The Legalization of Cannabis
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
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Decriminalization policies towards cannabis is starting to show up throughout the country, challenging the Controlled Substance Act. This act is a statute that gives the federal government ability to arrest when a manufacture, importation, possession, and use and distribution are founded for the federal arrest. This also states that the federal court’s medical provisions for cannabis are irrelevant in a federal prosecution case (Cannabis). Decriminalization is the lesser penalties for the crime. Most states that are decriminalizing cannabis have drug education, treatment, and civil fines. This is all in place of incarceration or criminal charges for the scant amount of cannabis (Galvin).
Economic Implications of Cannabis Legalization: In Colorado, the Economic Implications seem to be extremely positive for the state. Licensed, regulated cannabis stores earned almost one billion dollars in 2015. The taxation collection was over one hundred and thirty five million dollars. These numbers do not even include income tax, property tax, or tax revenues. Colorado has also noticed an increase of tourism since the legalization of cannabis. From the reports, it is noticeable that the implications for the Colorado economy are extremely positive (Colorado).
Medical Implications of Marijuana Legislation:
Cannabis is primarily used to make the user
The role of how marijuana is used in the United States is being reexamined, rethought, and recalibrated, Barcott emphasize throughout his book. The new adjustment in America's relationship with cannabis cannot be measured in just monetary or social terms, “there are more profound movements going ahead here; social realignments, social alterations, and budgetary modifications” Barcott believes. Barcott show marijuana came to be one of the most vilified drugs in the market ever since the war on drugs was announced in the 1980s. However, the author shows how those who were against that movement are now cheerful that the way of that line of thinking is finally coming to a close. “Weed the
Cannabis began being outlawed all across the U.S. during the 1900’s and has remained illegal ever since, until recent years when states began legalizing it (huffpost.com). Although many people believe that the reason behind the prohibition of cannabis was based on genuine concern for the possible consequences it may have on the well-being of people if it remained accessible to all, the truth is that the drive behind the U.S.’s prohibition of cannabis was founded on racism. During the early 1900’s cannabis was considered an “ethnic drug” due to the fact that many Mexican immigrants smoked the plant (huffpost.com). With the tension in Western states regarding the migration of Mexicans into the states, laws concerning the use regulation of
“According to the Colorado Department of Revenue, the regulated marijuana market generated more than $156 million in state tax revenue and license fees in FY 2015-2016.” (The Impact of Legalization in Colorado,2017). The amount recognized in the quote was not including local taxes. The taxes generated from recreational marijuana use can be used for the state of Colorado to spend on many valuable things in the state. Such as schools, public transportation, or natural parks. This benefits the economy by creating more money for the state to spend and putting more money into circulation.
Another man, a resident from Georgia, who suffers from anxiety and alcoholism decided to make his stay permanent after realizing the constant marijuana use was able to help him stop his bad drinking habit. Accompanied by his son from North Carolina, who has previously been an illegal recreational user, is happy that his habits can now continue guilt free. Another source reported that Colorado has welcomed 36,284 people who have migrated from within the US in 2013 (source). That is 8,000 more people than 2012 due to the “go West” mentality of marijuana enthusiasts (source). If Colorado’s predictions are correct, they will receive an extra $100 million in revenue due to marijuana sales (Dickinson & Haglage). This money can be used for beautification, safety improvements, schooling resources and many other positive things that will make living in Colorado even more appealing.
The United States of America stands as one of the leading territories in the consumption of forbidden
We’ve all been told not to use drugs starting at a very young age. We’re told they very bad for you and can even cause death. As a child, we always believed what we were told; the older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve come to realize that not all of these “drugs” are as bad for you as we were taught. The particular drug I am speaking about comes from the dried leaves and flowers of a hemp plant (Cannabis Sativa), and goes by the name Marijuana.
In that same year, Congress heard testimony asserting the same notion from the Vice President of the Pharmaceutical Examining Board of Pennsylvania, Dr. Christopher Koch. Dr. Koch warned about “Chinks” who keep white women as their “concubines” in their opium dens. In addition, he said, “The colored people seem to have a weakness for it (cocaine)…It produces a kind of temporary insanity. They would just as leave rape a woman as anything else, and a great many of the Southern rape cases have been traced to cocaine.” Whereas, just minutes later in his testimony he rationalized that white professionals “take morphine to quiet them, and they take cocaine to brace them up.”
The legalization of marijuana for recreational usage could may be a new trend in America but the Federal government will likely oppose usage through the end of time. The Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) stance is that marijuana is an illegal drug and that using this drug whether for medicinal or recreational purposes is illegal. I chose this topic to research because of awareness bright to light prior to the recent elections. Until researching this topic, I was unaware that marijuana usage is legal in some states and that other states were pushing legislation to get
: "Police Made More Arrests For Drug Violations Than Anything Else In 2012." ThinkProgress RSS. N.p., 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Aug. 2015
In the article, “The Rise of Legal Marijuana in America”, by the Week.com, studies have shown that marijuana and other legal drugs are having a great impact on society. In most cases, marijuana is causing people to be jailed and to be driving under the influence. Children are accidentally ingesting marijuana, and they have to be hospitalized because of this terrible drug. Many people may argue the legalization of marijuana has given people jobs, and the government has received more money which could go towards school and public places. Yes, this is true, but people can find many more safe and healthy ways to benefit their community.
Another Economic gain that results from the legalization of marijuana is that the demand for legal marijuana creates an untapped market that can help out small business to grow and create young, successful business leaders for example “Sally Vander-veer, president of one of the state’s largest dispensaries and cultivation of marijuana, which has over 70 employees and a payroll of about 3.8million a year, is bullish on her rapidly expanding
Legalization of marijuana is one of the most controversial topics in American society today. Surveys done by the US Government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive showed that 95 million Americans have used marijuana. There are two opposing sides that have strong stances on whether it should become legal or should remain illegal. We have one side that is anti-marijuana and the other is pro-marijuana. Each side provides valid and strong arguments supporting their views. The purpose of this paper is to carefully examine each opposing side and try to find some way to come to a compromise.
Marijuana, also known as Cannabis is the third most well-liked recreational drug, which only falls behind alcohol and tobacco, in the United States (The Whitehouse, n.d.). Marijuana is made up of dried leaves, plants, stalks, and pits from the hemp plant Cannabis Sativa, which comprises of the mind-altering compound delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), in addition to other associated compounds. This plant substance can correspondingly be converged in a resin called hashish or an adhesive black fluid called hash oil. Efforts to legalize marijuana for medication treatment and recreational use in the United States have grown in current years. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that marijuana may perhaps
Colorado alone raised about 100 million in tax revenue. This is much more than it was expected. The marijuana industry helps create new jobs, this means the economy is better. All the money that is collected from the sale of the plant creates new schools, makes roads safer, and overall it makes the state better. Bob Marley once said “herb is the healing of the nation, alcohol is the destruction” This makes sense because cannabis makes a person feel relaxed and have more appreciation of ones surroundings unlike alcohol which makes a person very
Cannabis is becoming increasingly widespread and increasingly common in modern-day society for both recreational use and for medication. The article by Craig Reinarman, ‘Criminalisation, legalisation and the mixed blessing of medicalisation in the USA’ generates many controversial issues of cannabis.