Canadians today, as the newly elected government wants to legalize marijuana. Many parties such as the conservative party are very opposed to this and many are not quite sure like the NDP. There are arguments for both positions on this topic, such as if this will create drug addicts, kill people if legalized or if it can benefit Canadas economy and the people living here.

Marijuana legalization has been a debateable topic in the recent history. Canada’s government sees Marijuana as the biggest threat while alcohol and tobacco, two of the most life threatening substances are legal, so why not legalize marijuana as well? Is prohibition of marijuana really helping the society or is it just creating the forbidden fruit effect”, which provokes the citizens to try it? There are many different ideas regarding its complete legalization as well as the smaller scale medical marijuana legalization. Regardless of what the conclusion of the argument is, these beliefs fall under either social order or conflict perspective. Following this topic,

marijuana being legalized in Canada would be a lawful act. The fact that marijuana is not

The black market that operates under selling cannabis garners a lot of money that could be better put to use in schools, hospitals and other infrastructures. By regulating and taxing cannabis the only people who lose out on this change in stance on drugs are organized crime.

So far there are 29 states that have in some way changed the laws that deal with marijuana, either decriminalizing it for smaller amounts or making is legal for recreational use for adults 21 and older. Decriminalization will make it so that punishment will be lessened but sadly under federal law some punishments still stand. Passed recreational use will allow people to be able to have an ounce on them while giving them the right to grow anywhere from 4 to 6 plants at their homes. Now to say this is how every states laws work is false there are many differences across the spectrum, sometimes even leaving a few bump's in the road for people.

Taxation of Marijuana are regulation. This would provide extra income for government. However, if the tax is too high, than given the difference between production costs and the price in the legal market, smuggling may continue, as with the situation of smuggled cigarettes in Hong Kong where one in three is illicit(Ngo Jennifer). Hong Kong on bans smoking in indoor public areas, however the tax on cigarettes is very heavy, this in turn encourage vast amounts of smuggled cigarettes in Hong Kong. If the same were to happen to Marijuana, than that would defeat the purpose of regularizing it, neither preventing the profiting of the criminal organizations, nor taking them from hands of the young. Neither would the cost of incarceration from drug related crimes diminish significantly, as illegal Marijuana must still be prosecuted.