Introduction

Ground breaking historical changes are happening in marijuana policy. Over the passing years, marijuana use increased tremendously due to numerous reasons, ranging from medical purposes to leisure use. However, the issue remains contentious especially in America. Under state law, it is categorized as a controlled substance, which makes it prohibited and unlawful under federal laws. In spite of this glaring fact, some states in America legalized marijuana, mainly for health reasons. This essay supports the legalization of recreational marijuana, although it will look at both sides of the argument and explain the underlying reason for its choice.

Background of the Debate

In the year 1996, California electorates officially permitted the compassionate Use Act, which detached criminal punishments that came as a result of having, utilizing, and nurturing medical marijuana (Fisk, Vonasek, & Davis, 2018). This act stated that medical experts have the right to prescribe or recommend medical utilization of marijuana for medical purposes especially among patients with cancer, AIDS, acute pain, and terminal illnesses. On the other hand, the act permitted patients to choose a caregiver who would administer the recreational marijuana. In addition, the Compassionate Use Act gives cultivators and suppliers some form of shield against the long arms of the law by permitting them to purchase marijuana without a fine. Since it is excessively costly ensuring medical marijuana meant for patients, serve only medical purposes, California lawmakers saw it fit to legalize cultivation of marijuana for recreational purposes so that medical marijuana will only serve its intended purposes.

 Since 1996, 20 more states followed suit and enacted laws, which permit the use of medical marijuana. Even though some states only give each caregiver one patient in order to prevent home gardening and diversion to recreational marijuana trades. By assessing before legalization and after legalization data from states, one thing remains clear: it created supply and demand for the herb (Levisnson, 2018). Even though the impact of decriminalizing medicinal marijuana on ingesting is helpful, the impact on price may be negative or positive. According to (), price data gathered from 1990 to 2011, for the sole purpose of monitoring the impact of the legalization on the market, the data revealed that permitting marijuana decreased its quality by 10-26% which in turn affected price. More over the supply increased more than the demand. The author also claimed that medical and recreational prices were at par with each other, indicating that the two markets overlapped, which was not the intention of lawmakers while legalizing marijuana. Keeping the two markets separate would prevent any illegal activities and combination of the herb with other drugs.

The states of Colorado and Washington legalized the cultivation and marketable supply of marijuana for both medicinal and recreational reasons. However, these actions remain illegal under the federal law (Newton, 2013). As a result, bulky cultivation of marijuana with tractors and untrained labor cannot take place any time soon. As an alternative, most production takes place under small scale with the use of negligible amenities. Due to the fact that production of marijuana takes place under small-scale conditions, the production is wide spread across states, which lifted the ban on marijuana. Projections claim that the price may fall further since an individual can grow his or her own marijuana.

 The national survey on health is the best source of information pertaining marijuana utilization among adult within America. With keenly observed trends, legalization of marijuana came increase in personal use and cultivation of marijuana plants, which were once prohibited under the law.

Economic Reasons for Legalizing Marijuana

            One of the main reasons for legalizing marijuana is to create employment and monitor its use among users. For starters, legalization of marijuana generates income for the states and the national government. Marijuana data evaluation unveils that direct authorization of recreational marijuana at the state level led to an estimated $131.8 billion income in terms of tax gathered from states. Frontier data estimated a 15% trade increase in tax sales for the both the state and the national government. It is vital noting that commercial tax tariffs are only 35% hence revealing a potential growth for the marijuana industry.

 Apart from generating income for the states, recreational marijuana would produce jobs for the people supplying and growing the herb. Understandably, even though the economy produces more jobs in other sectors, marijuana would boost opportunities in the job market and ensure stable growth throughout the process (Anderson, & Rees, 2014). Researchers and economic scholars predict a stable growth in the marijuana industry, which in turn would produce an estimated 1.1 million jobs. The jobs emerge from transportation created by demand, cultivation of the herb hence farmer expertise needed, handling the herb after harvesting and retailing of the finished product. All these aspects of the herb present various job opportunities. Therefore, legalization adds to the already existing jobs a considerable amount of jobs. In terms of consulting firms, computer programming that would meet the daily needs of marijuana factories, accounting, and loaning services; constructing companies charged with construction of trade openings and greenhouses. All of the above are job opportunities created by the marijuana industry. The list of job opportunities is endless; nevertheless, the primary point is the jobs are sustainable enough to trigger a change in the economy through both direct and indirect job opportunities.

