The legalization of marijuana, for both medical and medicinal reasons, was prominent in the November 8, 2016 national election. Four states out of the five that had it on the ballot legalized the use of marijuana for recreational purposes. Three states voted to legalize medicinal marijuana, and one state (Montana) voted to reduce restrictions that were previously with their medical marijuana laws. In total, thirty states now have laws legalizing the use of marijuana for medical or recreational purposes.1¬¬¬¬ In Oklahoma, a state with a long standing tradition of very traditional and conservative voting, voters passed a bill decriminalizing2 simple drug possession as well as some property crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor.3 These election …show more content…
A creative controversy explores the opposing sides of a controversy and asks a critical thinker to pay equal attention to all points made in the argument. The controversy addressed in this exercise is whether or not legalizing the use of marijuana in the United States is beneficial in regards to health, cost, and society in general. In researching this project, I used the Oklahoma City Community College library database “Opposing Viewpoints” as a resource. The arguments for and against the legalization of marijuana are summarized in bullet point format below. The argument for the legalization of marijuana used for the purposes of this assignment is, “Marijuana Should Be Fully Legalized, Not Just Decriminalized”. The source of this viewpoint is data compiled by the Drug Policy Alliance. The Drug Policy Alliance is a national advocacy leader of drug law reform that is grounded in science, compassion, health and human …show more content…
The government will have to pay for regulating both the legal and illegal markets.
• Legalization and taxation of marijuana would lead to a decrease in the retail price of the drug, which will increase usage. The conclusion of this viewpoint is that legalization will increase usage of marijuana and therefore the associated health hazards and costs. There will be no benefit to tax income because this income is insignificant in comparison with the related health and regulation costs.
My own opinion:
• Cannabis oil has proven medical benefits and the possible addictive nature of this drug should not eliminate its use in treatment of certain conditions.5
• Before recreational marijuana should be legalized, I believe that a roadside test should be available to law enforcement officers. A brief literature search indicates that tests are in development but not fully functional or dependable.
• I do not believe that legalization of marijuana will affect the illegal drug trade and associated violence. Criminals are resourceful and other drugs will be sold.
• Legal access to marijuana might reduce the number of people currently addicted to