Essay 2.2- The Marijuana Challenge

Under the Federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970, cannabis is classified as a schedule one substance. Schedule one substances are defined as currently having no accepted medical use in the USA and having a high potential for abuse (Ziegler, par.1). Cannabis is the name of the category to which the plant belongs. The preparation made from the stems, buds, and leaves of Cannabis is known as marijuana. The cannabis plant has been the topic of much debate throughout the history of this country. Since the time when marijuana first became illegal it has been grouped with other narcotics as an equivalent. The truth is cannabis has many benefits to society and other than the effects of smoke inhalation has very few negatives. Those opposed to the legalization of the cannabis plant claim that with legalization of cannabis will come further problems. Some think that legalization would lead to greater drug use, or that tobacco and alcohol cause enough problems and there is no reason to add a new product into the mix, or even the broad statement that drugs such as cannabis lead to poverty, crime, and violence.

I understand the basis of all these claims and understand where they come from. But the point is that marijuana is not considered an addictive drug, such as alcohol and tobacco which are legal. Also another benefit of legalizing marijuana is that it would keep less people out of jail. Furthermore the taxation of marijuana can provide needed and generous funding of many important criminal justice and social programs.

If there is one thing that we can agree on it is the fact that tobacco and alcohol use cause many problems in our society today. But cannabis is not the same as alcohol and tobacco. Marijuana is not a lethal drug; it is much safer than those two addictive drugs. It is established scientific fact that “marijuana is not toxic to humans; marijuana overdoses are nearly impossible, and marijuana is not nearly as addictive such as alcohol or tobacco” (Ganeva, par. 4). Today 23 million people are addicted to alcohol, and a whooping 46 million people are addicted to tobacco (Ganeva, par. 7). But in 2004 study, it was shown that only 298,317 people reported marijuana as their primary drug of abuse, and not because they were necessarily “addicted”, but because they just enjoy it. It is unfair and unjust to treat marijuana users more harshly under the law than the users of alcohol or tobacco.

There are so many people in jail today for possessing, using, and selling marijuana. This causes users of marijuana to be more susceptible to punishment by law. It is said that 27,900 inmates are imprisoned solely for marijuana crimes and that 64,000 have some drug conviction linked to marijuana which represents 4% of the US prisoner population (Austin 3).
That doesn’t seem like much but it would save billions of dollars in prison systems. Further, legalizing marijuana would actually stimulate the economy since it would be the number one cash crop. By placing a tax on the drug would create much revenue and more jobs. Medicinal marijuana is legal in California and that is responsible for $14 billion a year in sales. One economist even estimated the state would also save about $1 billion per year by not arresting and imprisoning those caught with small amounts of marijuana (Austin 7). There are many benefits to the economy that comes with the legalization of marijuana. It is something to really think about.

The way to compromise the two views would to be to set an age limit on the possession of marijuana, like there is on alcohol and tobacco. They are both considered drugs as well, so why wouldn’t it be the same rules? By setting a limit on the age of possessing marijuana, it will make people become more responsible and less likely to end up in jail. I also think that there should be a limit on how much you can have at one time. This would limit any problems by not having too much at one time.


Works Cited:


http://www.jstor.org/stable/3487894?seq=5

http://www.druglibrary.org/medicalmj/positive_effects_of_marijuana_.htm

http://norml.org/pdf_files/NORML_Rethinking_Decriminalizing_Marijuana.pdf