Policy Brief
Legalization of Marijuana
Overview
The legalization of Marijuana comes with both opportunities and drawbacks, based on how it is going to be used. The products of Marijuana also present a multifaceted range of socio-economic pros and cons. Crafting a legal framework to address the consequences, either good or bad, will be important in determining if the legalization is considered prosperous policy. The economy is deemed to grow at a very fast rate, due to the advantages of marijuana. This policy brief ascertains significant knowledge gaps which need to be looked at to ensure that the legalization of marijuana takes place in an evidence-centred environment.
Background
Marijuana is considered an illegal drug according to federal laws, thus being categorized as a Schedule I drug (meaning it is a high risk drug for abuse and it does not have any medicinal value), by most States and countries, and they have consequently termed it as illegal (Caulkins, Kilmer & Kleiman, 2016). More countries in the world are currently legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes. In the US, more states have started legalizing the use of Marijuana, for medicinal purposes. Most countries only look at the negative sides of marijuana, thus making it illegal, ignoring the positive sides of marijuana makes it hard for such countries to see the positive side of marijuana (Kleiman, Caulkins & Hawken, 2011). Adopting a legal framework to protect the abuse of drugs, will consequently help in the manufacture of pharmaceutical and other products. This policy brief therefore addresses the following questions: 1) After the legalization of marijuana, how will the public benefit, and of what benefit will it be to the economy of the country? 2) How can marijuana be regulated to ensure the rates of abuse do not rise? and its challenges.
How did we get here?
Public opinion over the legalization of marijuana has changed over the years, with most people citing that it should be legalized, due to the medicinal value which marijuana offers (Caulkins, Kilmer, & Kleiman, 2016). Over the years, governments have criticized the legalization of marijuana, since marijuana is associated with a lot health issues which have not been proven. For instance, in the 1996 when California shocked the country through the legalization of marijuana, less than a quarter of the state’s population supported the legalization of marijuana. However, as of the year 2016, more than 26 states in Columbia have legalized marijuana, calling it medical marijuana and not an illegal drug (Kleiman, Caulkins & Hawken, 2011). In addition, 60% of United States’ population currently supports the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes. According to most people, the illegalization of marijuana has not helped the country in anyway, since a huge number of people have been incarcerated. In addition, the government spends a lot of money on countering marijuana trafficking in the country, thus affecting the growth of the economy.
The public believes marijuana has medicinal values. Due to this belief, most people have resulted in supporting the legalization of marijuana, because it might be of help in the provision of curative medicines (Brownstein, 2016). This is a move which has seem most people shifting their views concerning marijuana, thus leading to the legalization of marijuana in more States in the US. On the other hand, judging from the states which have legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, the levels of marijuana abuse have not increased, neither have they gone out of hand. This consequently shows how the legalization marijuana is being termed as one of the worst drugs, and it can be used for medicinal purposes. The legalization of marijuana by more states is also a testimony that marijuana is good for medicinal purposes, and it has a lot of benefits, when used in the right way (Kleiman, Caulkins & Hawken, 2011).
Public Opinion On the Legalization go Marijuana
1). Benefits of the Legalization of Marijuana to the Public, and to the Economy
Legalization of marijuana has a lot of benefits to the public and to the economy in general. Collection of taxes is likely to double, due to the sales of marijuana products, which are on high demand, since some most parts of the world have illegalized marijuana. For instance, in the years 2015 in Colorado, the sale of medical marijuana led to the collection of a total of $135 million in revenues (VanGeest, Johnson & Alemagno, 2017). This is however projected to increase, due to the increase in demand of medical marijuana all over the world. The public benefits fully from this, since the state will develop, more students will get college loans, hence improving the condition of the state of Colorado. This legalization therefore comes with a lot of benefits, since both the public and the state will be able to benefit fully from the sale of medicinal marijuana. The economy of the state will also grew, thus improving the economy of the United States (Brownstein, 2016).
The standards of living will rise, due to the creation of jobs. Legalization of marijuana will require setting up of dispensaries and marijuana nurseries, where the marijuana plants will be grown. Due to the high demand of marijuana products, more employees will be required to work in marijuana dispensaries, in order to cater for the demand. Similarly, due to the high number of employees in the nurseries and dispensaries, the standards of living will rise. This will also help in the growth of the economy (Kleiman, Caulkins & Hawken, 2011).
Legalization of marijuana will save the country $13.7 billion. The country has invested a lot of money to deal with the smuggling of marijuana. In as much as strict regulations and a lot of money is invested in dealing with the smuggling of marijuana into the country, nothing has changed (VanGeest, Johnson & Alemagno, 2017). More people tend to access marijuana easily, thus making the country to lose the war against smuggling of marijuana into the country. Legalization of marijuana will enable the country to deal with the smuggling issues, since marijuana will be easily accessible, thus bringing to an end the issue of smuggling. In addition, since the smuggling of drugs is done by drug cartels, it will be easier for the country to be able to weaken the cartels, hence making them more vulnerable than ever (Hudak, 2016).
