Legalize Marijuana for Recreational Use

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Legalize Marijuana for Recreational Use

Marijuana is the most widely used illegal substance in the United States of America. There have been recent calls for its legalization for both recreational and medical use. Public support for the drug has grown from 12 percent in 1970 to 66 percent in 2016, which has made the calls for legalization even stronger. Colorado and Washington are the first jurisdictions to legalize marijuana for adult use (McCarthy, 2016). The legalization of marijuana is a necessary move considering the restrictions against the use of this drug are weakly justified, and the government is missing significant opportunities with the commodity.

The legalization of marijuana could be a huge source of revenue for the government. It is obvious that the sale of marijuana rakes millions of dollars in short periods. Despite the business being illegal in most parts of the country, the trade still deals with millions of dollars exchanged without taxes. There is a possibility that marijuana could generate over $130 billion in government revenue if it were taxed. The government cannot collect taxes on the industry in states that have legalized marijuana because the commodity is still an illegal, Schedule I drug. This means the government is looking at an entirely new source of revenue.

If all states legalize marijuana for recreational use, the markets will create about 782,000 jobs. This number is expected to reach a million by 2025. This will contribute to government revenue through payroll deductions. It will also contribute to government efforts to reduce unemployment and significantly add cater to the U.S. labor force, which is expected to increase by 10.5 million in the next few years.

For this reason, the current government undermining the rule set by president Obama directing the Justice Department to stay away from state-legal cannabis puts the possibility of a profitable industry in jeopardy. It does not make sense for the federal government to interfere with the marijuana industry in states that have legalized the use of the drug. One particular person that was a huge threat to the legalization of marijuana was former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Republican leadership in general. When marijuana is not monetized by the government despite its prevalent use, the cartels win by ripping all the profit.

Marijuana has been a major contributor to mass criminalization in the United States, with hundreds of thousands of people, especially ethnic minorities, arrested each year (Resing, 2019). Legalization is a step towards ending a war that targeted people of color and never had the intention to increase the safety of the public. Legalization will reduce expenditure directed towards enforcing the ban on this drug. Legalization must be accompanied by expungement and reinvestment in these communities that so much has been taken from.

The legalization of marijuana, contrary to popular assumptions, does not increase pot use among teens but rather has the reverse effect. If drug dealers are replaced by licensed pharmacies and dispensaries, it would be difficult for teens to access the drug. After legalization laws, selling to minors would be too risky for dealers. States that have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes have recorded a decline in the number of teens who consumed marijuana in the past month by 8 percent (Rapaport, 2019). There is data suggesting that the areas that have legalized marijuana have reduced cases of the use of the drug among teens. There is no effect on teen use when marijuana is legalized for medical use but a probable reduction when legalized for recreational use.

Since states began legalizing marijuana for recreational use, the number of impaired driving incidents have gone down. Colorado, for instance, has recorded fewer DUI arrests after the legalization of cannabis (Hickenlooper, 2014). As a fully recreational marijuana state in the nation, Colorado was expected to have increased DUIs but the opposite has been observed. Although it is too early to determine whether marijuana has reduced the number of DUIs, the current data indicated that legalization has no connection to the number of impaired drivers.

Drivers that are impaired by alcohol are a bigger threat than those who are impaired by marijuana on the road. In 2013, almost a third of all accidents were associated with alcohol impairment (Ghose, 2015). There is also the idea that marijuana users do not favor alcohol, and a smoker that begins with smoking will rarely end up drinking alcohol. If people decide to smoke and drive instead of drink and drive, there is a higher chance that the population as a whole will be safer. Unlike alcohol, the impairment caused by marijuana is connected to modest reductions in driving performance. Marijuana users are not likely to speed or swerve out of their lane while drunk drivers are more likely to swerve, speed, and weave out of their lanes. If alcohol is legal despite having this level of cognitive effect on an individual, then there should be no excuse for the criminalization of marijuana. Dr. Benjamin Hansen acknowledges that marijuana causes driving impairment, but there is no data suggesting that it may increase traffic accidents. More research needs to be conducted to establish whether marijuana impairs drivers severely.

The main argument for the legalization of marijuana is the logic behind having tobacco and alcohol the most destructive elements available as legal commodities. In contrast, marijuana with proven healing properties considered an illegal drug. Because of its premium price and high demand, the legalization of marijuana is very important for the government in terms of revenue generation. This is also an opportunity to generate jobs for almost a million Americans. Legalization reduces use among teens because licensed outlets with instructions to sell only to adults will replace illegal dealers. All states in the country should legalize marijuana for recreational use.

References

Ghose, T. (2015, July 6). Driving with a marijuana high: How dangerous is it? livescience.com. https://www.livescience.com/51450-driving-on-marijuana-alcohol-dangerous.htmlHickenlooper, G. J. W. (2014). Experimenting with pot: The state of Colorado’s legalization of marijuana. The Milbank Quarterly, 92(2), 243.

McCarthy, J. (2016). One in eight U.S. adults says they smoke marijuana. Gallup website, August, 8.

Rapaport, L. (2019, July 8). Legalizing pot tied to less teen marijuana use. U.S. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-teens-marijuana-laws/legalizing-pot-tied-to-less-teen-marijuana-use-idUSKCN1U32HLResing, C. (2019, April 20). Marijuana legalization is a racial justice issue. American Civil Liberties Union. https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform/drug-law-reform/marijuana-legalization-racial-justice-issue