Supporting Legalization Marihuana Presented-Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Supporting Legalization Marihuana Presented? Answer: Introduction Recently, Canada announced its plan of legalizing the recreational use of marihuana by the end of July 2015 and proved that it is a cool next door neighbour of United States. The legalization of the recreational use of marihuana was fulfilment of one of the campaign promises of the present Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau. Marihuana had been legal in the nation since 2001; though, this is a move for an industrialization large nation moving towards legalizing a controversial drug (Molly, 2017). In the following parts, the reasons for supporting legalization of marihuana have been presented. Legalization of Marihuana Just because Canada has decided to legalize marihuana, it is not a good enough reason for it to be right. And so, there is a need to highlight compelling cases for legalizing recreational use of marihuana. The first point in favour of this is the medicinal properties of marihuana, which are well known (Welsh Loria, 2014). In this regard, a crucial point which needs to be highlighted is that the view of legalizing marihuana is not just of Canada. 57% of the adults of United States, as per a 2016 Pew Research study, believe that marihuana needs to be made legal in the nation and only 37% believed that it should continue to be illegal (Geiger, 2016). So, not only the people of Canada support the legalization of marihuana, but also of the neighbouring nation, i.e., US. Another substantial point which is to be taken into consideration for legalizing pot is that it is not a gateway drug, as is the conception of the opponents of its legalization (Szalavitz, 2015). Even though the people are like to use other drugs instead of opting for marihuana smoking, there is nothing to show that the reason for this is pot. A major problem is continuing to not give marihuana a legal status is that the enforcement of the marihuana related contraventions continue to be an expensive affair and the resources which are used to punish these contraventions, can instead be put to use somewhere else. As per the Human Rights Watch and the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) 2016 report, around six million people were arrested in US alone for possessing marihuana (Williams, 2016). Added in this is the cost of keeping the individuals behind bars and the money and resources of the court used on such individual, which results in a big mess (Luis, 2016). One can also not deny the fact that legalization of marihuana would result in addition of billions of dollars to the economy of any nation, in a very quick manner. As per the article published by CNBC back in 2010, the earnings from legalization of pot would be vaguely around $10 billion to $120 billion for every year (Nelson, 2010). This infusion of money would boom any economy. Apart from this, a lot of money can be made from tax revenues, where tax is imposed after marihuana is legalized. This would provide government with additional cash, which can be used by it in different programs. Nearly $70 million were generated from July 2014 to June 2015 by Colorado, solely from the taxes imposed after marihuana was legalized (Sweet, 2015). Following that year, the amount which was brought in as taxes stood approximately at $200 million (Williams, 2017). A key worry which is made by the opponents of legalization of marihuana is that it results in increased crime. However, the test cases in Washington and Colorado show otherwise. Even though there was a minimalistic rise in crime in the past few years in Denver, there was nothing to show that this was due to the legalization of marihuana, as the crimes related to marihuana composed of less than one percent of all the other offences committed (Ingold, 2016). There is also no denying to the fact that there are a number of other things which are legal and which result in deaths of people, in comparison to which, marihuana does not seem dangerous. Use of alcohol beyond limits causes around 88,000 deaths every year (CDC, 2016). The overdose of prescription drugs results in 25,000 deaths every year (CDC, 2017). Cigarettes kill over 480,000 individuals on annual basis (National Institute of Abuse, 2017). There is still a case to be reported where a person died from overdosing on marihuana (D rug Enforcement Administration, 2017). Furthermore, the indirect effects of marihuana can also be avoided by taking proper care (Couch, 2015). In comparison to the other drugs like alcohol, opioids, cigarettes and even caffeine, marihuana is not that addictive (Molly, 2017). Even though there have been cases where the people have stated that they became addicted to marihuana, but 91% of the cases are such, who did not become addicted after using marihuana (Arkowitz Lilienfeld, 2012). A significant benefit which would be attained from the legalization of