In order to deal with drug trafficking, the trade of drugs should be affected. The country can pose a challenge to the drug smugglers, through legalizing marijuana, since the demand of marijuana will drastically drop, thus making it hard for the smugglers to gain any profits from the business (Kleiman, Caulkins & Hawken, 2011). This will consequently force them to stop smuggling marijuana into the country, hence save the country from investing a lot of money in that field. Similarly, the levels of incarcerated criminals due to the abuse of marijuana in the country will drastically drop (Hudak, 2016). Most people particularly the youths, tend to indulge in high risk behaviours, in order to explore, what they have never explored in their lives. Legalizing marijuana and terming it as a medicinal drug, will help in changing the public’s perception of marijuana, thus removing it from the list of high risk factors, a move which will discourage most people from abusing marijuana after its legalization.
Medicinal Marijuana
Researches have confirmed that indeed marijuana is good for medicinal purposes. Marijuana is mostly taken in order to relieve pain, since it acts as a pain reliever (VanGeest, Johnson & Alemagno, 2017). It is effective mainly in reducing neuropathic pain, which results from nerve damage. Moreover, it is less addictive as compared to opiate drugs, thus offers no fatal overdose risk. Marijuana drugs can consequently be taken in large quantities without any effects on the body of an individual. Medicinal marijuana is also used in the production of Sativex, a medicinal version of marijuana. Sativex is approved in more than 25 countries all over the world, and is used for the treatment of painful muscle seizures which are caused by multiple sclerosis (Brownstein, 2016).
Marijuana is prescribed to patients to induce appetite and stop nausea, particularly to people who have problems with eating (Kleiman, Caulkins & Hawken, 2011). This drug is effective particularly to people suffering from AIDs, or those going through cancer treatment. Marijuana induces appetite, making such people to eat, in order to favour the intake of drugs by their bodies. Furthermore, people suffering from AIDs tend to be affected by nausea, making it hard for them to eat, thus affecting the intake of drugs into their bodies. Taking medicinal marijuana consequently helps in enabling such people to avoid the issues of not taking drugs in order to boost their immunity (Brownstein, 2016).
Marijuana gets rid of epilepsy through reducing seizures. It is estimated that more than 90 families have relocated to Colorado, due to the access of marijuana products in the state, which is significant for plummeting annexations in epileptic children (Hudak, 2016). Due to the effects of the drug, most families have opted to move into the state, in order to relieve their children from such pain. It is consequently taken as an oil, because marijuana contains cannabidol (CBD), which leads to the reduction of violent seizures which are attributed to childhood epilepsy. In addition, in oil form, the drug is not intoxicating, thus reducing the effect of addiction related to the abuse of marijuana.
Marijuana contains neuro-protective antioxidants which are responsible for dealing with stress related issues, and reducing brain inflammation. Cannabis consequently helps in the treatment of the disorder, through preventing the damage, hence enabling the inflammation to heal within a short period of time (Kleiman, Caulkins & Hawken, 2011). Marijuana is therefore significant, as it helps the brain to repair itself in case of a concussion or a trauma. On the other hand, marijuana is also used as a post-traumatic stress disorder treatment (PTSD) particularly by soldiers in the frontline. Cannabis is responsible for relaxing the mind, through getting high, thus making a person to forget about past experiences, hence focusing on the future. Soldiers have consequently used marijuana which helps in relaxing their minds, making them to forget about their past experiences in the battlefield.
2) Regulation of Marijuana and its Challenges
The legalization of marijuana comes with mixed blessings, which are attributed to the public perception (VanGeest, Johnson & Alemagno, 2017). Marijuana is only legalized for medicinal purposes, and not for the purposes of smoking. The perception of the legalization of marijuana may however change, since most people will tend to abuse the drug publicly. In order to enable the public to understand what the legalization of marijuana means, a proper message concerning the legalization of the drug should passed to the public, in order to create an understanding of legalizing marijuana (Hudak, 2016).
Strict measures regarding the use of cannabis should be put in place. The abuse of cannabis should be regulated, through controlling the access of marijuana by the public. New laws should be put in place, protecting the access of marijuana by children. This law must be very effective, since things might get out of hand, if proper attention is not paid to the regulation of cannabis (Kleiman, Caulkins & Hawken, 2011). Thirdly, the legalization should only be for medicinal purposes, and not for other purposes. This consequently means that cannabis should only be used in processed medicinal form, and not through smoking. The law must be very clear, thus allowing the public to understand the effects of abusing the drug, rather than using it for medicinal purposes (Brownstein, 2016).
