The legalization of marijuana
Marijuana is one of the most used illicit drugs. Generally, Marijuana is the dried leaves and flowers of the cannabis plants and has several aliases such as weed and pot (CDC, 2018). It contains over 100 chemicals, but the main ones are cannabidiol (CBC) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (CDC, 2018). Medical Marijuana has high levels of CBC, while recreational one has high proportions of THC. According to Wilkinson (2013), recreational use has no medical justifications, and recreational Marijuana has high levels of THC that causes a “high” feeling. Though the use of medical Marijuana has not caused much debate, the use of recreational Marijuana has been very debatable. Moreover, although there is much evidence against the legalization of recreational Marijuana, the support for legalization is ever rising according to several survey reports.
According to a report by Pew Research, two-thirds of American adults are in favor of the legalization of Marijuana (Daniller, 2019). It is noted those opposing legalization dropped to 32% in 2019 compared to 52% in 2010 (Daniller, 2019). Similarly, a Gallup report has shown 66% of the support of legalization in 2019 (Jones, 2019). In both Gallup and Pew reports, it is shown that the majority of people support both medicinal and recreational use of Marijuana. According to surveys, most of those who oppose the legalization of Marijuana is mainly those leaning on conservative political ideology, and concerning party identification; they are mostly republicans. Besides, the older generation is one that has a high proportion of those opposing the legalization of recreational use of Marijuana compared to the younger generations.
Use of Marijuana in the US has been on the rise since 2002 among adults (Azofeifa et al., 2016). Some of the factors that have increased the use include decreased perception of risks of using Marijuana, the view that there is no legal penalty for personal use, and that Marijuana has become readily available. In the same line, several states such as Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and DC have legalized the use of recreational Marijuana while others are considering legalizing it (Pepin, Hoss, Schauer & Holmes, 2017).
The case against the legalization of recreational Marijuana is based on public and individual health effects. Those who support legalization usually avoid discussing the adverse health effects of its use. It is cited that Marijuana, is addictive, which is against the public myth that says it is not addictive (Wilkinson, 2013). It has been argued that marijuana use is associated with psychotic disorders, and thus legalization will increase such diseases. Other reasons against legalization include cognitive declines among users, harmful effects on the respiratory system, and other organ systems such as the reproductive system (Wilkinson, 2013). It is also shown that it impairs judgment increasing the risk of road accidents. Besides, it is argued that legalizing recreational Marijuana increases using among adolescents since it lowers their perception of high negatives health effects. However, this argument has been disapproved by a study by Ta et al. (2019) that showed that despite Washington, Oregon, and Alaska legalizing recreational marijuana, the use among adolescents either declined or remained stable. The implication is that even though there is evidence on why recreational Marijuana should not be made legal, on the other hand, there is equal evidence on why it should be decriminalized.
The legalization of marijuana debate has attracted the interest of political parties’ candidates with both current Republicans and Democratic presidential candidates, preferring the decision be left to the states. However, Democratic candidates have been known to support legalization in some way (Daniller, 2019). Some of the political arguments for legalization are that Marijuana is not as harmful as tobacco, while the latter is legal. The other argument is that the criminalization of Marijuana has led to the arrest and prosecution of many innocent persons. However, it is not sensible to say that because cigarettes legal that Marijuana can be legal too.
In summary, there are is a strong force to have use of recreational Marijuana legalized across the country, but there is also equal resistance for legalization. The recreational use of Marijuana should not be legal because of health implications and the risk of abuse. Besides, thorough studies should be made before legalization rather than relying on public opinions.