 The third reason for the legalization of recreational marijuana is investors stand a chance of gaining from the exponential progression of the industry. After creating jobs, investors can actually invest in proper structures that would facilitate the cultivation, production, and commercial distribution of recreational marijuana (Anderson, & Rees, 2014). Moreover, marijuana is not a perfect industry and is likely to face some setbacks, but it is worth investing in it.

The fourth reason for the legalization of recreational marijuana is that it reduces the cost that would go into enacting and enforcing law against the use of marijuana (Anderson, & Rees, 2014). Thus, legalizing marijuana makes the state have it both ways: generating income and at the same time regulating its use through lawful measures rather than prohibiting it completely. Court cases significantly drop which in turn implies fewer imprisonments.

Counter Argument

Opponents of the legalization of marijuana w base their argument on regulation. Legalizing the drug would lead to irresponsible especially among the teen and youths. In addition, they further claim that funds retrieved from legalizing the drug will not overshadow the medical expenses incurred during hospital visits caused by the recreational marijuana (Choo et.al, 2014). Other effects such as addiction and increase in violent crime together with negative effects caused to the surroundings are some of the major concerns to the opponents. One of the most airtight argument by opponents of legalization of marijuana is that even if the use is medical, the effects remain the same and medical reasons do not shield any patient from exposure to short and long term effects of the drug.

Main Argument

 While some people are against the legalization of marijuana, claiming that it is harmful and may have a ripple effect on the larger population, such argument stands on unstable grounds because the government cannot have authority over all things inclusive what aspects that is right or wrong (Choo et.al, 2014). Secondly implementing marijuana laws is not essential and one does not need careful scrutiny to notice mechanism the public use to bypass marijuana laws. The national government makes an estimated 700,000 arrests per year, which is a population of a state, for having marijuana. The arrests disruption the normal flow of peoples’ lives and exerts pressure on prison facilities.

Most people support the legalization of Marijuana due to its usefulness in the medical sector (Choo et.al, 2014). An estimated 84% people claim that the drug has positive medical utilization. Thus, the government should consider legalizing it. To back the claim a medical research proved that smoking pot has medicinal advantages to the smoker.

In short, A part from its medical use, statistics shows more than half a million Americans used the drug in spite of the illegality due to federal laws. As result, legalizing it would add to the government revenue through taxation. Taxation will come with legal jobs and income to the peddlers of the drug. Thus, in the long run, it would boost the macroeconomic of the community. This a win-win situation between the government and the abusers. If alcohol is legal, marijuana too can be made legal.

 

References

Anderson, D. M., & Rees, D. I. (2014). The legalization of recreational marijuana: how likely is the worst-case scenario. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 33(1), 221-232.

Choo, E. K., Benz, M., Zaller, N., Warren, O., Rising, K. L., & McConnell, K. J. (2014). The impact of state medical marijuana legislation on adolescent marijuana use. Journal of Adolescent Health, 55(2), 160-166.

Fisk, J.M., Vonasek, J.A., & Davis, E. (2018).’ Pot’ Reneural Politics; The Budgetary Highs and Lows of Recreational Marijuana Policy Innovation Politics & Policy 46(2), 189-208 doi:10.11 11/polp 12246.

Levisnson,A.H,(2018).Adolsecents Marijuana Use and Perceived Ease of Access Before and After Recreational marijuana Implementationa in Colorado Substance use & Misuse ,53(3),451-456.doi:10.1080/10826084.2017.1334069.

Newton, D. E. (2013). Marijuana: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.