Measures of keeping profits from the hands of criminals should also be put in place. The government should take the authority of dealing with the business, and not through the privation of the business (VanGeest, Johnson & Alemagno, 2017). This move will reduce the chances of getting the business out of hand, hence making only public organizations to legally plant and manufacture medicinal products from marijuana. In addition, measures should also be put in place, in the transportation of medication of marijuana. Marijuana should only be transported in a certain form, in order to ensure criminals do not use the same means of transporting the drug (Hudak, 2016).
Delay the age of use of medicinal marijuana. This is a means of reducing the access of medicinal drugs from the children, making them to only use medicinal marijuana after reaching a later age (Kleiman, Caulkins & Hawken, 2011). This will consequently help in reduce the frequency of use of marijuana among children. Furthermore, since marijuana is deemed as an active drug as compared to other drugs, when children use the drug, they are most likely to use it frequently, due to the adverse effects which it has on the body. Regulating the ages will consequently help in reducing the prevalence of medicinal marijuana amongst children.
Medical marijuana should only be sold in public pharmacies and in hospitals. This is a move which will be aimed at reducing the sale of unprocessed marijuana. Patients can only access medicinal marijuana from either a pharmacy or a hospital with a medical report from either a pharmacist or a medical doctor (Kleiman, Caulkins & Hawken, 2011). Medicinal marijuana should also be prescribed to the patient, thus allowing the patient to use it in the best way possible. Each and every medicinal marijuana should be tested by the government, before being allowed to be sold in the market. A standardization mark of quality should also be clearly visible on the product, thus ensuring no falsification of medical marijuana by criminals. All marijuana products should also be sold in specific pharmacies and hospitals, thus ensuring criminals do not get access of the drugs (Hudak, 2016).
Discourage the abuse of marijuana, and encouraging the use of marijuana products. This move will help in allowing the public to focus only on using marijuana in medical form, and not through smoking (VanGeest, Johnson & Alemagno, 2017). This message should also be backed up by educating the public on the importance of using marijuana products for medicinal purposes and not abusing the drug. The country will consequently be able to change the public’s perception of the drug, thus making most people to shift from abusing marijuana, and instead focus on using marijuana for medicinal purposes (Brownstein, 2016).
Challenges of Regulating Marijuana
Marijuana vendors are most likely to go against the rule of law particularly if the drug is on high demand (VanGeest, Johnson & Alemagno, 2017). Pharmacies are in the process of making profits, and due to the high demand of medicinal marijuana, the vendors will be forced to go against the law, in order to increase profits. In addition, vendors are also likely to be bought off by drug cartels, thus enabling the cartels to use licenced stores in selling unregulated marijuana products. This business is also likely to grow at a very first rate, due to the huge demand of unlicensed marijuana products in the market. The levels of marijuana will consequently be on the rise, thus making marijuana to be of negative effect to the society as opposed to being or positive impact to the public (Hudak, 2016).
Marijuana farmers may also collude with drug cartels, who might use the legalization of marijuana as a platform to increasing their trade of marijuana in different parts of the country and the world in general. In most cases, drug cartels do not work as the key producers of drugs, instead they use licensed institutions in production, processing and transportation of drugs. Licenced farmers may therefore be used for the production and transportation of the drug, thus affecting the economy of the country through operating in a smart way. It is therefore very hard to regulate the legalization of marijuana, since the business may be taken over by drug cartels (Kleiman, Caulkins & Hawken, 2011).
Tax evasion is also a major problem which the government is likely to face. Most marijuana tend to give more caregivers the authority to plant marijuana on their behalf, thus leading to the evasion of tax, for instance, a single famer is supposed to have a maximum of five caregivers, but more caregivers are being allowed to grow marijuana (VanGeest, Johnson & Alemagno, 2017).
Recommendation
These are a few steps which both the federal and state governments can put in place in ensuring the legalization of marijuana becomes a success in the country. The federal government in collaboration with state governments should ensure proper regulation of marijuana, thus impacting the country positively. Research should be conducted in order to come up with the possible challenges of legalizing marijuana. In addition, proper security frameworks should be put in place, thus ensuring the safety of the public. Potential threats to the production of marijuana should also be looked at carefully, thus enabling the production of marijuana to be done in the best way possible, without the alteration by criminals. The public health should be the first priority, hence the production of medical marijuana should be done in the best way possible. To address this research issue, the federal and state governments should consequently work together with the department of Agriculture, and the National Drug Control Department (NDCD) in ensuring the provision of insecticides which are certified and the legalization of the trade of marijuana by licensed vendors respectively. Proper communication between the federal, state government agricultural department and NDCD, thus ensuring proper distribution of marijuana products in the market.
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