marihuana is that the power would be taken from the hands of the violent drug cartels, along with reducing unlawful crossings on border, thus, effectively resulting in countless lives being saved, particularly in context of the pitiful situation present at the border of US and Mexico (Molloy, 2015). Even though this discussion favours legalization of marihuana, the need for taking care cannot be denied, particularly because cannabis is linked to some particular mental illnesses. This is because the relationship with marihuana is linked to anxiety and depression, even though a casual relationship between the two has not been established scientifically. Further, there is evidence to show that the teens who regularly smoke pot have to face long-lasting damage to their immature brain. And the impact of smoking anything on lungs is also an area of concern (Grant, 2017). Then again, this is also true for the already legalized items like cigarettes. However, every aspect has certain negated points, because of which, the particular aspect cannot be denied credibility. For instance, caffeine addition is also an issue of concern, but that does not mean that it needs to be made unlawful. And so, legalization of marihuana in a careful manner is the need, to counter its negated impact. Conclusion Thus, it can be effectively concluded that marihuana should be legalized in not only Canada, but also in other nations. There is not one, but several reasons for doing so, which includes the increased revenues, which would boost the economy and the increased taxes, which can be used by the government for different purposes. Along with this, the medicinal use of marihuana cannot be denied. Thus, legalization of marihuana is a right step. References Arkowitz, H., Lilienfeld, S.O. (2012). Experts Tell the Truth about Pot. Retrieved from: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-truth-about-pot/ CDC. (2016). Fact Sheets - Alcohol Use and Your Health. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm CDC. (2017). Fast Facts. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/ Couch, R. (2015). A study found the unintended way legalized marijuana is likely preventing overdose deaths. Retrieved from: https://www.upworthy.com/a-new-study-found-the-unintended-way-legalized-marijuana-is-preventing-overdose-deaths-rc2-3f Drug Enforcement Administration. (2017). Drug Fact Sheet. Retrieved from: https://www.dea.gov/druginfo/drug_data_sheets/Marijuana.pdf Geiger, A. (2016). Support for marijuana legalization continues to rise. Retrieved from: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/10/12/support-for-marijuana-legalization-continues-to-rise/ Grant, K. (2017). What Canadas doctors are concerned about with marijuana legalization. Retrieved from: https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/what-canadas-doctors-are-concerned-about-ahead-of-marijuana-legalization/article34694165/?ref=https://www.theglobeandmail.com Ingold, J. (2016). Marijuana legalization unlikely to blame for Denver crime increase. Retrieved from: https://www.denverpost.com/2016/02/17/marijuana-legalization-unlikely-to-blame-for-denver-crime-increase/ Luis, N.S. (2016). The DEA just wrote a letter to Congress about marijuana. It's a big deal. Retrieved from: https://www.upworthy.com/the-dea-just-wrote-a-letter-to-congress-about-marijuana-its-a-big-deal Molloy, P. (2015). The Mexican Supreme Court's marijuana ruling could save lives on both sides of the border. Retrieved from: https://www.upworthy.com/the-mexican-supreme-courts-marijuana-ruling-could-save-lives-on-both-sides-of-the-border Molly, P. (2017). Canada is legalizing marijuana. Here are 9 reasons the U.S. should too. Retrieved from: https://www.upworthy.com/canada-is-legalizing-marijuana-here-are-9-reasons-the-us-should-too National Institute of Abuse. (2017). Overdose Death Rates. Retrieved from: https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates Nelson, A. (2010). How Big Is The Marijuana Market?. Retrieved from: https://www.cnbc.com/id/36179677 Sweet, A. (2015). Marijuana brings more tax dollars than alcohol. Retrieved from: https://www.csbj.com/2015/09/15/marijuana-brings-more-tax-dollars-than-alcohol/ Szalavitz, M. (2015). Once and for All, Marijuana Is Not a Gateway Drug. Retrieved from: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/9bgn7a/why-marijuana-is-not-a-gateway-drug-1013 Welsh, J., Loria, K. (2014). 23 Medical Uses of Marijuana. Retrieved from: https://www.businessinsider.in/23-Medical-Uses-Of-Marijuana/articleshow/34015633.cms Williams, T. (2016). Marijuana Arrests Outnumber Those for Violent Crimes, Study Finds. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/us/marijuana-arrests.html?_r=0 Williams, T. (2017). Marijuana tax revenue hit $200 million in Colorado as sales pass $1 billion. Retrieved from: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/marijuana-tax-revenue-hit-200-million-in-colorado-as-sales-pass-1-billion-2017-02-10