The Negative Effects Of Decriminalizing Marijuana

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 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.

Five states have implemented way to minimize the amount of crime while people are still able to use. Even though the states have made this determination though a vote. The Federal government still sees it as a felony crime. Within the reform strict policies have been set in place. Should marijuana be decriminalized or legalized? Should there be restrictions based on age. There was an analysis done that compared five states that implemented major marijuana reforms. Evaluating their effectiveness in reducing marijuana arrests and their impact on various health and safety outcomes. The two types of reforms that were evaluated: all-ages decriminalization in the states of California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The other reform was 21-and – older legalization in Colorado and Washington. From the analysis out of the five states all five state experienced substantial declines in marijuana possession arrests. There were four states with available data that also showed unexpected drops in marijuana felony arrests. All- ages decriminalization more effectively reduced marijuana arrest and associated harms for people of all ages, particularly young people. The decriminalization in California has not resulted in harmful consequences for teenagers, such as increased crime, drug overdose, driving under the influence, or school drop outs. California teenagers showed improvement in all

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 positives and negatives regarding the legalization of marijuana.

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 support the

The legalization of Cannabis in the United States is an extremely hot topic in the current media. Currently, 23 states and D.C. have laws to legalize use of Cannabis (NORML). Cannabis is also known as marijuana, dope, pot, grass, weed, head, Maryjane, doobie, bud, ganja, hashish, hash, bhang (Cannabis). Cannabis is now the third most popular recreational drug in America, this is behind alcohol and tobacco. It has been used by 100 million Americans (Cannabis). Since the legalization of Cannabis is such a hot topic in the United States, this issue is highly debated. Both sides of the argument work towards making educated decisions for their stances. By collecting both sets of data, we can progress towards

Legalizing marijuana would make the drug easily accessible, which could potential lead to abuse and potential health effects in adolescence and adults that abuse the drug. This law could potentially increase crimes and the number of arrests for driving under the influence of drugs, which puts the safety of our citizens at risk. States should consider their options in order to fight legalizing of marijuana in their states. This paper provides some concepts around the impacts a state could incur and encourages the state to look beyond dollars earned and to ensure the state understands some of the impacts associated such as higher accidents and fatalities, increased criminal activity and a higher number homeless people. This could be solved by maintaining the federal regulations on controlled substances by the federal government. It is encouraged that the state careful consider if this is a viable option for the state and consider enhancing the policies around medicinal marijuana

A research written by Dr.Robert Morris from the University of Michigan named “Study: Medical Marijuana Legalization Doesn't Lead to More Crime “conducts findings on how legalizing marijuana will not lead to higher crime rate. The research takes up many parts but one of the most important factors that it insist on is the crime rate. He explains “The study tracked crime rates across all 50 states between 1990 and 2006, when 11 states legalized marijuana for medical use…Using crime data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, the researchers studied rates for homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft, teasing out an effect for the passing of medical marijuana laws… None of the seven crime types increased with the legalization of medical marijuana (Morris). The crime rate hasn’t gone up in places where marijuana has been legalized and it doesn’t look like it’s going to start any time soon. Meaning that the legalization of marijuana will have little to no effect on the crime rate, which is another thought to take into

For example, the state of New York would change pretty drastically if we legalized marijuana. There would be more people smoking and driving, or smoking and doing something which can be dangerous or distracting. To prove this point, CNCB indicated that drug impaired driving will increase if marijuana is legalized. Marijuana is already a significant factor of all crashes injuries and deaths. Another point to be noting is that more people would be dependent on it. In fact, it would be more accessible for little kids. marijuanatoday.com stated the fact that the legalization of recreational marijuana has been linked with teen violence, suicide, teen violence, and HIVs. A fact that should be taken into consideration should be the use of marijuana by adolescents can disrupt emotional development, delay puberty, and can even delay the monthly cycle in females. Crime is another huge factor that can be harmful if New York state decided to legalize recreational marijuana. Legalization of marijuana would not cut down on crime at all. It expressed that family disputes, rape, robbery, reckless driving, and murder will still continue or even rise in New York if the the decision was made to  legalize recreational

My thesis is that the legalization of marijuana would have a positive influence on America. In this report I have attempted to prove that this is indeed lawful. The general legalization of marijuana would allow Americans to work and use hemp to America’s great advantage. Billions of bucks would be kept in government expenditures and, in fact, revenue from taxation on the regulated sale of marihuana would be in the billions. Although the shock on a person’s health is debatable, the smoking of marijuana on a steady basis is most definitely not equally harmful as smoking cigarettes every day or the excessive drinking of alcohol. Nobody has ever perished from a cannabis overdose. Lastly, and most obviously, marijuana for medical use would benefit

By legalizing marijuana there will be an influx of jobs created due to the demand for dispensaries. Considering the 2.5 million Americans are registered users of medical marijuana, dispensaries alone can make up 2.2 million in one year excluding taxes and owner’s draw and have created thousands of job opportunities just alone in Washington and Colorado. The next pro is the idea that upon legalization there will be a reduction in crime rates. The U.S prisons house up to 6.9 million individuals, 60,000 of those prisoners are there for marijuana use. To house marijuana users it costs the taxpayers around $7-10 billion a year. Approximately 90% of those individuals are in prison for being charged with possession only. The arrests for marijuana possession exceed the arrests for violent crimes including rape and murder. Approximately over 700,000 individuals are arrested each year for marijuana charges. By legalizing marijuana the prisons would have more room for individuals who have committed a violent crime and police forces will be able to do their job and focus on those individuals. This will also give more funding to state agencies and police forces in order to reduce the number of violent crimes. Legalizing marijuana will allow access to health benefits to many individuals, create an increase in job opportunities nationwide providing an influx

But on the other hand marijuana does have its upsides "violent crime and property crimes have both decreased in Colorado since the state legalized recreational cannabis" (10 Arguments In Favor Of Legalizing

In today’s society, marijuana or cannabis is commonly utilized by many teens and adults. Whether it is for medical reasons, socializing, obtaining a high, or escaping depression; marijuana has impacted the lives of us humans in a lively manner. Even though cannabis is an illegal drug, countless amounts of people do not stop from getting a hold of it. There is only so much the law enforcement can do if the people do not wish to listen. Although marijuana affects the natural brain functions such as: memory, coordination, learning, and the ability to problem solve; allowing it to stay illegal causes no difference in the use, but inflicts on other more important issues that need to be dealt with.Many people have a problem with legalizing marijuana, actually current drug laws are doing more harm than good. Legalizing Marijuana will actually help the U.S. with its major problems, Legalizing Marijuana will: Deal a massive blow to drug cartels, which would suddenly leave cartels without 75% of their income, Allows police, courts, and prisons to focus their resources on dangerous criminals, and it will also help the U.S economy and will help the law enforcement save money. This will help out the United States because it will resolve their problems and help them at the same time.

Why is a harmless plant like marijuana illegal? Marijuana cost the taxpayers of the United States an estimated forty one billion dollars every year, including a loss in potential tax revenue (16 Facts about Marijuana and the U.S. Economy). It helps people with illnesses ranging from Alzheimer's to cancer. States that have legalized have had a result of twenty five percent less deaths from pharmaceuticals since legalization (Lincoff). With notable results in states like Colorado the United States needs to legalize marijuana nationally to boost the economy and give millions access to jobs and increase tax revenue.

The group Marijuana Policy Project documents the various effects of decriminalizing marijuana in Colorado and Washington. Their report contains information like revenue earnings, violent crime rates, and number of misdemeanor cases filed. According to their report, the number of misdemeanor cases and violent crime rates fell. Also, the two states earned millions of dollars via tax revenue.